help with speeding ticket

[superyota]

The speed limit on 166 is 55.  About 4 years ago I got clocked at 83 in a 55  on Hwy 166,  but the chp offices was kind enough to bring it down to 70 so that I could do traffic school. Ever since, everytime I make the trip accross 166, I have my cruise set at 55 on the dot.  
So, I was driving with my wife, sister, and dad in the truck, makeing the trip from Bakersfield to Arroyo Grande about a month ago.  Cruise set at 55 the entire time.  I came up a hill, started coasting down the back side of the hill, and it did feel like my truck gained some speed, but not much.  I looked at the speedometer, and it was at 55.  Right as I got to the bottom of the hill, there was a chp officer sitting there, and sure enough, he pulled me over.  Came up to the window and said he got at 72 in a 55.  I specifically remember seeing the officer, and at the same time looking down at my speed, which was right on at 55.  even my dad who was sitting passenger looked over and said he saw 55.  anyways, i didn't argue, he handed me my $429 ticket and off I went .  
Now, about 2 months ago or so, I had a set of 35's put my 03 silverado, 4.88's, and also had the speedometer calibrated for everthing.  I was a bit suspicious, so I took the truck into the GM dealer to see if something with the programming was wrong.  Come to find out, GM put a service bulletin out for a fualty guage cluster do to stepper motors that are bad.  1 of the symtoms is the speedometer not showing accurately or sticking.  I paid $149 to have the dealership send my cluster out to be rebuilt because I was out of the 80k mile limit for free replacement.  The cost would have been $600+, but they did it for parts only and no labor because I was throwing a fit about getting a speeding ticket over it.

So now, my question is do you think I stand a chance in court if I take in my paperwork showing there was a recall on the guage cluster and that it was repaired.  I have been reading about "Trial by declaration" and showing up to court and what to do, but its starting to overwhelm me.  I don't have $429 to spare.
Any suggestions or experience with anything like this?
I had an extension done pushing the ticket due date from Jan.1, 2011 to Feb.1, 2011. Hopefully I'll be able to save up some cash before then. 

[GONZO97]

I have fought a ticket and actually won. I had been pulled over for supposedly running a red light which i hadnt. I did a written decleration where you actually write up your side of the story and you can even include pictures,diagrams,documents etc. The officer is then in turn able to submit his side of the story the same way. Chances the officer will even remember you is slim. Same goes for the court trials, they give you a date in court (usually with a bunch of other people who are also fighting your ticket) then the officer recieves the same notice and is in turn given a chance to come give his opinion of what happened, but I heard if you change your date due to work or school, sometimes the officer will just write it off being that its only one ticket rather than eight or so. So at that point it is your word vs. his but if he is a no show you have a much better chance at winning. But it doesnt always mean you will get off for sure, sometimes it is just a reduction in price, which is better than nothing. Hope this helps and if you ask me I believe you have a chance with the documents showing there was a recal. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[HDcruiser]

I would fight it. Take your paperwork from GM and show them the recall notice. I would hope that the court would see there was a documented issue and you went as far as getting the necessary repairs completed. Good luck, keep us posted.

[superyota]

my biggest concern is that i can't argue with the officer about 72.  I didn't think I was, but if his radar shows it, what defense to I have?  I just don't know how the judge will look at it or if he'll say something along the lines of I should have known I was speeding.  I've had people tell me that a speedometer not working properly isn't an excuse for speeding.  But i honestly had no idea it wasn't showing accurate.  I just had it calibrated 2 months earlier.  
Gonzo, if you don't mind, by chance do you have a copy of your trial by dec. that you could pm me?  I have no idea how to even start with it.  or is it better just to show to court?

[Sparkplug]

I persoanlly dont think you would win, Ignoarance for the law is no excuse, is what our judges here say. Doesnt matter if you meant to break the law, only matters that you did. Speeding is dangeroeus, and deserevs a fine. Im not saying you were purposely doing it, but it was being done. Just because when YOU saw the cop you were dooing 55 does not mean the radar didnt get u sooner. Dunno, this one o them things that sucks, you werent trying to speed, but you were. I think you should pay the fine. My opinion tho, and nothing at all against you.


Any goodd river will know when hes 17 mph over the limit, easily

[cruzila]

I have fought a ticket and actually won. I had been pulled over for supposedly running a red light which i hadnt. I did a written decleration where you actually write up your side of the story and you can even include pictures,diagrams,documents etc. The officer is then in turn able to submit his side of the story the same way. Chances the officer will even remember you is slim. Same goes for the court trials, they give you a date in court (usually with a bunch of other people who are also fighting your ticket) then the officer recieves the same notice and is in turn given a chance to come give his opinion of what happened, but I heard if you change your date due to work or school, sometimes the officer will just write it off being that its only one ticket rather than eight or so. So at that point it is your word vs. his but if he is a no show you have a much better chance at winning. But it doesnt always mean you will get off for sure, sometimes it is just a reduction in price, which is better than nothing. Hope this helps and if you ask me I believe you have a chance with the documents showing there was a recal. Let me know if you have any other questions.

X2 on this. IMO there are not enough people out there actually fighting traffic tickets. If you think you have a case (and it sounds to me like you do) go get it!! The least is you lose and waste a day in court. All up side from there. lower fine, no fine, case tossed out etc.

[GONZO97]

I dont have a copy of it, if you go into the court and ask them for the paper work they will give it to you and you just follow the instructions pretty easy. It wasnt your fault the speedometer wasnt working, Ive heard that the officer will have to provide a print out of his gun that shows that the time and date match what he put on the ticket. If those dont match then your off. Take in the paper work and fight it, you have nothing to lose but everything to gain

[junya92toy]

Toyota owners didn't face charges when their throttle stuck and were speeding, or the brakes failing and hitting things.

[Sparkplug]

Totally different story there. Toyota is in trouble for that also. Anyways, like I said, if he got you at 72 MPH, you were doing 72 mph. Cops arent out to get you. There are many on this board. I have a chp freind, and trust me, they dont have to LOOK for speeders, or traffic violators, Even in my rural neck of the woods. You were 17 mph over the limit, which is well over the reasonable limit to judge. Only agrument I can see you have is it was downhill, and maybe was a speed trap. Other than that, I say take responsibility. Again just my opinion.

EDIT. So if i drive a old ass car that dont have a speedo, can i do 70mph everywhere and just get off cause I dont have a speedo? I guess some people couldnt judge speed as well as others? I dont think that is very fair.

[blackdiamond]

You don't have much to lose trying to fight it.  It's possible that the judge will at least cut you a break given you previous history and the speedo issue.  How is the rest of your driving record?

I don't think you ever lose anything going to court if you can manage it without losing pay at work but at $429 for the ticket you'd probably come out ahead if if the judge only reduces the ticket.  It's always a gamble.

I've only received a ticket and it was out of state so it would have cost a ton to fight it plus I was fortunate that I got caught going down the backside of the hill as I had been going 100+ on the upside of the hill.  The cop wrote me up for a reduced speed compared to what he clocked me at and it was a whopping $50 ticket in any case.  I think he clocked me doing just under 90 mph in a 75 mph zone.

[blackdiamond]

Also, I've heard that you can request the calibration information for the radar gun and they are often out of date forcing them to forgive the ticket.  I've never done it, but it's certainly another angle.

I would agree that there's no excuse for not knowing that your going 17 mph over the speed limit, but I knew one person in college that had no ability to judge speed.

We were following him home to Colorado from Washington and my roommate had his speedo pinned at 85 mph so we started clocking the miles and estimate close to 110 mph.  At the next gas stop we asked him how fast he was going and he guessed about 85 mph.  Needless to say, he didn't get to lead ever again.

[GONZO97]

Im not saying they are out to get anyone either, being my entire family is in law enforcement here in Fresno, but he has nothing to lose to try and fight it, if he can do so without losing pay at work.

[Stocker]

Not trying to help you get out of a ticket if you have it coming, but I'll tell you what happened to me once a long time ago.

I met the trooper on a straight two-lane in the midwest and he immediately spun around and pulled me over. Just then a big farm truck drove past us (going the same direction). The cop asked if I had passed the truck and I said no, I hadn't passed anyone recently. Luckily he only gave me a warning, and after he left, I remembered that I had been watching the truck gaining on me from behind before meeting the cop. I realized his radar had been clocking the faster truck instead of our car.

