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ticketed but not going speed he said I was

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AARRGG

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Washington

Was pulled over by state patrol on side road. He said I was doing 48 in a 35. The officer had attitude right from the start so I remained as quiet as possible and didn't even try to negotiate. I was in such shock that I really could not do anything but laugh, but was still pissed that I got a $114 ticket.
The situation:
Officer says he clocked me as he crested the hill he was going over. I was about 1/2 mile from him at that point heading towards him. There were two cars infront of me about halfway between me and the cop traveling in opposite directions.
I didn't notice the cop until I saw the brake lights of the car infront of me. At that point I looked at my speed which was exactly 40mph. I of course am contesting the ticket.

How do I prove it wasn't me doing that speed?

Cops never show up at the contestment hearings here in Washington, I guess they aren't required to. If for some reason he does show, can I grill him on what make and model those other two cars were and how he determined that I was the speeder. I wrote down every last detail of that event, so is this enough to get off by stating that if he can't remember any other details how can he remember why he picked me. My car was Red and had the headlights on, the others were earth toned with no headlights, so I figured I just stood out.
From what I have researched, they can only use laser when at a standstill, so he had to be using Radar. Since he was driving, he most certainly could not have aimed it and since the radar beam spreads wider and wider the farther from the source it gets, I have calculated that the other two cars were also inside the beam width based on the manufacturers information.
 


racer72

Senior Member
You can subpeona the officer to appear at your hearing. Ask for a subpeona at your pretrial hearing and guess what, you have to deliver that subpeona in person yourself or it is not valid. As a regular attendee of traffic court helping others, you may get a reduction in fine but you present no evidence the ticket is not valid. You admit to speeding, 40 in a 35 is against the law. I would suggest you hire an attorney, you have done some homework but the prosecutor for the state will eat you for lunch if you use your sudden knowledge of traffic enforcement items. A lawyer knows what questions to ask, you don't.
 

AARRGG

Junior Member
This is my first time contesting a ticket. I have had one other ticket 12 years ago 66 in a 55, but paid that because that is what I was doing. This time I certainly would have paid the fine for 5 over, but there is no way I'm paying a fine for something I wasn't doing. My wife has contested numberous tickets and has always had them dismissed or reduced. She says its almost a joke - contest it, get out of it.
Should I admit to the 5 over part, or just stick strictly to the fact that I wasn't doing 48 and hope for a full dismissal?
 

racer72

Senior Member
I would use the fact you were the most visible vehicle out of a group. I have seen this used successfully a couple of times. Something else I have recently noticed, it is easier to get out of tickets in the large urban areas than the less populated ones. I just assisted on 2 citations recently. Both were speeding tickets. The first one was given to a young gal in King County. I gave her every thing she needed for court, at court she froze and played the almost perfect dumb blond and the judge dismissed the ticket. The other was a middle aged woman in Sumner. She was ticketed for 38 in a 30. She was also pulled over 120 feet from the driveway to a business she just visited. A muscle car could hardly reach 38 mph in that distance, she was driving a Geo Metro. We went to court with all the evidence we needed, the cop did not show even though he was subpeonaed, and we still lost. The violation was made a non moving violation but she still had to pay the $83 fine. Good luck.
 

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