Ways to get out of a speeding ticket in Cali?

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Mustang Dave

As Frank said, don't speed. Especially in an area where you're likely to get caught.
I've been stopped for speeding twice. The first time was in May, 1977. I was issued a warning. The second time was in April, 1978. I was issued a citation for 70+ in a 55 zone. That one doesn't count any more, now that the speed limit through there is 75MPH. It cost me thirty four bucks. That was a bit of change for a 19-year-old in 1978.
Why are you driving over the speed limit? (unless you're COASTING over the speed limit).
This forum is about miles per GALLON, not miles per HOUR.

The cop was parked in the emergency Lane on the side of the highway, I have never seen a cop sit there in my 14 years of living up here.

I was in my Corolla just cruising, where he caught me it starts to go on a downslope, it's very easy to gain 5-10mph on that short downhill if your not paying attention, like I wasn't.

[Cobb]

Whats the saying? Dont do the crime if you cant do the time?

[Baltothewolf]

Originally Posted by Cobb

Whats the saying? Dont do the crime if you cant do the time?

Yea Yea Yea :P.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

The cop was parked in the emergency Lane on the side of the highway, I have never seen a cop sit there in my 14 years of living up here.

Where else would you expect to find a radar cop? There's a first time for everything. Apparently his jurisdiction needs the 'revenue enhancement'.

I won't lecture you about not speeding, as others already have. That's condescending and patronizing. Besides, it's too late to change the past, and it's not the advice you are seeking.

I was in my Corolla just cruising, where he caught me it starts to go on a downslope, it's very easy to gain 5-10mph on that short downhill if your not paying attention, like I wasn't.

Forget the rationalizations about why you were speeding. Here's the reality.

You can go to court and plea bargain, admitting your guilt. The prosecutor will pursue this and expect you to if you plead not guilty, because it's easier for everyone on the other side of the aisle to get an conviction with no effort involved.

You can hire a lawyer (but you might end up with the same result).

If you really want to fight it you can begin by reading every book about fighting a traffic summons that you can lay your hands on, and act as your own attorney. This takes time and effort and it might work if you have the intestinal fortitude to defend yourself. You will need to follow the very strict rules of courtroom protocol to the letter, so as not to irritate the judge. However, you might at least gain the satisfaction of mercilessly grilling the cop on the witness stand. If any of his testimony is "canned", you make him squirm if he doesn't have all his facts straight.

I once had the situation of being faced with three traffic violations issued and having two cops as witnesses. I pleaded not guilty and refused to plea bargain before trial. The intimidation factor by the prosecution when going to court can be overwhelming. One cop recited a 'canned' testimony that was essentially perjury and the other did not testify. I represented myself and made him sweat when questioning him during the trial. When on the stand, the cop looked as if he would have liked to have killed me - but he was in court, not on the street, and he had to deal with my grilling him and answer all my questions. The end result? Two out of three citations were dismissed (because they had no case on those charges) and I was only fined for "disobeying a police officer". Both cops were in plainclothes and I had driven away from the scene, because in only showing a badge, his behavior at the time did not convince me that he actually was a cop. The judge thought the badge was sufficient, even though there are plenty of phony badges out there on the street.

My advice for the future? Buy a radar detector and don't leave home without it. ;-)

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Baltothewolf

The cop was parked in the emergency Lane on the side of the highway, I have never seen a cop sit there in my 14 years of living up here.

What they do here is park in the breakdown lane and pop the trunk to look more disabled and hide their light bar. Then they stand in front of the car and peek around the side to pick you off. Speeding is tough because you have to devote more attention to scanning for threats than you spend on trying to drive safely.

The only real way to get out of a ticket is to avoid getting it in the first place, and by the time a cop hits his lights the odds are you're going to get something. If you make it difficult for him, you're definitely going to get something.

This isn't a speeding lecture, but a point about efficiency: fighting a ticket costs time, money and energy and is very unlikely to work. If it does work, you've still probably put more into fighting it than you would have spent just paying the fine. Cut your losses, pay the fine and move on with your life. And when you do move on, be more aware of when you're violating rules and then be more vigilant.

[Frank Lee]

Gee, so condescending and patronizing.

Yes, it's just plain extra work to speed. You are always on the lookout for the cops- where are they, what are they doing, did they see me, oops did I stab the brakes in time, etc. vs simply don't speed and not give a hoot where the cops are because they're going to leave you alone. It's a whole different mindset and you get to relax and enjoy the drive for a change.

And as was so well pointed out it's extra money too. Right, spend significant money on a gadget that may or may not prevent speeding tickets, spend time and money researching the law, take time off work to go to court, etc. Go for it.

[Fat Charlie]

Don't stab the brakes, Frank. Your hood dipping is going to draw their attention to you and the brake lights will warn the guys behind you- you want them to overtake suddenly because it'll make them look like the real speeders.

Like any time you're on the tactical defensive, you don't want to be the most attractive target out there.

[XYZ]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

Gee, so condescending and patronizing.

Yes, preaching to the OP never to speed is condescending and patronizing. Besides, it's not helpful to him as it isn't the advice he is seeking.

And as was so well pointed out it's extra money too. Right, spend significant money on a gadget that may or may not prevent speeding tickets, spend time and money researching the law, take time off work to go to court, etc. Go for it.

My radar detector has paid for itself by now, especially in places that have unreasonably low speed limits used as revenue traps. The $100 I paid for the detector was cheap insurance compared to the cost of a revenue trap speeding ticket.

[sarguy01]

Radar detectors don't always detect as they should. Also, in Virginia, they are illegal.

As Ecomodders, we really don't need to go above the speed limit unless we are coasting into a lower speed zone. But, good luck explaining that to a cop. There are a lot of factors for making speed limits; banks in the road, prior accident history, kids in the area, farms, changes in the road when wet, etc, etc. It doesn't really matter though. If one doesn't agree with a speed limit and is speeding, they are breaking the law. I am not trying to lecture anyone, but just stating a fact. Also, I have gotten about 6-8 speeding tickets in my life. I have always gotten one on the highway and have always gotten a lesser ticket because I was honest and kind.

OP, pay the ticket and move on. It isn't worth the time and effort to fight it, especially considering you admitted on a public internet forum that you were speeding (even though it wasn't the speed you were clocked at).

Now, if losing your license was at stake, then I'd say fight it.

[Fat Charlie]

It's not really preachy, this just isn't a "how to beat a ticket" type place. It's an efficiency place, and fighting tickets simply isn't efficient. A radar detector is, though. It only has to help once, and it's more than paid for itself. Very high ROI on those things.

They don't reduce the amount of attention you need to spend on looking for cops, though. You still need to be doing everything else right and also decide whether its beeps actually mean anything to you. But if the cop's being lazy then his radar just might warn you before you see him. Every little bit helps.