Speeding ticket. Fight it or go to traffic school?

Last Thursday I got a citation for speeding. I was taking an alternate route to work and was unaware of the speed limit. I was in a group of cars, in the left lane, going 55 in a 45; the cars on my right were moving faster. The officer was parked and standing, using the radar from the divider between the highway and the exit; he caught me just as I was coming into view over the hill. He crossed into the left lane and held out his hand to stop me, and directed me into the divider. He claimed I had been doing 59, which I know I was not because I was monitoring my speed.

Doing the traffic school option to get the citation dismissed is $107. If I plead guilty and pay the fine it is $95 and my insurance goes up.

I want to know, what are my odds at beating this in court? Some people say plead not guilty then delay delay delay, others say I'm better off taking the hit and going to traffic school.

So what are people's experiences? This is only my third speeding ticket ever and I'm wondering if it's worth it to take it to court and hope the officer doesn't show up.

Fight it.
Chances are that the copper will never show...and the judge will reduce or suspend it. Also, claim that you were in the right lane, he must have clocked the car that passed you when you came over the hill.

Also, claim that you were in the right lane, he must have clocked the car that passed you when you came over the hill.

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Er, I'm not gonna commit perjury and risk hard time. I was in the left...

I've been in a very similar situation, but I look at it this way; you know you were speeding (by 10 miles per hour). He may have clocked you at more due to a faulty gun or your speedometer being off. Either way you were breaking the law and got a ticket. Insurance hit would suck so do traffic school (I did) usually first time offenses are 4 hours on a Saturday, I even learned some interesting things when I went.

Faulty equipment!!

look at it this way; you know you were speeding (by 10 miles per hour) ... Either way you were breaking the law and got a ticket.

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I know now that I was speeding; at the time I didn't know the speed limit and so was matching the speed of traffic. We can debate whether I'm truly culpable until kingdom come. I just want to know what the smartest option is.

bernerbits said:

I know now that I was speeding; at the time I didn't know the speed limit and so was matching the speed of traffic. We can debate whether I'm truly culpable until kingdom come. I just want to know what the smartest option is.

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In a court of law, they don't take ignorance of the law as an excuse. Go to school and be done with it.

In a court of law, they don't take ignorance of the law as an excuse. Go to school and be done with it.

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Once again not answering my question... which is, is it worth the time to try and get it dismissed in court, hopefully via the officer not showing up. NOT whether I deserve the ticket. Of course I wouldn't use that excuse in court.

I'd look at it this way; if your insurance is going to go up by more than $12, do the traffic school. Otherwise pay the ticket. As you said yourself, you were guilty, so take whichever option will be the cheapest.

For crying out loud, "don't fight it because you're guilty" is not what I'm asking for!!

I'm asking whether it's worth my while to take it to court. Not whether I'm guilty. I'm not interested in that particular opinion.

I did answer your question; I gave my opinion by discounting fighting it altogether as it most likely isn't worth your while. Relax and have another beer.

I spent a day in traffic court fighting a parking ticket. 12h time limit parking on the street. somehow they didn't notice the 10 hours I was at work. In the time I was there 9-3 I was the only person to win. I was raked over the coals like a criminal even my paycheck and a note from my employer saying I was at work at the time was barely enough to get me off. I'd just pay the fine next time.

If you can go to traffic school and save the insurance hike do it. You'll have to take a day off work to fight it and will probably lose.

Go to traffic school and pay for your mistake. Considering officers get over time when they go to court, I would not count on him not showing. If you do go to court what are you going to argue? That you where only going 10 over? I don't see this as a winnable case at all.

Unless you don't value your time at all, fighting it is a losing proposition. Especially if you have to miss work in favor of hanging around a courthouse all day.

Don't actually go to traffic school, use one of the online "schools" instead. I had a speeding ticket a few years ago, and used Traffic School Online - The Cheapest Online Traffic School. The whole process took about a half hour...you can actually have the exam open in one window, and the lesson plan (with all the answers) open in another.

So we're clear -- I agree that I was in violation of the posted speed limit. I can afford to pay for traffic school, and it won't set me back that badly, though it is an inconvenience. I'm a little raw still from this happening and it just frustrates me when people pound in the fact that I'm culpable rather than just give their opinion over what was essentially a pragmatic question. I've never fought a ticket before and I decided to look into that option this time. I was just wondering what people's experience was, to see if getting the ticket thrown out on some technicality or by having the cop not show was at all feasible. I certainly don't think I can win on the merits of my own case.

bernerbits said:

So we're clear -- I agree that I was in violation of the posted speed limit. I can afford to pay for traffic school, and it won't set me back that badly, though it is an inconvenience. I'm a little raw still from this happening and it just frustrates me when people pound in the fact that I'm culpable rather than just give their opinion over what was essentially a pragmatic question. I've never fought a ticket before and I decided to look into that option this time. I was just wondering what people's experience was, to see if getting the ticket thrown out on some technicality or by having the cop not show was at all feasible. I certainly don't think I can win on the merits of my own case.