I'm only mentioning this in case there's a chance something similar could have happened to you without your realizing it at the time.

[junya92toy]

Totally different story there. Toyota is in trouble for that also. Anyways, like I said, if he got you at 72 MPH, you were doing 72 mph. Cops arent out to get you. There are many on this board. I have a chp freind, and trust me, they dont have to LOOK for speeders, or traffic violators, Even in my rural neck of the woods. You were 17 mph over the limit, which is well over the reasonable limit to judge. Only agrument I can see you have is it was downhill, and maybe was a speed trap. Other than that, I say take responsibility. Again just my opinion.

EDIT. So if i drive a old ass car that dont have a speedo, can i do 70mph everywhere and just get off cause I dont have a speedo? I guess some people couldnt judge speed as well as others? I dont think that is very fair.

My point was, it was mechanical failure from the factory in those cases and his.

[Cheesemaker]

I say get all the recall info you can, and all the stuff you've had done to the rig.  Before and after the ticket.  And it was obvious that you were concerned about getting the speedo calibrated.  As most people wouldn't bother getting the speedo calibrated at all.  And you've already gotten a ticket there, and are now very concerned about speeding.  And you had the cruise control locked on 55 because of that, (dad is a witness) and since you had all the calibration done, you were trusting a system that was flawed without your knowledge.  If you had known about the recall, you would have done it.   

I'm horrible for speeding, but not by a crazy amount.  There are times in our van, I could have sworn I was doing maybe 62ish, and I look down at the speedo, I'm actually doing 75.  And cops love to sit at the bottom of a long grade.  Its a easy ticket.  Look at the bottom of the hill coming into Redding.  Everytime, I've been to Cali, there is always at least 3 or 4 cop cars sitting there, usually with somebody pulled over.

[Caboose]

I would go to court, plead no contest meaning you dont plead guilty but you dont disagree with the alleged charges and inform the judge that there are some circumstances that took place at this time that you were unaware of. 

Inform his honor about how you had larger tires put on the vehicle and that you were aware this could make your speedometer read inaccurately and you had the dealer recalibrate your speedometer accordingly.  You then had your cruise control set to 55 as you had received a speeding ticket 4 years ago and learned from that experience.  Not being able to understand the discrepancy in the speedometer and the radar gun, you took the truck into the dealership to be inspected.  The inspection revealed that there had been a recall on my part used to recalibrate the speedometer that the dealership had not brought to my attention prior to this event.  You have since replaced the part and taken proper steps to insure this situation will not happen again.

Your honor, because I "Insert BRIEF reason for not being able to pay the ticket in full" I politely ask if I can serve traffic school and hopefully get my fine reduced.  I had no idea there was anything wrong with my vehicle and promptly repaired it as soon as it was brought to my attention.  Thank you your honor.



Bring the receipt of when you had it recalibrated and when you had it recalibrated again.  The dealership should have a work order in their files from the original date.

First thing tomorrow, call the court and schedule a time to see the judge, and make sure you show up 45-30 min early, wearing a shirt and tie.

[79coyotefrg]

I say get all the recall info you can, and all the stuff you've had done to the rig.  Before and after the ticket.  And it was obvious that you were concerned about getting the speedo calibrated.  As most people wouldn't bother getting the speedo calibrated at all.  And you've already gotten a ticket there, and are now very concerned about speeding.  And you had the cruise control locked on 55 because of that, (dad is a witness) and since you had all the calibration done, you were trusting a system that was flawed without your knowledge.  If you had known about the recall, you would have done it.   

I'm horrible for speeding, but not by a crazy amount.  There are times in our van, I could have sworn I was doing maybe 62ish, and I look down at the speedo, I'm actually doing 75.  And cops love to sit at the bottom of a long grade.  Its a easy ticket.  Look at the bottom of the hill coming into Redding.  Everytime, I've been to Cali, there is always at least 3 or 4 cop cars sitting there, usually with somebody pulled over.

I would go to court, plead no contest meaning you dont plead guilty but you dont disagree with the alleged charges and inform the judge that there are some circumstances that took place at this time that you were unaware of. 

Inform his honor about how you had larger tires put on the vehicle and that you were aware this could make your speedometer read inaccurately and you had the dealer recalibrate your speedometer accordingly.  You then had your cruise control set to 55 as you had received a speeding ticket 4 years ago and learned from that experience.  Not being able to understand the discrepancy in the speedometer and the radar gun, you took the truck into the dealership to be inspected.  The inspection revealed that there had been a recall on my part used to recalibrate the speedometer that the dealership had not brought to my attention prior to this event.  You have since replaced the part and taken proper steps to insure this situation will not happen again.

Your honor, because I "Insert BRIEF reason for not being able to pay the ticket in full" I politely ask if I can serve traffic school and hopefully get my fine reduced.  I had no idea there was anything wrong with my vehicle and promptly repaired it as soon as it was brought to my attention.  Thank you your honor.



Bring the receipt of when you had it recalibrated and when you had it recalibrated again.  The dealership should have a work order in their files from the original date.

First thing tomorrow, call the court and schedule a time to see the judge, and make sure you show up 45-30 min early, wearing a shirt and tie.

Fight it,  tell them you had it calibrated because of the larger tires, then got the ticket and THEN found out there was a recall.   

[Sparkplug]

I dunno, I must look at things differently. I feel that it does not matter what was wrong with the speedo, a person should be held accountable for their actions on the road, ignorance for the fact is irrelevant. If i recall, it is not mandatory that a vehicle be equipped with a speedometer. You are supposed to maintain the flow of traffic, and judge your speed accordingly. Yes I can understand being tight on money, or wanting to get out of paying, but like I said, the fact is you were speeding, and there are consequences for mistakes, whether they are on purpose or not. My 2 cents

[blackdiamond]

Part of the legal system is the ability to challenge things.  As long as a person doesn't do anything dishonest, then getting out of the ticket isn't ignoring their responsibility.  That's what the system is all about.  The problem is when people abuse the system and lie trying to get out of things.

[superyota]

I understand your point spark plug.  but being that i spend $300 just to have the speedo calibrated and driving with my cruise set at 55 I think shows that I had done more than most would do to make sure they didn't speed.  Not to mention I got the ticket on a saturday and took the truck into the dealer on monday to have the speedo checked costing another $149.  I'm not trying to get out of paying the ticket, but a reduced fine would be nice.  After all the money thats been spent to ensure that my speedo calibration is correct so I don't get a speeding ticket, I get pulled over.  And also the reason GM has a service bulletin out for the clusters was because there was a class action law suit out because people were getting speeding tickets when unknowingly speeding.  Part of the suit was that GM was to pay for the speeding tickets, including insurance hikes.  I have a clean record with my last ticket being over 4 years ago.  I don't consider myself a reckless or fast driver.  It just doesn't seem fair to me that I went the extra step but still get nailed because of a recall.  Then again, I agree with you, I did notice the truck picked up speed, maybe I should have held the brakes and slowed down to 40 or so going down the hill .  Either way, I'm pretty sure i'm going to take it to court and fight it.  I think I have every right and reason to. 

[superyota]

here is a link to the service bulletin if anyones interested in reading it...http://tbscases.com/downloads/GM-Service-Bulletin.pdf

and one for the class action law suit filed against GM and reasons for it...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Instrument_Cluster_Settlement ,
...http://www.articlesbase.com/automotive-articles/gms-defective-speedometers-incite-lawsuits-113821.html

[rockin86runner]

iv gotten 2 speeding tickets on that road and it was by the same cop and they were 3monts apart both time he said i was going 70 and my runner barely dose 55

[superyota]

iv gotten 2 speeding tickets on that road and it was by the same cop and they were 3monts apart both time he said i was going 70 and my runner barely dose 55

that sucks!  i got mine just west of rock front on the downhill by the big gravel turn out.  at least it gave me a good spot to pull over and out of the way.  I do have the option of traffic school, so i'm going to pay the extra for it just incase things don't work out in my favor so i don't mess up my record or insurance.

