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King County Police in Washington gave me a $105 ticket today:

Okay, I was driving on I-405 North at around 9PM today. I was doing 70-ish MPH the whole time because I didn't see any signs saying otherwise and traffic was doing the same speed as well. I thought people were going a bit fast too, but I'm not very familiar with the Seattle/Tukwilla area so I figured that's how it goes.

Drove for about 5 minutes and my radar went off with the laser signal. The cars in front of me slowed down fast and I saw the sheriff roll up his windows, getting ready for a little drive

He pulled out behind me and pulled me over. He asked why I was "doing 74MPH when the limit was 60 MPH". I told him that I was pacing traffic and he said, "No son, you were actually gaining on traffic. I'll be right back". So, sat and waited, came back with a ticket, and here I am now.

Now, from fellow washington-ians (as well as the rest of the members) do you think I can have this dropped if I went to court? If not, what's going to happen to my record/insurance? I'm clueless about this, this is my first ticket since I started driving 2 1/2 years ago. I need answers

 
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if you didnt see any speed limit signs just go to court and try and fight it, maybe the judge will lower your price or drop the ticket... i dunno but if was me i'd jus pay it.

 
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can u not go to drivers school?

 
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Go to Driver's school if you can. If not I would go to court and explain exactly what happened. If the officer doesn't show up, your ticket gets dismissed anyway, it is worth it. If it stands, then you gotta pay. The Judge may be a bit more lenient since you have no previous tickets.

Some say that if you apply for an extension it is more likely the officer won't show up...but I don't know how accurate that is.

 
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you are eligable for drivers school if you havent had a ticket in the last 18 months so just pay the ticket go to traffic school and show it at the courthouse to prove you went to traffic school

 
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The trick ive "heard" my friends do is just show up to court and when the judge asks you to speak you ask the cop a few questions.

First ask if they knwo when the last time the had there laser/radar whatever they are using calibrated and if they can show proof. I dunno how it is in washington but in cali I guess they have to get there radar calibrated every few months.

If they nail that then ask if the cop knows his equipment well and can operate it appropriatley to get the correct reading. If they reply yes to this ask them if they know the serial number nad manufacture of there radar gun. If the cop gets this then there just an *******... But youstill can catch them on a trick question by asking the cop if since he/she is so familiar with there equipment they can oprate it and give tickets out without thinking... So if they agree then you just point out to the judge the cop is either incompitent to use there equipment or they give out tickets without thinking.

This is just a story Ive heard my friends have tried but i dunno for sure lol.... Might be worth a try lol.

 
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I say just take defensive driving, since you still have that option. It'll take the ticket off your record afterwards. Sure, it's boring and wastes a whole day of your life but it's also a surefire thing. It's probably better than risking it by going to trial and hoping the cop doesn't show up.

 
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74mph is the speed limit here in Atlanta

 
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Call up the police dept. and ask for the calibration records of the cop's radar gun that wrote you the ticket. By law, if you are involoved in a legal matter with this cop you have every right to look at all pieces of evidencce that have to deal with this court case. This alone will take you a long time to get, when I did this the police station stalled and it took me almost 9 months to get the report, I had to stall the court system, and they didn't like that. When I did get the paper work it showed that he didn't have his gun calibrated for almost a 5 month period of time. In IL that is a big no-no, with my proof I was able to justify why this cop's radar gun was showing me doing well over the speed-limit. Even if I was speeding, I was able to use the items at my disposal to my advantage. Think of everything that has to do with the situation at hand and use it. Go back to the highway and take pictures of the surrounding roads showing that there is no speed limit sign posted around the area where you were driving. That is a big one.

 
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All you need is a resonable doubt

 
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Why do all of that if you were speeding? All of that just makes you look like a jerk in front of the judge, the cop, and any people who are in the court room. Just go into court and explain the situation, then let the judge decide what to do. Even if you didn't know what the speed limit was, it's still speeding (although it sucks when there aren't any signs around). Just tell the judge there weren't any signs, then take some pictures for court. The bottom line is to take responsibility for what you did, and don't try to blame it on someone else. Just think of the person who tried to sue McDonalds for making him fat .

I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to make a point .

