got a ticket

[JeepcoMJ]

sooo...i was coming back from blockbuster tonight, in a 35 mph zone which was on the verge of becoming a 45 mph zone. so i DID step on it a bit, about 40 yards before the 45 mph sign. cop clocked me and said i was doing 50 mph in a 35, and wrote me a ticket. I asked to see the radar. he said that in wisconsin they are not required to show me the radar, and he did not wish me to exit my car.

 

so it's a 4 point violation at 83 dollars. for 15 over.

 

I thought he HAD to show me the gun when I asked for it. am I mistaken?

 

I was probably speeding, BUT it is a 4 lane highway outside of town with NO residences. what are my chances of getting it dropped or reduced? anyone know?

 

I'm 20 and have a prior speeding ticket of 17 over in a 25, which was 2 points off my liscense. my Dad is PISSED and is talking to my mother, and having me removed from the insurance...they payed for it. I'm S.O.L. there...but it's kinda a big deal since I am in some deep sh*t legally otherwise, and my parents are NOT happy with me over that...now i bet they will want me to move out...which isn't a good thing for me, because i'm currently not particularly stable financially...

 

fractured my right ankle 2 months ago, just started working again. i have 3 jobs and pending tuesday, will be able to go back to my other two...I'll make enough money then but I'm guessing i'm gonna be screwed for next semester's tuition.

[Oizarod115]

when my brother was 18 he got a ticket for 235$; 89 in a 70

[ChiefJosh]

so it's a 4 point violation at 83 dollars. for 15 over.

 

I was probably speeding, BUT it is a 4 lane highway outside of town with NO residences. what are my chances of getting it dropped or reduced? anyone know?

 

Hey, I know right where you are at man- I grew up in Sheboygan and had a WI license til I was 22. I got two tickets- one good for six points, and about a year later I got another one. I asked the officer the second time, how many points I had- he said six, so I sent the check in and paid it. Only to show up at school a month later (my freshman year of college, 2nd semester) at get a letter saying that my license had been revoked for having 12 points on it! I was pissed. But by that time it was too late.

 

Anyhow, if I remember correctly, in WI you should have two options. One - you can dispute the ticket, which basically means you can enter a "not guilty" plea at the court date, and even just plead that the fine or the points are too severe. I had the points off of another ticket of mine dropped that way, all I had to pay was the fine. The second option, I think, is some type of "traffic school". Some sort of remedial "driver's ed". I know it sounds stupid, and it probably is, but your insurance company would look a little more highly on that, as if you are trying to get your act together and become a "responsible citizen". You can probably do both, but call the DA's office, or the court, or whatever number is on the ticket, and they can give you a little more info.

 

Good luck with that- hopefully you don't have to go through the hassle of loosing your license for 90 days like I did- believe me, if that happens, your insurance really goes up!

[JeepcoMJ]

i won't have to lose my liscense...i only ever had 2 points off of it.

 

and I hope that I can plea the points to zero or even 2 and jack the fine up...I can make it a point to have more money by then, it just requires sacrafice elswhere. I'd rather pay more and suffer less...tickets don't shine well in the long run.

[feerocknok]

Check into traffic school. In OR, pretty much any ticket you get, you can go to traffic school and it'll leave your record, as long as you haven't been to TS in 3 years and you weren't doing something ridiculous like 50 in a 35.

Oh Snap! Jk, that ticket's not bad. Speeding here is also a $252 fine.

[JeepcoMJ]

Check into traffic school. In OR, pretty much any ticket you get, you can go to traffic school and it'll leave your record, as long as you haven't been to TS in 3 years and you weren't doing something ridiculous like 50 in a 35.

Oh Snap! Jk, that ticket's not bad. Speeding here is also a $252 fine.

 

...50 in a 35 which is a 4 lane HIGHWAY headed north out of town with nothing but a few businesses around it, RIGHT BEFORE a 45 mph sign. literally, had he clocked me 2 seconds later, he couldn't have said anything.

