22350 CA Speeding Ticket

I must disagree. I don't know about Fargo, but around here, tickets are simply dolled out to make money. Almost everybody speeds by a MINIMUM of 15 over in the DFW metromess. While I do my level best to not speed, and use the cruise control avidly, there have been times that it simply has been too unsafe to do so. I was caught once, and decided to fight the ticket. Since it was going to cost the city more than what the ticket generated in revenue, they dismissed it by mail.

My neighbour went through the school zone in the town of Roanoke. They had (if not still do) the lights coming on, and shutting off a couple of minutes apart, generating an opprotunity where unknowing motorists would be "speeding" through the zone. She was nabbed in the zone. I saw the exact same thing going through the next morning, but noticed the slower traffic oncoming. Cop looked at me funny like "how did you know?" I went to court with her as a witness, and threatened to blow their entrapment ring out of the water - they dropped her ticket like a hot potato.

Third was going through the regular mess that the Ft. Worth PD creates during racing events at North Texas Motor Speedway. The area was laid out even more screwed up than usual, so I pulled out of traffic to ask how to get around. My show of gratitude for trying to not impede the flow of traffic was two tickets. I fought those, and they were also dismissed at the plea hearing with no explanation. Oddly enough, the only person to pay a fine in court that morning, was the one with a lawyer. Every other person's tickets were tossed without even being asked for an excuse by the judge.

I do agree with the others to use this as a learniing experience and slow down. Even with that, buy a Valentien One radar detectir, and never leave home without it. I have one, and it HAS saved my bacon in a couple of instances where I've simply been tired, and didn't notice speed limit reductions. However, don't just to the sheeple thing and fork over your money. Do some searching on the net for questions and methods of beating the ticket. They have to PROVE beyond a reasonable doubt that you were the one nabbed, and asking the right questions can win the day in court. Dress professionally, and don't have an attitude.

Go here for an interesting read. It will give you some pointers to follow, and directions for getting information that you can use to fight your ticket:

ticket page

 

I have had some similar experiences. I got a ticket once where the speed limit dropped 10 MPH and the local Keystone Kops had the radar detection gear five feet behind the speed limit change sign. They were writing tickets in the 55 zone, claiming that the 45 zone was in effect BEFORE you got to the sign, or before you even saw the sign. Scam? You bet. However, I was too young to and unconnected/networked to know how to fight it.

I got a ticket for not having a tag after buying a new Toyota. The poorly trained new state trooper said "dey ain't no grace period". I took the a copy of the law with me to court. Won.

I got a ticket for failure to stop at the very edge of the road. I stopped at the white stop line. Local Keystone Kop said that the painted white stop line did not matter, gave me ticket. I got camera, took pics. Tree hid the veiw of the Keystone Kop from the view of the white stop line, processed pics. Showed all to judge, receipts, same day as ticket processing. Kop told judge "those trees obviously grew and the pics were taken weeks after the ticket was written". The judge then looked straight at me and said "did you stop there"? Yes. CASE DISMISSED said he and then that cop swore up a blue streak right then and there at the judge.

The last time I got a ticket I was stopped for stopping at the edge of the road. The Keystone Kop wanted to counsel me, I did not think he even intended to ticket me but lecture me. He says "you stopped at the edge of the road, you gotta stop at the white line". I think about that four way stop intersection in my neighborhood and respectfully say "officer there is not white lines anywhere at that intersection". He said, and I quote directly here THE IMAGINARY WHITE LINE.

I could not help it, I do not mean to be disrepectful but I bust a gut laughing at that and right in the officers face. He got mad too, and wrote me the ticket. Judge listened to his lies and found against me at court. I appealed, it was throw out.

(I recall now laughing so hard at that Kop that tears ran down my face, it was the best laugh I had had in months, maybe years)

I have a ton of similar stories.

 

Funny how the law-and-order crowd is the first and loudest to denigrate the law, when it's a law they don't like or they get caught. Life's full of humor that way.

 

I don't mind the traffic laws at all. Being ticketed by an ignorant with a badge for driving a new car while lawfully under a grace period is VERY frustrating.

Getting ticketed by the ignorant while fully complying with the law by stopping at the white stop line is VERY frustrating.

Getting ticketed for stopping at the edge of the road because I ran past some imaginary white line, which is not in the code either is VERY frustrating.

In each case I took the copy of the relevant statute and the last two times pictures. Out of three court appearances, one cop failed to show, two lied to the judge.

I was on a jury that tried a crack cocaine possesion case. The guy did not have the stuff on him, he was in another room of the apartment but the law said he was in "constructive possession" of crack by just being in the residence. Two undercover guys testified. They totally contradicted each other. When I mentioned that to the jury, a guy said the police were not on trial, the defendant was. Defendant did not testify. I did not point out that the task of the jury was to try the evidence, which was contradictory. I would have gotten the guy off had I been the lawyer for the defendant but the public defender was doing such a good job for the DA that the Assistand DA complained "judge, that is my evidence"...now, hush said the judge.
I could hear that railroad whistle in the background.

I figure if you are not going to speak up in your own defense you are guilty, so guilty it was. The defense conceeded the case from the beginning, showed us the evidence.

I had to call 911 for an ambulance twice when a guy shot himself in the head.

I had a cop pull me over coming home late from work. I slowed to a crawl, pulled up to the pump and started the gas. He asked I not do it and I payed no attention to him. He asked where I had been that night, I said none of your business. You were weaving, no I wasn't. Unlike another time, he did not get to hear that I did not drink at all. After he gave me back my DL I decided not to make some enemy of the guy, I told him I was coming home from working late and irritated. He said he was bored. We parted amiably.

I have many more such stories.

 

Draw nigh and ye shall be heard!

 

Excellent decision! Glad you worked through that successfully.

Now, like my son and myself, hopefully we've all learned a valuable lesson here. :wink: