Speeding violation advice needed...

Motodrew

Motodrew

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I understand this really doesn't apply to the LS, but you guys are the only people I really could come up with in order to ask. If this post needs to be moved then so be it.

Two friends and I were out riding motorcycles when we came around a corner and the Iowa State Patrol clocked us at 94, and locked in at 90. He offered to drop the ticket to 79 in order for us not to lose our liscense. Evidently 25+ over the speed limit is a felony offense or somethin...

I guess my concern is, if I decide to take this to court, do I have a strong case? These bikes can go 0-60 in 2 seconds and 60-0 in 3 seconds. How is there any proof to which one of us he clocked? I honestly was riding in the 2nd position, but where is the evidence that we all were moving at that speed? I guess I'm just looking for some other opinions on my case... I appreciate your time and efforts...

D r e w
 
Pay the fine.
Go to traffic school.

He got you. He might have you on video. He already cut you a break. Don't push your luck.

Unless you want to get gamble a felony citation, and the odds are against you. And you don't want to piss off the judge wasting his time. You're not going to get any sympathy from the judge, taking that cop off the street to appear in court, and saying "did he technically clock "Me" going 90+mph, or was it the friend riding along side me?" If it goes wrong, you'll be riding the bus AND paying an even higher fine.
 
One thing you can do if your brave enough to pursue this ..is to see when was the last time the officers radar was calibrated. could be off if ya know what i mean its just an idea.
 
Call an attorney..............

I disagree with Calabrio. Call an attorney, have him bargain it down to a fine only, no point situation. If we are expected to follow the rules, then so is the officer. If he had more than one vehicle in the beam at the time that he took the reading, then he did not follow the procedures for using the radar gun. It has been proven time and time again that when there is more than one vehicle in the beam, the gun may be reading the closing or differential speed, and not the actual vehicle speed. I have actually won a case on similar findings, wish that I could find the website that I used as a reference fo rthe case. Either way, you may deserve the fine, but they don't have to try to add the points that may also raise your insurance as well as other bad things. I for one believe that the multiple punishments for a single infraction are starting to go way overboard. It is nothing but a money making racket for some of these departments.
Good Luck.
 
Just a question.....

Calabrio said:
Pay the fine.
Go to traffic school.

He got you. He might have you on video. He already cut you a break. Don't push your luck.

Unless you want to get gamble a felony citation, and the odds are against you. And you don't want to piss off the judge wasting his time. You're not going to get any sympathy from the judge, taking that cop off the street to appear in court, and saying "did he technically clock "Me" going 90+mph, or was it the friend riding along side me?" If it goes wrong, you'll be riding the bus AND paying an even higher fine.
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but why do you Florida guys almost always seem to be on the side of the cops?? Not trying to start a flame war or anything, but everytime there seems to be an issue regarding cops, the florida posse always errs on the side of the Police. They are believe it or not, wrong as much as they are right.
 
bufordtpisser said:
but why do you Florida guys almost always seem to be on the side of the cops?? Not trying to start a flame war or anything, but everytime there seems to be an issue regarding cops, the florida posse always errs on the side of the Police. They are believe it or not, wrong as much as they are right.
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But we know that he was right in this instance.
The original poster doesn't say "I was not going that fast." He's saying, how do I know he clocked me, specifically, not the guy I was riding along side. He's arguing some lame technical detail that doesn't matter.

The cop cut him a break once. The ticket isn't even that unreasonably expensive. Why waste the time of the court, the time of the officer, while risking a greater offense.

"Lawyer up" are you mad? It's about $150 ticket. The phone call to the lawyer will cost more than that.

And if you get a judge involved, and the officer has to come in, there's a high likelihood that the penalty will be worse. Maybe you will get the wreckless driving charge or your license revoked. The evidence indicates you were exceeding 90mph, not just under 80mph now.

