Does anyone know what the laws are in California regarding 94 in a 65 zone? I just got a radar ticket for 94 and my neighbor said that I would be prosecuted for wreckless driving because of the speed. I'm thinking about getting a lawyer to represent me if this is the case. Any experts on the subject know what the law is?

 

I don

 

You are right about the recklessness part. Very stiff penalties for that.

Chris is TOTALLY correct about proper defense.

I made the foolish assumption that a judge would be fair on a ticket I got in a situation where the signs were placed incorrectly and invisibly for a "No right turn on red".

Anyway, long story short, Judge cut the fine by 50% but didn't listen to what I was saying... Just said 'clean record' so I'll be nice.

Pissed me off as the ticket was totally unfair - that sign was part of the local PD's revenue base.

But my point is that they are not listening unless you are talking to them the way they are used to being talked to.

Get represented or this could cost you much more than the lawyer costs.

Dan

 

I can only speak for Texas law here, but if you are caught going 25+ over the speed limit, then you are "supposed" to go to jail. Cops, usually, break it down so you just get a ticket.

It will be difficult to contest that much error. If you can find a technicality error, then you can get off on that. Otherwise, contest and hope the officer does not show up. But get represented. It will be worth it for 50-100 bucks.

 

You should just be OK. California law specifies 2 points go on the license if driving over 100 or 30 mph over posted limit, otherwise just 1 point. If he didn't cite you for reckless driving, I doubt that will change. You will almost certainly not be eligible for traffic school, however.

How do I know? I was recently cited for driving 92 in a 65, and paid the whopping fine. I couldn't fight it because I was nabbed too far away from home--plus they had me dead to rights. I did take the trouble to look up the laws (which are on the DMV's web site, if you are interested) before I copped to it.

Good luck.

 

I believe it is still 30mph over the posted limit in California and they are suppose to arrest you too. 94mph in a 65mph zone is only 29mph over by my calculation. The CHP oficer MAY have been doing you a favor by making it only 94mph. Or at least getting himself out of doing all the arrest report paperwork.

In my former life I was pulled over by CHP for an excess of 105mph in a 55mph zone. Was only given a strong verbal warning about the wreckless driving laws and then let go since it was 3am and no traffic around.

 

AY2KS2K, your violation would be unsafe speed which is 22350 under the violation code. Check your ticket to see whether he wrote 22359-VC or something else. Like others said, I doubt that it is wreckless driving. I would fight the ticket in court so goto court then plead not guilty. Be sure to ask the district attorney for discovery request (the officer's notes, his radar calibration, etc...) so you can prepare for your case. Make sure to show up on your trial date if there is a chance that the cop doesn't show up, your ticket will be dismissed. However, if you see him show up at your trial date (if he does you will most likely lose your case) then you can always change your plead to NO CONTEST before they proceed with your trial so you don't have to sit thru the whole fiasco. In addition, changing your plead at the your trial would also give you the opportunity to go to traffic school if you haven't gone to traffic school in the last 18 months or the judge will lesser your fine. If you go thru your trial, you will NOT be able to take advantage of traffic school then that 1 point of moving violation will appear on your driving record. Finally, (you can try this, I'm not sure if it is still working but it's worth a try) if you decide to go thru the trial and lost and cannot go to traffic school, ask the court that you would like to pay the fine in 30 days. When you get home, sign the check for the fine but write a small amount over the fine amount. For example, if the fine is $300, sign the check for $305. That will force the court to return a $5 check back to you but the trick is not to cash that check, throw it away. Since you don't cash the check, your case is not closed yet because all the financial stuff is not reconciled in the computer therefore the court cannot input your moving violation in the DMV system. Just a way to beat the system. Anyway, good luck. Good luck to me too because my traffic trial on Monday. (60 in 40 zone). Crossing my fingers!

 

Thanks for all the advice. I especially like the one about sending in five bucks more for the fine!

 

I think the question is "Were you going 94 mph?" If so, then plead guilty and pay your fine. If this is your first offense, the judge will probably go easy on you if you honestly explain the situation, rather than trying to hide behind a little technicality (which they can see right through, 90% of the time).

On the other hand, if you were indeed not going that fast, then by all means get yourself a lawyer, because they have a way in court of making you look like a stuttering idiot before the stand (-:

 

Dude, time to seriously consider track events! Legal run-ins on public roads suck!