Speeding Ticket, Visual Estimate.

[Camaroz28]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Los Angeles CA

Hi. My name is Brian. Im 20yrs old. Well my case here is that about 2 months ago, I got a speeding ticket, and I want to contest it because I dont have the money to pay for a Infraction that isnts justified in fairness I would say. well I was heading home from work. The speeding limit on the fwy is 55, and it becomes a fwy end. Getting towards the fwy end, a small portion of it becomes 35mph. So I descended my speed from 60 to 55, 50, 45, and onto 40. As I approached the intersection, the light turned yellow, and I accelerated because I was already in the beginning of the intersection. I honked as well to let people know I was in. So as im heading north bound, I stayed on my speed, from 40 it went down to 37 38 mph. 6 blocks after a sheriff pulls me over and as hes pulling me over, im thinking to myself, I didnt do anything wrong. so as he approached my car, he asked the usual. license and registration. so I handed him that. he asked me, do you know how fast you were going, and I said Yes. I was going 40. He said No you werent. I replied with a yes I was going 40. I then told him, do you know how fast I was going, do you have the speed gun to tell me how fast I was going, he said no. Its a visual estimate, and you were going 70. I replied with a oh my god, are you serious, and he said yes, wait here. He went to his car, I guess to run my plate check insurance, he came back and said your getting a ticket for speeding going 70mphs on a 35. I told him that it wasnt fair because I wasnt going 70 on a 35. So i signed the ticket. I told him I was going to contest it, he replied with a do what you gotta do. He got in his car, and left. So now that I want to contest this, what do I need to do, in order to win or have the charge dropped.

 

[HighwayMan]

First you say you were approaching the intersection then you say you were already at "the beginning" of the intersection (whatever that is). This sounds very inconsistent.

Secondly, you say you you decelerated to 40 then accelerated. So how fast were you ultimately going?

Thirdly, you seem to have been watching your speed alot more closely than most people do. Seems a little unrealistic.

 

[JETX]

So now that I want to contest this, what do I need to do, in order to win or have the charge dropped.

Very simple... you have to PROVE to the court that your were NOT speeding.
Of course, the hard part will be actually providing the proof.

Oh, and you were very lucky that the officer didn't also cite you for running the light.

 

[The Occultist]

I have three points to make:

1) Physically speaking, "decelerate" is NOT a word. There is only acceleration, which may be positive or negative, but no deceleration.

2) Your point about a radar gun having a lock on your speed is without merit for a couple reasons. Firstly, an officer is not required to show you the reading, and many will choose not to for safety reasons, and secondly, when an officer is trained on radar, he is actually trained to visually estimate speeds.

3) If your communication skills in real life are as bad as they are on this message board, you will have no chance of prevailing in court without the aid of an attorney, so I recommend finding a traffic attorney to represent you. A local attorney knows best what the courts want to hear, and as such present the highest potential in yielding the most favorable results. Many attorneys will offer free/cheap consultations, so you should take advantage of this and sit down with a couple of them to see what insight they may have to offer.

 

[demurringdude]

1) Physically speaking, "decelerate" is NOT a word. There is only acceleration, which may be positive or negative, but no deceleration./QUOTE]

According to Webster, decelerate has been a word since 1899. I'm sure the OP doesn't want to hear your irrelevant and incorrect physics lecture. He's here for legal advice.

 

[Zigner]

1) Physically speaking, "decelerate" is NOT a word. There is only acceleration, which may be positive or negative, but no deceleration./QUOTE]

According to Webster, decelerate has been a word since 1899. I'm sure the OP doesn't want to hear your irrelevant and incorrect physics lecture. He's here for legal advice.

From a PHYSICS standpoint, The Occultist is correct. There is only acceleration.

 

[demurringdude]

Brian,

There is nothing you can do to get the charge dropped. However, you are entitled to get a fair trial, and contrary to what some people apparently believe, they have to prove you were speeding. You do not have to prove anything. The proof they will offer is the officer's live testimony of his visual estimation of your speed. It will be the officer's word against yours, so you are at a disadvantage. Since the officer will be testifying that he visually estimated your speed, you can ask him questions about how he did that. Did he pace you, did he he time you against a distance, where was he in relation to you, for how long did he observe you, etc etc.
To be honest, this is something that only a lawyer is likely to succeed at. If you decide to give it a shot yourself, you do have the additional prospect that the officer may not show up.

Also - if it happened two months ago, have you missed any deadlines on your ticket for showing up in court?

 

[demurringdude]

Very simple... you have to PROVE to the court that your were NOT speeding.

Free legal advice is worth every penny.

 

[Camaroz28]

First off, I want to thank those kindly who gave me feedback. My point is for you to get the point. Anyways, By me meaning approaching then being at the intersection is different. as I was approach then being at the intersection passing the walk way thats what I meant by the beginning. I asked for a extension. I will be going to court the 16th of the incoming month. A Officer is allowed to show you how fast you were going, because My very first ticket I got and it involved speeding, the officer in the bike showed me his radar gun to show how fast I was going. so what if my communication skills are bad, I bet you wouldnt be running your mouth over a website thinking you a hotshot. That goes to The occultist.

To those kind of you, I need your help because I do not have money to pay the ticket. In my case, is it best to talk to a lawyer? If only I can find someone who can give me a Free Consultation.

 

[HighwayMan]

You're missing the point. An officer does not HAVE TO show you the radar. I never do. It's a safety issue, and if I show you the radar you'll say "how do I know that was me?" - and it starts another useless round of arguments.

So how fast were you going when you accelerated (positively) again?

 

[Jim_bo]

1. This is a legal site, not a physics site.

2. The OP does not have to PROVE anything. The prosecution doesn. The OP only needs to raise reasonable doubt.

3. I'm not clear... did the cop use radar?

4. You haven't given the most important information... what VC section were you charged with?

 

[texasdriver2009]

A 40 in a 30.

Perhaps you're arguing the amount of the violation.
In Texas 0-10,10-25, 25+, all have different fine values.

You WERE speeding, whether 40 in a 30, or 70 in a 30, you admitted you were speeding. However, you should contest the speed cited. I do not know California law, so you're on your own in that regard.

Another personal issue, being a XXX to a public official rarely works out to your benefit, it shouldn't change the outcome, but we are human. So keep that in mind in the future.

 

[The Occultist]

Hahahaha 2 of you posters are funny. Hey everybody, guess which two posters I'm talking about?

 

[Camaroz28]

To Jimbo, the officer did not use radar. He Said it was a visual estimate.
The VC is 22350 Unsafe speed.

To Highwayman, well the very first time I got pulled, the officer showed me the radar. he got me. If he got me, Im not gonna go off and start arguing with the cop saying how do you know it was me, when clearly that gun was pointed at me. be smart. Positively, I was going 55 because the speed limit is 55.
then it becomes 35. I was reducing speed, hitting 40 going to 35 when I had to accelerate to catch the light probably then hitting 40- 43 44, 45 passing the intersection, then going back to 35.

 

[HighwayMan]

...when I had to accelerate to catch the light probably then hitting 40- 43 44, 45 passing the intersection, then going back to 35.

You didn't have to accelerate to "catch" the light. Maybe that would indicate that you could have safely stopped.

"Probably"? So you don't know how fast you were going.

Clearly the "gun" was pointed at you? How do you know that? People argue that all the time because that's the way people are.