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Sure, it's a pragmatic question- but the answers given are also pragmatic. You just didn't like them.

I'd fight if I was innocent, go do traffic school if I wasn't. Traffic court is NOT going to throw this out- you'll just have to pay the fine. It might mean taking 1/2 day off work. The cop will show up- they always seem to. So, it seems like it'd be cheaper and more convenient to go to traffic school.

Even if you were in the right (and you're not, you admit it) and the officer was at fault or something... nearly everyone who goes in to fight a ticket will lie their butts off so unless you have some sort of video evidence showing you weren't speeding, you're not going to get it dismissed. So, to answer your pragmatic question, you're better off not having it on your record with your insurance company. You don't have any reason to give the judge to dismiss the ticket. Go with traffic school. Use the free pass they're offering you. You'd be a fool not to.

uM, yOU MIGHT tRY fIgHTiNG iT WItH A Claim Of FaULty EqUIpMEnt??

Sure, it's a pragmatic question- but the answers given are also pragmatic. You just didn't like them.

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Look. I don't want to get into any more argument here. After the first page or so of responses, which were all along the lines of "you're guilty, so don't try and fight it", I started getting useful answers, because people at least gave reasons why it wouldn't be worthwhile. I was probably going to do traffic school anyway but as far as fighting it goes, I've never considered the option before. That's the only reason I started this thread.

You'd be a fool not to.

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Again with the editorials. Come on.

Sean said:

uM, yOU MIGHT tRY fIgHTiNG iT WItH A Claim Of FaULty EqUIpMEnt??

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So, then the cop gets on the stand and says he calibrated it before and after the traffic stop. My only hope would be the cop not showing up. I have one person saying that happens a lot, everyone else saying I haven't a snowball's shot in hell.

OK, I'm putting a stop to this thread. I'm paying for traffic school. Now everybody lay off me please. Obviously I was wrong to even consider it. Sorry I wasted everyone's time.

If you get pulled over on the highway in Milwaukee and take it to court they almost always drop the speeding ticket and give you a ticket for "Illegal parking on a highway" which is a slightly higher ticket but it isn't a moving violation so you get 0 points for it.

I just got pulled over recently for 22 over (6 points) and highered a lawyer for $100 and he got it reduced to 10 over (3 points).

My wife got pulled over do 12 over and went to court and they dropped the speeding ticket and gave her a ticket for a faulty speedometer, once again not a moving violation and 0 points.

Personally I always at the very least go to court.....good luck

if you where to fight it you might want to check for a speed limit sign. See if there is one posted from when you got on the road to where you got pulled over. If there is not one posted you can state you where just going with the flow of traffic and how where you suppose to know the speed limit on a road you have never drove on.

what i do is i goto court then, what ever the out come i apeal it, (cost 10 bucks), then if i lose that i appeal it again....usually the higher it goes the larger the court & they wont try you for a speading ticket in district court

Cregar said:

if you where to fight it you might want to check for a speed limit sign. See if there is one posted from when you got on the road to where you got pulled over. If there is not one posted you can state you where just going with the flow of traffic and how where you suppose to know the speed limit on a road you have never drove on.

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That's not an excuse, legally. They'd laugh you out of court for that.

You need to get more information for yourself about the statutes and common legal practices in the jurisdiction in which you received the ticket.

In some of the areas near me, simply showing up for court they will conditionally waive the ticket (if you get another ticket in that jurisdiction withing a certain period of time you have to pay that ticket as well as the one you just got.)

Also, in Minnesota (obviously not where you live) I believe the detection equipment has to be checked and recertified periodically and the operator of the equipment has to be retrained periodically in order for it to be valid in court. A lot of the cities around here will let those certifications lapse for a few months in order to save money, so it never hurts to request copies of those certifications.

Ha...once I drove 300 miles just to fight a ticket. Ok, so I was using the ticket as an excuse to visit a friend, but I made it part of my trip. I was a bit younger and full of piss and vinegar. I won because supercop didn't show up and the judge was amused with my story of driving 300 miles to "fight the man."

Viva la revolucion! :rockin: I say you stick it to the man.

Closed at the OP's request. I don't know why, but it seems like the polite thing to do.