Pinky

Nice day, sunny, not even spirited driving and got stopped for 40 in a 25. Honestly I don't believe it myself. Ticket was statute 14-218a Traveling excessive speed. NOT SPEEDING that's a separate statute. With an S2000 I can make the case that any reasonable person driving this car on a clear sunny day light traffic that 40 is not excessive for the conditions.

I will see if they can cut me a deal I don't want the points. Even if I pay the full ticket amount that's fine I just don't want the moving violation.

Thoughts or advise. I am going to spend $20 bucks and get my DMV driving history report to bring with me. Also thinking of going down the road of the "discovery process". Requesting all kinds of info about the officer, his arrest and ticket history(for the 3 months prior to my stop), info on record about my stop, info about the radar unit used and it's testing history! Though I am not sure if that would just flag me in the system or not. This way to see if he typically profiles sports cars, convertibles, men, or time of the month.(stopped on the 30th of course to likely meet quota!) At minimum I will show up with 2 defenses. 1. That is not an unreasonable speed. Yes higher than the posted limit but not excessive. 2. My clean driving history of well over 7 years!(if they go back that far) Not sure what else that I can bring but am still researching.

S2kRally

the only problem I see here is your saying 40 in a 25 is not excessive. I think if it goes to a hearing, going 15mph over any speed limit would be considered "excessive". its going to be the judges call.


I agree with you, 40 in a 25 is not excessive IMO , but a judge may think otherwise.

my suggestions is take the discovery route as well, present all your evidence, but mind your manners at the hearing, The judges opinion on your character is most likely going to influence the verdict

Lainey

I agree you must mind your manners. However, you (or any of us) do not get to decide what is or isn't excessive. The speed limits are set and posted. If you are in a residential area, and the speed limit is 25, 40 MPH is 15 MPH over the limit and excessive. Would you want your kid riding a bike on the sidewalk when some one drives by at 40 MPH where the speed limit is 25?

You may not need to bring your driving record, the court likely will have it at the ready, but it won't hurt to be prepared. These courts have heard every argument in the book, they generally aren't impressed. IF you have a clean record, I'd say your best bet is to apologize, say you didn't realize you were driving that fast, mention your clean record and hope they give you a break, i.e. reduce fine or points.

Hopefully, you didn't argue with the police offer. Those things are likely noted somewhere and even if the traffic violations are handled by a magistrate (office need not be present), I'm pretty sure the magistrate knows the score before you appear.

Good luck!

PS I don't think this argument will help at all. With an S2000 I can make the case that any reasonable person driving this car on a clear sunny day light traffic that 40 is not excessive for the conditions.
They don't care what car you're driving.

Pinky

I was polite of course. My only mistake was stating an estimated speed when he asked do you know how fast you were going? I SHOULD have said "No officer, I don't know exactly." Though I was and still am genuinely shocked. As for kids on bikes, balls etc. Well being a dad myself I am torn but there was no sidewalk and no kids playing just open road.

Oh and of course this guy was in-front of a mini-van so didn't have a direct view behind only his side mirror or possibly just his radar for notation on when someone was coming. Without a clear view/line of sight behind him I call into question if the radar was bouncing off the vehicle he was parked in-front of. I should have asked can I see the readout on the display for myself? Though I think that would really have made him remember me more. Not that the one of a half dozen S2000's in town doesn't stand out. LOL!

Lainey

Rick's last ticket was for 48 in a 40. We were very surprised he was ticketed and not given a verbal or written warning, as he had a clean record. I think most of us assume if you are just 8-10 mph over the speed limit, it's not a big deal. Apparently, that was not the case.

Yep, maybe the cop liked to stop sports cars, maybe it was the fact that the officer saw a radar detector in the car once we were pulled over...but a ticket was written.

He went to court. A phone call by a "connection" prior to the hearing, may have helped, but the magistrate reviewed the driving record, saw it was clean and tossed the ticket out.

Rule #1 when you are stopped, never ever admit to your speed.

lotus7racer

Well, my experience in speeding ticket:
Opppps not me but my wife. Twice on the current and some history from the previous. One reason our insurance was so high due to her problem being an outlaw.

When you get a ticket, you will declare "guilty or not guilty" through the ticket form. If you can't stand the court, simply send your payment. Depending on the severity of the infraction, you might get a points or may not. If you plead "not guilty" you have to plan your defense. You can also plead guilty during your court time and
be in the court very early so you can talk to the prosecutor. You can bargain to the prosecutor and go from there. Most of the time the prosecutor will deal half way
but not letting you go. If you don't like the prosecutor deal......

If you decide "not guilty", chances are you will lose because it's almost like a kangaroo court & the cop will show up.
The best I can advice is to find a cheap lawyer specializing in traffic violation. There are so many out there (in Hartford) and charge $200.00. They do nothing except this type of work. I got away everytime I use a lawyer. The prosecutor, the judge & the lawyer ganged up together to make a living. You will say nothing and he will bargain for you.
If you don't have much traffic violation history, i can guarantee you will be spared BY hiring a traffic infraction lawyer.

jojipoji

Jim,
Where did you get your ticket? When is your court date? Who pulled you over a state trooper or municipal cop? Plead guilty and you might not necessarily get points but your insurance will get notice irregardless as long as it is a moving violation. Definitely plead not guilty and bring your driving history. Hopefully you were respectful to the cop as the disposition of the driver is often in the po report associated with the ticket. Talk to the prosecutor and suggest a charitable donation. Depending on the court I might know the prosecutor or some of the public defenders. Btw If you got pulled over in Norwalk you are screwed. The dont cut anyone a break.

corrado_driver

go to court and plea good driving if you haven't gotten any speeding tickets in last 2 years they will throw it out. I have done it many times. Going and saying that the officer is at fault or saying they are meeting the quota will make the judge angry. Just be a very polite person or they will not toss it.

Lainey

CTMechE

I would just go in with your driving record in hand and say you're normally squeaky clean. Arguing what the speed limit ought to be seems like a very bad idea. Especially regarding what car you have. They don't care, and I would imagine would be somewhat taken aback by someone claiming they deserve better than what applies to everyone equally.

I agree with the argument that people should question the whole "Speed Limit" system... from the time the speed limits are set for a given stretch of road to the selective enforcement of the rules. But that's an argument best saved for when you *don't* have a ticket. Bottom line is that you're asking for a favor, which is not the time to point out why the system is wrong.