 

anyone know what the radar law in wisconsin is? do they have to show you if you request it?

[feerocknok]

Keep in mind, many radars are only accurate to +/- 3 mph.

Also, many of them aren't accurate to their target. I've heard of some going as wide as 30 feet.

 

I knew a guy that got his wife out of a speeding ticket. She was driving next to someone speeding on a 4 lane. He saw the cop and hammered the brakes. When the cop looked up from the gun, she was going faster, while not speeding, but he assumed it was her speed. It couldn't be proven that she was speeding, it could only be assumed, so the ticket was dropped.

 

Also, speed is always relevant to the conditions. It's not a speed limit; it's a recommended speed.

[pingpong]

Was this in a stock vehicle? Have you had the speedo calibrated? Was there anyone around you? If the answer to these questions are NO.. then you are screwed

[JeepcoMJ]

Was this in a stock vehicle? Have you had the speedo calibrated? Was there anyone around you? If the answer to these questions are NO.. then you are screwed

 

I pulled the speedo card last time...no dice, the DA is a fool. it's not stock, the speedo is low by 2.37 mph, and no one was around me.

 

BUT if anyone knows if they are required to show me the radar gun when I ask, please let me know. the officer's blatant refusal to show it to me WILL get me off the hook if they ARE required to show me.

 

the fact that he said 50 in a 35 means it's even number-ed and not a correct reading, i was doing 47 (45 on my speedo), so I think he did not even get a solid reading, but knew I was speeding so he made it up.

[87manche]

this may help:

http://criminal.lawyers.com/traffic-vio ... icket.html

 

lots of good things there.

I especially like the part about requesting the radar guns maintenance records. Might get lucky, it may not have had it's scheduled maintenance done on time.

[CEThomas]

Was it from a big city or small town?

 

From when I was a court laison officer in Columbus, OH I have seen people do plea bargens to a no muffler so they can get a lower fine and no points. If it a small town you are screwed, and do not make the judge think you are wasting his time :bowdown:

 

Here in my area the average ticket is 125-185, I just pay it when I get one and do not fight it. I have seen Judges have a bad day and just nail everyone and with my luck I would be fighting it on his bad day :D

 

Charles

[Pete M]

Always, always, always, always, always, always, always, challenge a speeding ticket. Only once in my life have I ever not had it reduced, erased, or changed to "impeding traffic" (that's the latest craze around here, no points, no reports to your insurance, and the city still gets their money).

[JeepcoMJ]

Was it from a big city or small town?

 

From when I was a court laison officer in Columbus, OH I have seen people do plea bargens to a no muffler so they can get a lower fine and no points. If it a small town you are screwed, and do not make the judge think you are wasting his time :bowdown:

 

Here in my area the average ticket is 125-185, I just pay it when I get one and do not fight it. I have seen Judges have a bad day and just nail everyone and with my luck I would be fighting it on his bad day :D

 

Charles

 

small town. I will dispute it...plead not guilty and speak with the DA before the court case. here when you get a ticket, you can dispute it and come to an agreement with the DA and never have to see the judge.

 

It is, like I said, a highway. a 4 lane highway, right before a 45 mph zone...I think that I can argue it and get it reduced or no points.

[mjeff87]

Notwithstanding the fact that you were doing 50, your post brings up a question I've long wanted an answer to.....

 

at what specific point does the speed limit change, at the point where the sign is visible to oncoming traffic, or literally at the point the sign is sunk into the ground? Is there a concrete ruling on that, or does it vary according to jurisdiction?

 

I don't have tickets, but my wife just got nabbed in almost the same situation as you. She was coming out of a 35 zone to a 55 zone, and had started accelerating before the sign. Po po got her for 55 in a 35 (but dropped it to some b/s thing like "not obeying posted traffic control devices". He wasn't in a talkative sort of mind, so she just signed and paid (I wasn't with her).