 
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It falls under the same thing as Spike Lee trying to sue TNN for saying they are now Spike TV. Stupid, but yet why take it to court for the same reason this person would to try to get soemthing for nothing, or in his case to try and get nothing for something

 
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go to court and fight it. usually the judge throws out any speeding ticket thats 15mph and less. at least in NJ they do. and even if they dont throw it out completely, the prosecutor will most likely decrease it.

 
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by theguysmiley
Why do all of that if you were speeding? All of that just makes you look like a jerk in front of the judge, the cop, and any people who are in the court room. Just go into court and explain the situation, then let the judge decide what to do. Even if you didn't know what the speed limit was, it's still speeding (although it sucks when there aren't any signs around). Just tell the judge there weren't any signs, then take some pictures for court. The bottom line is to take responsibility for what you did, and don't try to blame it on someone else. Just think of the person who tried to sue McDonalds for making him fat .

I'm not trying to be mean, just trying to make a point . [/QUOTE


Well after being impounded for racing, tickets for doing 100+ on the freeway lol you got to resort to options... its my friends thing though... I only (knock on wood) have had one ticket.... Contributed to an ex leaving me and doing 80 in a 35 residential.... luckily the cop was nice...

I did traffic school in 20 minutes online

 
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thats what ive heard as well if you go to court there is a chance of getting it reduced just because you showed up and showed the effort

 
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Ask for a trial by jury!!

 
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you have 3 choices here
you can do a defensive driving, but wait .... it's only in Tx
lawyer is always the best choice for me
or you can go to the court fighting by yourself plea not guilty and ask trial by jury
probation is the last option, i mean if you get probation, you can't get any ticket in maybe 6 months; if you get ticket within that time, you'll screw

 
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I'm glad I ran into this thread. I just recently got a ticket too. Thanks for the input guys

 
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All this stuff about calling the police department and getting calibration, blah blah blah is all bs and a waste of time. It won't get you off.

You should always go to court for any ticket even if a court appearance is not required. And since this is your first offense (I think that's what you said) you should be able to get off with no points. Anyway at the very least you should only get a point. I'm guessing that your ticket is two or three points. I don't know how it is in Washington. But when you go to court, go stand in the line to see the prosecutor. He or she will already have a plea bargain off for you. You will probably be charged with unsafe driving with no points. You just plea guilty to that, go through the formalities with the judge, pay the ticket and court fees, and you are done.

Also, don't get a lawyer for this. Waste of money for something like this and plus this is your first offense.

 
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if you plea guilty, it will be on your record for about 5 years (not sure how long)
you know what, you'll pay more money on the insurance, and that's not a good thing
i have a clean record, about 5 tickets i got all cleaned by using lawyer
insurance is still the same
i know you have to pay around $160 here in Tx to get a lawyer
but which one do want? clean record? or bad record w/ high insurance fee?


guilty is guilty, no matter this is the 1st time
they won't let you go

 
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I think you are talking about my comment. I never said they will let you go. I said that they will give you a break if this is your first time. Whether it be a one, two, three point reduction. As long as you go to court and this is your first offense you will receive this break. That is how the system works. I was caught speeding. It was a three point offense. I was able to get that down to 0 points but plead guilty to a lesser charge of "unsafe driving". Guilty is guilty but guilty with points and guilty with no points is totally different. My insurance is still the same and hasn't got up since. And this happened a little more than a year ago. Prosecutors give you this plea bargain option because they don't want you to plead "not guilty" and then they have to setup a date for your trial, whereby the cop is needed and more paperwork to be done. (btw there is no trial by jury for speeding) If you go through this they will show no mercy even if this is the first time. They will find you guilty 99% of the time and you will accessed full penalty for wasting their time. So take the plea bargain and you will be better off.

 
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i guess each state has its own way to handle this kind of problem

 
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Try and fight the ticket in court. They could drop it but almost always in court they lower the fine at the least. Around here if its your first offense they will make you go to this place called Sadisco. Basically its where they take all the totaled cars from drunk drivers and people street racing and stuff that wrapped their car around a telephone pole or something. So you spend an hour touring this place to try and scare you into not speeding again. See how stupid South Carolina is???

 
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sadisco? lol
that's funny