If you're going to speed, be ready to pay the ticket. If you're going to play that game, recognize you will pay to play.
 
im a florida guy.. i sometimes pay the fine.. at times i dont.. cops here are dicks and most of them are in collaboration with the judge for the hearing.. whether the cop shows or not.. ur still gonna get heard and still gonna get that ticket.. maybe the judge takes it easy.. but if u take it to court. they usualyl find more :q:q:q:q to charge u with.. LITTLE things..
 
hey why'd you stop anyways?? jp.. yea get a lawyer and bump it down to a no pointer with a fine. the fine will be more, but its worth it over insurance points. careless= no points (in nj anyways)
 
bufordtpisser said:
I disagree with Calabrio. Call an attorney, have him bargain it down to a fine only, no point situation. If we are expected to follow the rules, then so is the officer. If he had more than one vehicle in the beam at the time that he took the reading, then he did not follow the procedures for using the radar gun. It has been proven time and time again that when there is more than one vehicle in the beam, the gun may be reading the closing or differential speed, and not the actual vehicle speed. I have actually won a case on similar findings, wish that I could find the website that I used as a reference fo rthe case. Either way, you may deserve the fine, but they don't have to try to add the points that may also raise your insurance as well as other bad things. I for one believe that the multiple punishments for a single infraction are starting to go way overboard. It is nothing but a money making racket for some of these departments.
Good Luck.
Click to expand...

This is the best advice. Always hire a lawyer.
 
Accept the fact you were speeding and pay the fine. So what if you may not have been doing 90 or 94. YOU WERE SPEEDING!!!!!! He cut you a break for 79. Pay the fine and be greatful you still have the privilege of driving. Thats right, driving is a privilege, NOT A RIGHT. If your worried about the points, get a lawyer. It will cost you more. But no points against your record.

BTW You broke the law. Own up to it. Let me guess. Your buddy MADE you do it.:lol:
 
It's called a consequence of your decision. Take it like a man. :) You might also want to thank the cop for the break that let you keep your license.

That being said, I think it really sucks that speed alone can cost someone their license! I think the magic number here in California is 100mph.
 
There is no point system in Iowa, usually three speeding tickets means an increase in your insurance and multiple violations causes a suspension. But the insurance company drops them after three years then your rates go down. I was clocked in Indiana going 80 in a 55 the violation carried over to Iowa law(since I'm a registered driver in Iowa) and I had to go to driving school and be on driving probation for one year.
25+ over the speed limit is a major offense and you could have your license suspended unless you go the same route I did. I'm not sure if getting a lawyer is all that neccesary unless you have multiple trafic violations. Keep your eyes open on the road...
 
Ya i think the other dumb traffic violations I have is a failure to stop at a stop sign (which was bogus... came to complete stop w/o putting my feet down) and a speeding ticket for 60 in 55... As for my fellow riders, one of them is going to talk to his lawyer and I'll have to see what he says...
 
Plead guilty, you can't really win unless the officer isn't there. Then talk to the prosecutor and see if you can get some of the points dropped.
 
KD00LS said:
Plead guilty, you can't really win unless the officer isn't there. Then talk to the prosecutor and see if you can get some of the points dropped.
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That is just plain not true. Some of you people actually need to learn how the law system works before giving advice on it.

I repeat - always hire a lawyer. Yes he was speeding - doesn't need to give up his right to a fair trial too. It's not weasling out of something - it's defending his right to face his accusors(spelling).
 
I agree....I was told if the officer can not make it to the court they either throw it out or give you another day to come back....I dont agree with cops around here....There is alot of BS stuff they try and get away with....

Good luck with your stuff
 
I'd rather pay the fine than pay the Attorney. Depends on what you are going to gain. Is the day in court worth it? I agree if you did it you shouldn't be too upset with paying the fine. You know the consequences of your actions.

I hate the games attorney's play. Technicalities to lie a person out of a crime or find the committed (seems pretty low to me) Look at Michael Jackson and OJ.
 
