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I recently got a speeding ticket at 1 am on a one lane road in the middle of nowhere. It was pitch black so basically all I could see was what was directly in front of me. Well i was going about 70 on a straight part(in a 55) and all of a sudden boom! i see headlights go on off the side of the road right when i pass the car. Since I couldnt see the cop is it still legal for him to give me a ticket cause I thought cops always have to be in plain view... THanks.

 
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i think it depends on whether the speed limit sign was visable.. but u might have a point. good luck

 
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it used to be that way that cops had to either have some type of lighting on to let you know he/she was there, but the laws have changed since then and cops can pretty much sit anywhere and arent required to have any lights on. I think Injencivic knows more about this, so ask him. I am pretty sure this is how it is now, I swear I have read several articles about it. Copes now days will hide anywhere to catch speeders. Around here on I-45 going to dallas they will hide in the bushes, and I mean in the bushes and you wont see them for crap.

Either way, you really dont have much of a chance. You may not have seen the cop, but for all you know, he could have had his parking lights on and you werent paying attention. And all you saw was some headlights flip on in the corner of your eye. But you were speeding and got caught red handed. Just take defensive driving or defered and get it dismissed.

 
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Each state varies on what an officer can and can't do. Some states require that a police vehicle have a visible light bar to make routine traffic stops and others don't. In Ohio it's not that the officer can't give a ticket if he/she is sitting with thier lights off, but rather for safety purposes they leave them on. You should check your state laws, although chances are since it was a rural road, there are no limitations to how an officer has to run traffic. 99.9% sure that you aren't going to be able to get out of this ticket anyways. Especially if it was in the middle of no where, because the judge or mayor is not going to cut you any slack for speeding.

 
Rep Power: 349

In 1999 (the last time I read the CVC), it was illegal for an officer to not be in plain sight as that constituted a speed trap and the State Senate made those illegal a while back. I don't know if it has changed since (I moved out in 2001) but it's worth a read. I used to have a great site where you could search the CVC but I deleted it since I no longer live there. You can buy one at any CHP station. Just look for the 40800 section (I believe).

Do a google for California and speed trap illegal and see what you come up with.



EDIT: I did a search and came up with this: http://www.ibiblio.org/rdu/ca-speed.html

 
Rep Power: 257

You need to figure out where the officer was sitting. There is something about being in plain site (can't remember the legistaltive proceedings case #) but plain site means the officer can be visibly seen from the roadway. Meaning he/she can't sit in the bushes and run radar, then jump out and give you a ticket. However, in the dark you must prove the officer was doing something similar or comparabe to this. If he was sitting off in the grass off of the roadway, then even though you may not have seen him, doesn't mean that he was not in plain site. If an officer sits in a parking lot, full of cars and you can't see him, doesn't mean that he is setting up a speed trap. Only because if you really looked you could have seen the vehicle, but where he was located might not have been that obvious. Catch my drift.

 
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Why fight it when you are obviously guilty of breaking the law?

 
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cause im broke, ***

 
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WTF?!?!

 
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Nope... Not worth your time or energy. You are guilty of speeding regardless of the technicality. Yes the police officer must be in plain view during a speed trap. Now at 1 in the morning, what is directly visable is up for debate. Chances are, if it's a 1 lane road, it's not going to be well illuminated. The cop may be clearly visible in the exact same location at a different time of day. Think about it, if the cop was sitting in the exact same place with his headlights on, he poses a bigger risk of causing an accident as a result of blinding oncoming motorists. Just take what at this point you do diserve, and don't speed.

 
Rep Power: 334

i believe CA law says any patrol car should have at least there parking lights on when in park and driving lights on after a certain amount of time.

if the officer didnt have neither and pulled you, you still broke the law (speeding) and thats what this issue is about. your argument of "the officer did not have his parking lights on to let me know he was there so i could slow down to avoid a ticket" wont work.


i think this could be a good time to use that traffic school if you havent within 18 months. if you have, then try to contest the ticket and when you show up to court, talk to the judge that you would like to request traffic school (let the judge know you attended within 18 months if you did as well) and sometimes, the judge can do that. that way, your insurance wont go up.

stpyro8 has a good point as well. im sure the officer would tell the judge that at court as well.



IMO, plead guilty and traffic school OR contest and pray. however, if you lose the case, you can request traffic school from the judge still.


ps: http://www.ticketassassin.com/fight.html
goodluck

 
Rep Power: 257

Not true, a ticket can be thrown out on a technicality. Trust me I know.. LOL

 
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good luck with fighting it

 
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The problem is that CVC 22350 basically says that you should never drive too fast for conditions. Techincally, If it was so dark that all you could see was what is right in front of you then you should of been driving slower to accomadate for the lack of visibility. There argument will be that had you not been going 15 over then you would of seen the speed limit signs AND the officers car.

I could probably help you out more if you posted what cvc you were written for. 22350 or 22349? Also, was speed checked by laser or radar? The defense you gave so far is actually hurting your case.

Here is what I would do given the information you had given me:

1. Find out how many speed limit signs there are for a distance of 20 miles or so in the area you got the ticket. IF there are any that are at 70MPH you may have a chance.

2. Take a video camera and film the are while drving at night going 55MPH to determine if the signs were visible at that speed.

3. Here is your defense. You saw the sign posted 70MPH posted several miles back and were driving at the posted speed limit posted and at resonable speed for conditions. The signs that followed were not posted visibly as required by the cvc and as a result you did not see them. You would have slowed down to 55 had the signs been clearly posted.

IMHO this is what's really going to happen. 1.You will not find a 70MPH sign in a 20MPH radius. This means that you were speeding regardless. If you were to film at 55MPH you will probably seen the speed limit signs if you look for them. 3. The rationale would be that If you were driving over the maximum speed limit, and did not see the signs it was a result from your unsafe rate of speed. Therefore, it is likely that it the same reason that you did not see the officer who was parked in plain view on the side of the road.

I hope that it works out better for you.

 
Rep Power: 397

Just go find a 70 mph sign and post it up right near where the cop gave you a ticket... case closed