I don't have time to read through everything, but I'd like to provide my personal experience which I believe is of great value here. I have been pulled over for speeding twice but only convicted once. Challenging tickets in court is super easy to do. As BD mentioned, all you have to loose is a couple of hours.
The only time I have been convicted is an experience that I believe will help you:
About 5 or 6 years ago Rocky and I left the shop for lunch to pick up some Pizza for everyone. I was test driving a customer's truck, doing 50 in a 45 zone, with a slight up hill that crests back down. I was aware that I was speeding, and as I approached the top I saw a city cop come up and over the crest in the opposition direction. I immediately downshifted to 3rd and compression braked as quick as I could without using any brakes (back when I thought brake lights were always convicting evidence). The cop hit his brakes a couple of times as if he wasn't sure if he should flip a u-turn, and at the last moment before I headed down the backside of the hill I saw the officer turn on his left blinker and stop for traffic. I thought ohhhhh man either he is just making a left turn or he really is gonna pursue me.
Long story short, the cop caught up to us about a 1/2 mile later and pulled me over. He said he would have given me a warning but because he didn't see my brake lights he figured I really wasn't paying any attention to the law.
I had figured that by the time we passed each other, 3rd gear should have slowed me down to about 45, so no big deal, but he claimed he first caught me at nearly 60 and then got me again at 55 (45 zone). I was
!! While we were waiting for the Pizza, it finally came to me
The truck has 4.11s with 33" tires
So I took the customer's truck over to a speedometer shop across town who printed out verification that at precisely 55 MPH the trucks speedometer reads 45 MPH.
Bingo!
Later at court, the officer gave his side of the story first and then I proceeded with mine. I informed the Judge I have evidence for the court which the bailiff handed to the Judge. The Judge looked over it briefly and then informed the court that in light of the evidence presented, it is understandable why I appeared to "disregard the law" (how I didn't slow down when the cop passed me) but he then said that no matter what, and here is the bottom line that you will have to deal with,
everyone is fully responsible for every aspect of the vehicle they are driving.So here is the good news: the Judge reduced my penalty from $200-something down to $60-something. I thanked the "Honor" for his compassion and time and happily paid the fine. I then took an online traffic school course and got rid of the speeding ticket.
1) Bad news: You are completely responsible for your truck. No exceptions. You will NOT be able to get out of this.
2) Good news: Do go to court with as much supporting evidence as possible to get the fine reduced.
I was raised to respect authoritative figures so I play the court game well. I dress up nice, present minimal subjective information, and be extremely polite and cooperative to both the prosecuting officer and the Judge. I write down everything I can remember when I got the ticket and present a clear and easy to understand case.
If you want to see what not to do, then go sit in a ticket court session just to see how RETARDED the people are who challenge tickets. At least in Fresno it seems the collective IQ of the people challenging tickets in court is about 47. The Court TV shows that I sometimes see while channel surfing are the real deal. IDIOTS. While waiting for my turn in court, I have seen people arguing with the Judge, talking while the Judge is talking, showing up in Hawaiian t-shirts, being completely unprepared to answer mundane questions like "was it a clear day?", and claiming that you were in a hurry to get to a very important business meeting because you make more money than the Judge......... WOW I-D-I-O-T-S.
The Judge is just another fellow getting through his day full of asshats, and if you can present yourself in a clean, organized manner and respect the courts time I think you will be utterly surprised at how nice Judges can be. I bet you can
at least get that $400 ticket cut in half if you've got good supporting evidence.
The other time I got a ticket was in my MR2 when I had my HIPSI v2.5 engine (17+ PSI fully illegal JDM engine conversion). The officer claimed he got me going 15 over in a zone that I had passed through a good 5 miles before he pulled me over. He said he had to do "90 MPH in the city" just to catch me. That officer was on crack
and was a complete jerk to me! So I go to court and I wait, and wait, and wait... Finally the Judge calls my name, I promptly stand up, "Yes your Honor", and he says, "Well Officer Sanchez is not here and the court requires your permission to dismiss the ticket." I said, "The court has my permission your Honor" and that was it!! I had to sign some form that I accept the ticket being dismissed and away I went. I think I had to pay a $5 processing fee or something like that, I don't remember, but I was sooooooooooooo happy!
To this day I have NEVER had a speeding ticket in any vehicle I own. Too bad I couldn't get out of that incorrect speedometer ticket but going to court is definitely the best thing to do!
Oh, and GET YOURSELF A RADAR DECTOR!!!!!! I use a Bell Vector 955 in my Supercharged MR2. Got it used for $70. Sure beats a hand full of $400 tickets!
BigMike