[GONZO97]

the good thing is if you do win they will refund all your money could take a month or so but hey thats what happens when budget cuts lead to lay offs which makes things go a little longer....i wish you luck man just isnt fair when a law abiding citizen gets hit up for something he was completely unaware of

[BUDDERS]

3 days after I bought my 2wd '87 toy I had the dash lights go out on me comming home from a birthday party at  1:00 am.  I didn't have a flashlight in my truck or a cell phone to stop and call someone back then so I just kept driving it home because everything else was working.  As I was transitioning from one freeway to another, I thought I better pace myself with the traffic I saw in my rearview mirror because my speedo wasn't lit up for me to tell my speed.  Then....before I knew it....the car I was trying to pace myself with turned out to be a cop and he pulled me over for speeding.

I showed the cop that my dash lights just went out and he didn't care.  He pulled me over for 88mph in a 65 zone - going uphill and slowing down.  I joked and said "pretty good for a 4 cylinder, hugh?" - mainly because I didn't believe the speed.  Apparenly he didn't get my sarcasm....

When it came time to fight it in court, I brought the pink slip (showing the date of change of title) and the repair order from Toyota from the following day stating that a shorted wire from a stolen radio caused the dash lights to go out.  The judge didn't care either and apparently didn't like me because I worked at a Toyota dealer - he asked if I was the one who got all his money when he brought his car in.  I told him no and that I was only making $6.25 and hour for changing oil (at the time).  Well he still had a stick up his ass from the last time he got raped at the dealer and proceded to make me wait till the end of his calendar for the day to decide what to do in my case - I still had to pay the fine and go to traffic school.  If that judge wanted to teach me a lesson, what I learned that day is that judges are biased dicks!  Good luck on your case.......

[BUDDERS]

Oh, and from my previous encounter with a judge I realized that it would be better to have "Mr. Ticket" handle my tickets since he doesn't work in the auto industry.

And yes,  I have gotten several tickets - most of which I deserved, but a few I didn't.  Been pulled over 20 times with 16 tickets.

The most blatent ticket I shouldn't have got was a speeding ticket for doing 62 in a 55 up a hill that I couldn't even do 50 going up in my old '88 4x4.  I tried it and my dad tried it, but try explaining that to a judge........It was real obvious that the cop clocked someone else, but pinned the ticket on me.  I asked to see the read-out on his radar gun and sure enough....62.  I think he was too busy eating his doughnuts to catch the real speeder.

And no...I don't hate all cops - just most of them - and my older brother is a lieutenant - and I don't care for him either.  It seems like the longer they are in law enforcement, the more they believe they are above the law.  Believe me, I know not to give them attitude.  I just ask for the ticket now and get on my way.

sorry for my rant

[superyota]

i did a little research on the officer the pulled me over.  seems as though he's pretty big around the central coast.  almost all the news station interviews with the chp, he is the one that is there talking.  my guess is the judge is going to take his side.  i'm not going to argue with the officer though.  i'm just trying to state the facts.

[superyota]

Oh, and from my previous encounter with a judge I realized that it would be better to have "Mr. Ticket" handle my tickets since he doesn't work in the auto industry.

And yes,  I have gotten several tickets - most of which I deserved, but a few I didn't.  Been pulled over 20 times with 16 tickets.

The most blatent ticket I shouldn't have got was a speeding ticket for doing 62 in a 55 up a hill that I couldn't even do 50 going up in my old '88 4x4.  I tried it and my dad tried it, but try explaining that to a judge........It was real obvious that the cop clocked someone else, but pinned the ticket on me.  I asked to see the read-out on his radar gun and sure enough....62.  I think he was too busy eating his doughnuts to catch the real speeder.

And no...I don't hate all cops - just most of them - and my older brother is a lieutenant - and I don't care for him either.  It seems like the longer they are in law enforcement, the more they believe they are above the law.

lol.  i have 2 friends i went to high school with that are both chp now.  also have a friend in bakersfield thats chp.  Also good friends with the taft police chief(he got me my ccw).  i told all of them my situation and all of them told me that i had no chance and not to even waste my time going to court or trying a trial by decleration.  I almost felt as though they were just saying that to cover for the "fellow" officers.  It just made me want to take it to court that much more to try to prove them wrong.  its really frustrating.

[GONZO97]

take it to court whats the worst that can happen? its not like they can raise your fine lol

[superyota]

I just read on a "ehow" article and it says to try to get a hold of the officer prior to the court date and explain your situation.  you think it would be a bad idea if i called him and explained the whole thing to him, or just forget it and hope he's a no show or be there and take my chances?