 

To me, when you can clearly see a speed sign, is what the posted speed is at that point, not where the sign physically is. Anyone know for sure?

 

Jeff

[speed_racer]

I'd like to know that one myself!

[Eagle]

Notwithstanding the fact that you were doing 50, your post brings up a question I've long wanted an answer to.....

 

at what specific point does the speed limit change, at the point where the sign is visible to oncoming traffic, or literally at the point the sign is sunk into the ground? Is there a concrete ruling on that, or does it vary according to jurisdiction?

I sometimes wonder about that same question ... not as a legal issue, but more as a reflection of human behavior.

 

I am not a lawyer nor a police officer, but I'be be willing to bet (and I'm not a betting man) that the limit changes at the point where the post is staked into the ground, NOT however far down the road you can see the higher limit from. The commentary on the contrary nature of us homo sapients, though, is that we (and I include myself) want it both ways. If we see the sign a hundred yards ahead, we want to speed up to the new limit NOW if the new limit is higher, but how many of us treat it the same way when the new limit is lower?

 

Not me. If I'm coming off a 50-MPH stretch of road into a settled are where the limit is 35, I slow down to 35 when I get to the sign, not before. So, to be fair about it, when the limit goes back up to 50 I can't honestly claim I should be subject to the new limit as soon as I can see (not even read) the sign.

[Twisty]

To me, its where the sign starts, that the speed limit is in place. Do I always obey that rule? No. I usualy coast past the sign, then coast to the proper speed then resume from there. If its a place where a cop hides out, then I slow down at the sign, and procede from there.

 

Good luck Pat. Wish you the best of luck fighting that ticket.

[87manche]

the spee limit changes where the sign post is in the ground.

Sight lines and even peoples vision can be different, so you can't argue that.

Then add in the environmental factors, a clear day will allow greater sight distances than a foggy one.

 

Yes, I wait until the sign before accelerating, and I've already slowed to within 5 MPH of the sign if it's a slower speed zone.

 

I annoy people on the highway.

[Eagle]

Yes, I wait until the sign before accelerating, and I've already slowed to within 5 MPH of the sign if it's a slower speed zone.

 

I annoy people on the highway.

Yeah, me too. I also try to keep my speed at just about 2 MPH over the posted limit (just enough to make up for the built-in speedo error -- if I'm in a Jeep that I know reads slower than actual speed, I adjust accordingly) with the aim of actually driving right at the limit. Takes a few minutes longer to get there, and some people find it annoying, but it avoids traffic tickets.

 

Back to the original post, though -- I second the advice given above, to always fight a speeding ticket. But ... if you can't afford an attorney, you pretty much MUST spend some time in a library to look up the regulations on the use of radar guns. It probably won't be in a statute book -- it's more likely an administrative regulation adopted pursuant to a statute. And it may not be grouped with motor vehicle regulations. I would expect it to be grouped with police procedural regulations.

[JeepcoMJ]

Yes, I wait until the sign before accelerating, and I've already slowed to within 5 MPH of the sign if it's a slower speed zone.

 

I annoy people on the highway.

Yeah, me too. I also try to keep my speed at just about 2 MPH over the posted limit (just enough to make up for the built-in speedo error -- if I'm in a Jeep that I know reads slower than actual speed, I adjust accordingly) with the aim of actually driving right at the limit. Takes a few minutes longer to get there, and some people find it annoying, but it avoids traffic tickets.

 

Back to the original post, though -- I second the advice given above, to always fight a speeding ticket. But ... if you can't afford an attorney, you pretty much MUST spend some time in a library to look up the regulations on the use of radar guns. It probably won't be in a statute book -- it's more likely an administrative regulation adopted pursuant to a statute. And it may not be grouped with motor vehicle regulations. I would expect it to be grouped with police procedural regulations.

 

I won't be getting an attorney, I've just spent 2500 on one in regards to a much, much more complex situation that I am in. I have cost myself alot of money this year through poor choices.

