I have had my new R56 for 11 days, and received my first speeding ticket in over 20 years. I was clocked at 74 in what I thought was a 65 Mph zone, but it turned out to be a 50 mph zone. I was surprised at the rate the lidar clocked me at, I surely did not think I was going that fast.

Currently considering appealing.

 

Fight that Baba!!!!!!!

 

good luck appealing a ticket for 24 MPH over the speed limit; just hope the cop doesn't show up

 

You will find that the effort and time it takes to fight a ticket simply is not worth it, especially if you have a clean record and don't need to try to preserve your driving privledges.

When the gubmen is printing money by the side of the road, you haven't got a chance. But good luck if you do fight it and win.

 

I disagree. Fighting at ticket is ALWAYS worth it, even if you only manage to have the charge reduced. Bending over and letting the man spank you without any resistance does not help to improve the system nor your driving record!

If everyone fought their tickets (and I mean everyone), the courts would become so stuffed full, they'd have to focus on worst offenders just to reduce the caseload. Either that, or set more reasonable speed limits & enforcement.

I get really ticked off at how often politicians have had speed limits set artificially low, specifically to generate more revenue. All too often, the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) is blatantly ignored.

Fight the system when it doesn't make sense. It's a major reason why I am a lifetime member of the National Motorists Association (NMA), a non-profit devoted to your rights as a motorist. I may not agree 100% with everything they do (and I don't), but the vast majority of their causes are right on the money, in my opinion.

This is not a politicial issue (in terms of Left vs. Right or Republican vs. Democrat). This is us fighting for our motoring rights, regardless of where we stand on other topics.

 

The problem with fighting the ticket is, even if you were going 51 in a 50 zone you'd be guilty. If you testify that you didn't think you were going 74 but thought you were doing what you believed was the speed limit (65) when the limit is really 50, you're guilty. Now, if the limit is realy 65, then you might have something, but you'd need to prove, via photos, what the limit really is in that area.

If you take it to hearing, most judges, in my experience, will be more harsh with the fines if you're found guilty. Around here, if you have a clean record, you can mail in a fine and request supervision, which keeps the ticket off your record for insurance purposes.

Either way, good luck.

 

Doesn't have to. Just needs to write an affidavit.

You could hire an attorney that specializes in this sort of thing. Fight it. Subpoena all the radar's (or in this case LIDAR's) calibration and certification records... probably confirm the Officer's training on the unit. If anything is out of place, or not up to date it'll get tossed.

All else fails, ask for a hearing and a deferral. If you haven't done it before and can keep your record clean for a year or so, it goes away and doesn't effect insurance.

Good luck. 24 over, though. Ouch!

 

[quote=rockridge;1749064]I was surprised at the rate the lidar clocked me at, I surely did not think I was going that fast.
quote]


OK now, I am from Ca, so I am a little slow. I went to visit my daughter in Boston last summer and found that people in Boston do talk a little different - Here in Ca we have Radar - could you please explain what the Boston term (lidar) is???

 

No linguistic differences here, LIDAR uses light waves (RADAR uses radio waves).

 

Like I said - We (Me) CA people are slow - joke is on me

In fighting the ticket in court - a lot would depend on what you said to the officer when they gave you the ticket and where the officer was - if you admitted speeding and it was a clean line of sight - might not work - who knows, maybe the judge is on our forum and likes Mini's???

 

Definitely fight the ticket. My hubby got a 77 in a 55 a few months ago. He went to court, chatted with the officer and it was reduced to a 65 in a 55. They will be extremely reasonable if this is your first offense in years. It saved us several hundred dollars and didn't hit our insurance at all. This is worth your time.

 

It might not have effected rates, but it will visible to your insurance company... that is, unless you got a deferral. Thats the only way in Washington to get it not to show up on insurance... and if he got the penalty lowered, it's not likley he got a deferral.

 

I spent a good part of last night researching the do's and don'ts on appealing your ticket. I still need to determine the effect on my insurance rates.

One more note. Here in Massachusetts, there is a SURCHARGE of $50 for every speeding violation for the "Head Injury Fund". Another tax from your friendly legislators in taxachusetts.

 

I don't know about you guys, but for me, it's not worth the time to fight it. In CA, we can do traffic school once every 18mo, and in most areas, you can do it online which takes like an hour. The traffic school keeps the ticket off your record to keep the insurance surcharges from killing you over the next several years. The fine sucks, but so does a freakin' day at traffic court when I can be out selling making money.

Second or more moving violations in the 18mo window, it's fight time.

 

I don't know how it is in Mass, but in NC anything over 15 mph over the speed limit is an automatic 30-day suspension of one's driver's license.

Also, any 3-point ticket will increase our liability insurance rates by 106% for three years - and that does not include comp increases (if any). Ka-ching!!

I learned a long time ago that it's always less costly to pay a lawyer now than to pay my insurance company for the next three years. And, regardless how much it costs to get out of the ticket, eliminating any record on my driver's record is always a good thing.

Pay the money.. fight it.

 

I agree with fighting the ticket especially since it was the first moving violation in 20 years. Do a driving school and stay clean for a year and the ticket will be gone. Don't really know about Massachussettsss (sp?)

 

I'm with Edge...go to court. I got a ticket (in my truck) a few months ago. I decided not to pay it but to go to court. Everybody shows up but the officer. He got in a traffic accident that morning (prolly couldn't drive ) and couldn't make it. Judge let everyone go. No fine. No points. Woo Hoo! It was well worth my time.

 

The last two times I got stopped for speeding in PA I got a ticket for somthing else. 1st time 70 in a 40 zone, I got a ticket for not signing my registration. 2nd time 78 in a 55 zone, I got a ticket for disobeying a traffic device (the speed limit sign)

They don't want to show up in court. They still get ~$100. I avoid the points. They know I won't contest saving $$$ and points. Win-win.

 

I've been stopped a couple of times in the past 15 or 20 years. Showed up in court, and the cop didn't. Case dismissed.

One other time--they misspelled my name! Judge asked me if I could show my license to prove spelling--you never saw me whip out my license fast enough--case dismissed. (How you can spell "King" as "Kinh" I don't know, but I was happy enough! )

 

how can a cop give a ticket to a Mini? JK I find it very hard to keep the speed limit myself

 

Fight it! I've always fought motor vehicle tickets, speak to the DA and try to plea down to another violation, ie. failure to signal, failure to yeld right-of-way. etc. Anything to get the word "SPEEDING" off the ticket. (In New York anyway)

 

One time the cop wrote the wrong date on the ticket. It was 11/12 and he wrote 11/11. I didn't go to work on the Veterans day but I didn't mention it at the court because I didn't want to mess with the judge.

 

This is how I would contest this ticket.

Assumptions:
1) auto is new to me
2) haven't driven it much (hopefully, can document with low miles at time of ticket)
3) haven't driven much at highway speed (wanted to preserve my new auto so I had only driven at this point on secondary roads)
4) auto is quite sporty and I've never had anything like this before (still getting used to it)


Negotiation:
1) would apply the assumptions as individual arguments
2) would add that haven't had ticket in over 20 years

I think this defense could be successful and it is worth it to fight it. It may keep your insurance rates where they are not to have a ticket. It might also keep your record clean so that if you really get in trouble in the future, they don't have this ticket to also form opinions about you.

In California, we can got to 2 evenings of traffic school if our ticket is not for somethign outrageous. If you go, then you don't get the ticket or the points. You can take the class on-line, too. it is a very good system because it provides additional training to drivers and keeps your record clean. The only catch is you can't go more than 1 tiem in 18 months. So, after traffic school you have to cool it for a year and a half.

 

Yep, I'm with Edge on this one... ALWAYS go to court to fight the speeding ticket.

The reasons he gave, I also agree with. Stop the revenue-generating adventures. It's ridiculous. On my commute, you can count on the local police sitting in their same spots the last week of every month... gotta get those bucks into their coffers.

And for those who think he can't fight it just because he was 24 over: Not a factor. He may not get it removed from his record, but at least he can get it reduced, in terms of points and $$.

I got nailed last year for 47 in a 30 (ridiculous spot for a 30 mph zone), took it to court, had it reduced to 0-9 over limit, 1 point instead of 2 points on my record, and from $135 to $65. Worth every minute of my time to go to court.

The only time I wouldn't go to court to fight a speed ticket is if you get nailed in a school zone. Judges aren't going to dismiss or reduce those.

 

I don't believe that is what others are saying. Yes, guilty is guilty but that might not be the point. I think the days of cops not showing up are long gone (not the issue). However, you may get a deal, guilty or not. This may be regionally dependent but sometimes they give a lower fine, lower points, whatever. That's better than just rolling over and playing dead.

What's the worst that can happen by going to fight it? Your guilty. Well, you already knew you were guilty, right? So maybe they cut you a break?

What's the worst that can happen by mailing in the money? Your guilty and get cut no break.

Fight the ticket.