Hey Drew, request a trial by declaration. If you play your cards right, you could get it thrown out. I was with my buddy and we were headed to a car show and he was in his magnum behind me and it was like 7:30 in the the morning in the middle of no where and this CHP was sitting on the side of the road and we were going 95 in a 70 zone. He pulled us both over and gave us tickets for going 95 in the 70. I was determined not to pay the ticket. I paid the fine and asked for a trial by declaration. When I received the packet, I went to work. I sent it out pleeding my case and within four days, I received a notice stating that I will be receiving a refund and that I had won. By law, there is no way that one officer can clock more than one person because he only has one radar. If he pulled you over along with two others, how did he know that it was YOU that was speeding and not just your other buddies? I mean you could try to fight it with trial by declaration but if your buddies try to also, I don't think it will work that way. Good luck!
 
PAY THE FINE!!

I'm here to tell you, if you contest this, the first thing the officer will do when you get to court is modify the complaint to the original 90 mph. Don't tell me they can't do that...because they can...and I've seen it done!! Then you're screwed big time. And right or wrong, if it comes down to "he says she says", the courts will ALWAYS take the side of the police. The officer gave you one heck of a break. Take advantage of it.
 
Calabrio said:
If you're going to speed, be ready to pay the ticket. If you're going to play that game, recognize you will pay to play.
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yeah I agree. I've been pulled over countless times, i have had more speeding tickets than I can remember. my opinion is when I get ticketed I am paying an extra tax for the right to speed.

just pay the fine the only thing to can do is talk to the prosecutor to see if he will knock it down even further, this is exceptable and even expected. but if you start trying to buck the system the system is going to buck you. even if you win, you never know the next time you run into that cop or judge or prosecutor or any of the cops freinds and fellow officers, they might just be waiting outside of your driveway to make life miserable for you....
 
jokken said:
yeah I agree. I've been pulled over countless times, i have had more speeding tickets than I can remember. my opinion is when I get ticketed I am paying an extra tax for the right to speed.

just pay the fine the only thing to can do is talk to the prosecutor to see if he will knock it down even further, this is exceptable and even expected. but if you start trying to buck the system the system is going to buck you. even if you win, you never know the next time you run into that cop or judge or prosecutor or any of the cops freinds and fellow officers, they might just be waiting outside of your driveway to make life miserable for you....
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I don't know about "waiting for you" but if that officer stopped you again there would defiantly be "NO Breaks"
 
I totally agree with Calabrio, just pay the fine. Most cops wouldn't be so cool as to give you a break like that. I don't think its worth fighting with the possibility of losing your license. Fighting the ticket will piss off the cop, simply for the fact that he tried to help you out by lowering the speed and saving you a LOT of grief. As scummy as some cops are, this one is trying to help you out and you should thank him for being so cool. Sure, he could've NOT pulled you over in the first place, but you should expect to be pulled over doing 90+...
 
Black87LSC said:
I totally agree with Calabrio, just pay the fine. Most cops wouldn't be so cool as to give you a break like that. I don't think its worth fighting with the possibility of losing your license. Fighting the ticket will piss off the cop, simply for the fact that he tried to help you out by lowering the speed and saving you a LOT of grief. As scummy as some cops are, this one is trying to help you out and you should thank him for being so cool. Sure, he could've NOT pulled you over in the first place, but you should expect to be pulled over doing 90+...
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:I with Calabrio, and Black87LSC, pay the fine and chalk it up to a lesson learned.
 
Everyone who is saying just pay it and be done with it - what are your insurance rates? My god, exercise your right to a fair trial people.

Piss off the cop? Do you live in a one-cop town? If not I guarentee that cop does not give a #^&$ about you or the outcome of your trial. He sees 100's of people a week trying to fight tickets and could not give a crap if you are one of them. And unless you have a corrupt judge/judicial system then they CANNOT change the clocked speed written on the ticket (it's called disclosure, and the "prosecution" must allow the "defendant" access to the charges and evidence before the trial).

There is some serious bad advice in this thread. The ticket/fine/points are the penalties of the infraction, not a "tax."

If you are faced with losing your license you better damn well have a lawyer at your side or you are a fool.

HIRE A LAWYER. Sorry for the harsh (but true) words.
 
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