 

I will go in, debate it with the DA, hopefully get it down to 2 points and 40 bucks or something, and then take that.

 

the rents are dropping me from their insurance, which means the 3800 will be put in my name (was under my mother's for cheaper insurance), and I will get my own liability insurance, which will be changed to collector's insurance when I put collector's plates on it ($117 per year or something cheap like that on insurance). gotta have a "primary" vehicle to do that though.

 

anywho, I owe the final 1000 to my attorney, this deal now, my alternator died and the starter will go soon, so gotta buy them and i have a bunch of things to fix on the 3800. buying that other manche and my funds are sufficiently dry after that.

 

got accepted for 80,000 dollars worth of college loans today tho! should pay for my final 2.5 years at whitewater, and the one in australia :D

[89eliminator]

b-town is huge compared to waterford, haha

[Eagle]

... and I will get my own liability insurance, which will be changed to collector's insurance when I put collector's plates on it ($117 per year or something cheap like that on insurance). gotta have a "primary" vehicle to do that though.

Do your homework -- and if you can actually buy collector insurance for a Comanche, please tell us where. I tried a couple of years ago. Both Taylor and the other big name in collector insurance (the name escapes me at the moment) flat-out refused to insure any 4WD or off-road vehicle. Didn't matter what age, what condition, how many "primary" vehicles I own, or how much I might be willing to pay. They wouldn't even consider offering a quotation.

 

Nope. Nyet. Non. Nao. End of discussion.

[JeepcoMJ]

... and I will get my own liability insurance, which will be changed to collector's insurance when I put collector's plates on it ($117 per year or something cheap like that on insurance). gotta have a "primary" vehicle to do that though.

Do your homework -- and if you can actually buy collector insurance for a Comanche, please tell us where. I tried a couple of years ago. Both Taylor and the other big name in collector insurance (the name escapes me at the moment) flat-out refused to insure any 4WD or off-road vehicle. Didn't matter what age, what condition, how many "primary" vehicles I own, or how much I might be willing to pay. They wouldn't even consider offering a quotation.

 

Nope. Nyet. Non. Nao. End of discussion.

 

yeah, but this is a "show" truck...it won't see any off-road use

[Wildman]

The speed limit starts at the sign post (right at the post) and if your going from a 55mph into a 35mph zone, and there is one sign and up a little ways there is a 2nd sign, the posted speed limit is at the first sign, the second sign is only a reminder sign.

 

You will notice coming into a town that the speed limit is posted and right across the street there is a another sign showing the speed limit leaving the town.

 

In other words, when your in a 55mph zone, and coming into a 35mph zone, you better be going 35mph when you cross that first sign. Same with leaving the zone, you don't speed up until you pass that next zone.

 

As brought up in this topic.

 

Take this from some one whom sat in the 6 hour driving school 2 years ago :D

 

And Yes, always plead "not-guilty" and go to court, and sit there for hours, because the DA or town attorney WILL reduce it to a "parking" ticket. The town gets there parking fees and the state loses out in there sur-charges.

 

Part of my "passing a red light" turn into 2 $60 parking tickets, and the driving school and NO points. I only paid one ticket years ago because I was out of town, and lived about 70 miles away, and that was for an over due inspection, from a road check. Any other ticket I have gotten, always turned into a parking ticket (while I was moving :brows: )

[Tracker]

Here's the California view on the subject; maybe a little oversimplified; It's not legal to drive faster than it is safe. ( Ca. Vehicle Code, section 22350) Forget the signs unless we're talking about certain specified maximums like freeways or school zones. The signs are otherwise suggestions, based on traffic engineering studies for the "normal" conditions found on a particular stretch of road. It's not necessarily illegal to go faster than the posted speed limit- but if you do and someone challenges you on it, be prepared to explain why your speed was not unsafe at the particular time and place. It could be tough but not impossible. The easier way to live is to drive close to the suggested posted speed limit.

Now remember I'm talking about California law. Yes, I am a cop. :eek: