Is there any help for the innocent driver?

What is the name of your state?
New York

Ok so here it is, I drive often, and for many years (Driving since I was 16 or so), Never break the law, even my family complains that I drive too slow (Always at the speed limit, and never more than 5 mph more than that). Im in Ulster county Upstate NY and I see the old Blue and White behind me, I Pull over and he gives me a ticket 42 in a 30. I have tinted windows but he lets me off on that, I am courteous and polite, and pull over in a safe spot. He tells me the ticket is a warning, that I should plead not guilty come to court, and he will help me out.

HERE IS THE PROBLEM: The ticket looks authentic, no sign of it being a warning, I cant trust him to even know me in court, and I am not insured under the car I was driving...This is a first offence (hopefully the last) I didnt admit to any wrong doing, but acted suprised at the ticket.

P.S He never even asked to see my registration (which I did have). Also he caught me while I was slowing down from a 55MPH Ramp, where the village came unexpectadly with a 30 MPH limit, and this was my first time on that road.

Can anyone help me out of this Dillema, I cant afford to get points, I live in Brooklyn the rates are $1000 + as it is.

Do what the officer said. Go to court, plead not guilty, explain to the judge that he got you while you were exiting the freeway and there is no way that you can slow down that quickly. If he didn't ticket you for the insurance, don't worry about it. If he didn't ask for your registration, don't worry about that either.

Sounds like you got caught in a speed trap. (I'd certainly define any place that drops the limit from highway speeds to 30 mph that quickly without warning as a speed trap.) I would not put too much faith in the cop's verbal statements - and especially not assume you'll be able to "hold him to his promise" if you decide to fight. He probably will not stand up in court and admit he gave you a ticket in bad faith - the best he will probably do is not show up at all. (Which usually means you win, but better not count on it.)

I know of places locally where the speed limit really does drop too quickly for the typical motorist to realize and slow down. The problem with that defense is that you must 1) admit that you were actually driving over the posted speed limit and 2) be able to prove that you could not have slowed down quickly enough. That means you need to know exactly where you were when you were clocked and how far away you were from the speed-limit sign. And in my experience, that defense only works completely if the judge KNOWS it is a speed trap and is inclined to give you a break because of that, or is feeling merciful. In your position, I'd ask traffic-court officials if there's a way for people to pay the fine without receiving points (often an option for provably safe drivers on their first offense) but if you have to go to court, stick to the general defense that you don't think the ticket was deserved.

There is a web site you might want to check (or contribute your experience to)
speedtraps.org and a CourtTV story you might want to check out.

As far as your insurance goes, it probably won't be an issue either way. I doubt they will nail you for a minor (<15mph) violation. And as long as you had the coverage required under the law for your own vehicle, you are covered no matter whose car you are driving.

Good luck!







long as you carried the required coverage in your home jurisdiction, you're not guilty of an insurance violationadm

"The ticket looks authentic, no sign of it being a warning"

You are correct. You do not need to appear in court for just a warning.

Call the clerk of court and ask for traffic school. You will have to pay the fine but the ticket will not be on your record.

Unless you change insurance companies this one ticket will probably not make any difference in your rates.

"I am courteous and polite, and pull over in a safe spot."

This is exactly the correct response to a traffic stop. Also probably the reason he did not check your registration and insurance.

Thanks a lot guys, you are great, I would greatly appriciate some more help, see at the time I got the ticket I was not under any insurance, I am now, but wasn't then, I didnt want to use a lame excuse with the cop but the fact was that I was litteraly comming to the village to go to the pharmacy and get Anti Biotics for my girlfriends baby brother. (like the cop would believe that one) well its a fact, and I have the evidence, as far as recipts go (at least I think I do). I dont usually drive without insurance, but this was my mothers car, I had grown up with it, and she thought it would be safe to let me go since I get around with directions better than most of the people in both our families (mine and my GF).

Will they nail me for lack of insurance, or will it slide? And should I get a lawyer and risk pissing off the cop, or go by myself and hope he either doesnt show, or is nice to me??

"I have tinted windows but he lets me off on that" - Violation #1

"I am not insured under the car I was driving" - Violation #2

"Also he caught me while I was slowing down from a 55MPH Ramp, where the village came unexpectadly with a 30 MPH limit, and this was my first time on that road." - Violation #3

And yet, at the beginning of this post, he says he "Never break the law"!!! And he has the cajones to say that he is an 'innocent' driver in the subject line!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!

Almost laughable...... the way that people try to 'polish their halo'...... then throw it in the dirt!!!

Accept the FACT that you were speeding. Go to court. If you get a fine, be damn glad you didn't get hit with the OTHER violations you admit to.
Sheese......

It is refreshing to hear the truth.

I don't think you need a lawyer, as long as you remember to keep your presentation very simple. I think most jurisdictions use hearing officers instead of judges in traffic cases, and they've heard all the excuses under the sun, with "sick babies" leading the hit parade. (this is not to cast doubt on your excuse, just to express my opinion that it won't cut much ice.)

When I got a ticket in a similar situation, I just told the hearing officer "I don't think I was speeding, but the officer may have thought differently, because I was decelerating as fast as I safely could." In my case, it was raining, and I measured the distance from the exit ramp to the lower speed-zone sign to help bolster my case that I was slowing down as fast as I could without losing control of the car. I also mentioned that this ticket really upset me because while I had tickets in the past, I'd made a real effort to improve my driving skills and was about to be eligible for a "safe driver" designation. It worked - the ticket was dismissed and I didn't even have to pay court costs.

As far as the insurance issue, you probably do not need to worry about that in connection with this ticket. But if you're concerned, you can simply call the traffic court clerk's office and ask them if you have any other pending citations. An insurance citation should show up - if it doesn't, don't borrow trouble by bringing it up.

HEY!!, NOT MY CAR - remember - Its my Mothers, she had tints put in - I have a clean record, I dont mess around on the road, dont watch my back for cops since I know Im not doing anything wrong, and do drive insured, I just couldnt afford insurance and cancelled it IM IN COLLEGE IN NYC (Enough said).
I did not ask for your criticism, though if you choose to, ur welcome to post it Im not the Site Admin.
The fact is I got caught in an unfamiliar place, doing something that is not familiar to me (Speeding) which I do not even know that I was doing, as far as I was concerned, I was going at speed limit, But it is possible that he caught me while I was slowing down since he said that he saw that I was slowing down.

All this whining and crying and posts about speed traps (it wasn't), 'hearing officers' (not), etc. and everyone seems to be missing one HUGE fact.

The writer admits his GUILT!!!
Folks, get with the program. This is a LEGAL site. If you want to glom on about all that other crap, take it elsewhere. This guy is guilty of the ticket (or warning) and should now accept the consequences of his actions..... even if they weren't intended.

Yes, I agree.

JETX said:

Folks, get with the program. This is a LEGAL site. If you want to glom on about all that other crap, take it elsewhere. This guy is guilty of the ticket (or warning) and should now accept the consequences of his actions..... even if they weren't intended.

Click to expand...

If it's a legal site, discussions of legal defense strategies are appropriate.

msincognito said:

If it's a legal site, discussions of legal defense strategies are appropriate.

Click to expand...

Okay, lets see how your inane post was 'defense strategies':

"I don't think you need a lawyer, as long as you remember to keep your presentation very simple."
*** Totally accurate. But, no 'defensive strategy'.

"I think most jurisdictions use hearing officers instead of judges in traffic cases,"
*** First, this is not correct. Nor is it 'strategy'.

"and they've heard all the excuses under the sun, with "sick babies" leading the hit parade. (this is not to cast doubt on your excuse, just to express my opinion that it won't cut much ice.)"
*** Correct there.

"When I got a ticket in a similar situation, I just told the hearing officer "I don't think I was speeding, but the officer may have thought differently, because I was decelerating as fast as I safely could." In my case, it was raining, and I measured the distance from the exit ramp to the lower speed-zone sign to help bolster my case that I was slowing down as fast as I could without losing control of the car. I also mentioned that this ticket really upset me because while I had tickets in the past, I'd made a real effort to improve my driving skills and was about to be eligible for a "safe driver" designation. It worked - the ticket was dismissed and I didn't even have to pay court costs."
*** And how was YOUR situation similar. From your post, the only similarity that I see is both of you got tickets. And hell, it wasn't even in the same STATE much less the same court, was it???

"As far as the insurance issue, you probably do not need to worry about that in connection with this ticket. But if you're concerned, you can simply call the traffic court clerk's office and ask them if you have any other pending citations. An insurance citation should show up - if it doesn't, don't borrow trouble by bringing it up."
*** Totally irrelevant.... he wasn't ticketed for insurance, nor did he even ask for any 'advice' on it.

Summary, I don't see ANY 'defensive strategy' in your post. How about showing me in case I missed it???

You're right about two things. New York does not use hearing officers though it does use lay judges in its local "justice courts" where most traffic cases are adjudicated. And its laws are different from Florida's, thank heavens, because the NY laws are a tangled mess.

However, there is a parallel. Both the original poster and I were coming off an exit ramp into a very low-speed zone. (In my case, it was a reduction from 65 mph down to 35 with little warning.) The strategy I used was PRIMARILY to say "I don't think I was speeding." When the judge asked me why, I explained about the road conditions and the distance between the speed-limit signs and said I had photos and measurements (which I did.)

What I didn't do - and what I don't think DIMKA should do - is load the justice/hearing officer/whoever down with a bunch of extraneous info. Though I did, in essence, ask them to give me a break, which is a very common and effective strategy in traffic court.

You can certainly call that inane and non-strategic, but hey, it worked. I would have been happy with non-adjudication, and was thrilled to have the case dismissed outright.

As for the insurance issue, yes, DIMKA asked. (his/her second post, last paragraph.)