Speeding Ticket Advice

So I got a speeding ticket in Ohio on the way home from Daytona. 81 in a 70. I know I was not going 81, but can't prove it in court. I was not doing 70 though. I am going to go to the court on Monday not to dispute the ticket, but hopefully just keep points off my license and keep it away from the insurance company. Any advice other than to just ask the person handling the ticket cases what I can do? Show them I am an instructor for driver safety group? Go off on them telling them how dare they give me a ticket, don't they know who I am?

Thanks!

My suggestion is to go early and observe the judge and the proceedings. That alone will usually tell you how to handle is.

Ticketed for 11 over? Jeez.

Humility. I've been in court a bajillion times (I consider it a sport to attempt to beat tickets). That's the big one. If your record is clean, do not hesitate to show them that. The drivers safety thing is a nice touch, but could potentially backfire if the judge is a doucher (Most judges are actually cool, so I wouldn't worry). I would be very clear, very concise, and very simple. Judges HAAAAAATE "Well you see what had happened was" and then a big long story. I would say "I don't believe I was going 81MPH at the time. However, I have no way to prove that. I am aware that I was most likely speeding to some degree at the time and I apologize. If you look at my record, and the fact that I am an instructor- you can see this is not something I make a habit of. I'd like to know what my options are for keeping the points off my record, at the very least, and potentially having the fine dismissed, as I believe there may be a discrepency" and go from there.

In reply to mndsm:

I like that, thanks! I don't think I have a ticket in over a year. I was let off last time I was pulled over in MI.

I've done similar things. I don't deny my blame in the matter nor do i put the blame on the cop nor do I try to make excuses.

I simply ask for the fine to be reduced and each time, the ticket got dropped.

Keep in mind that tickets were for minor infractions.

It cost me $200 for a lawyer. He juggled things around until he got the Judge he wanted, then beat it down to a 1201a; parking on a sidewalk.

Fines, yes. Points, no.

Two years of living in MN where everyone drives the speed limit or less and there are a bajillion cops with nothing better to do than to pull you over taught me to drive the speed limit. It was a stark change from when I lived in AL and my commute consisted of a reenactment of a NASCAR race at Talladega. I miss those days sometimes, but when I moved to MN and found out that 10 over in a 55 would get you pulled over in a heartbeat and that even on the interstate going 5 over resulted in flying past everyone else, it reformed me. Now I pretty much focus on accelerating as fast as I can to the speed limit and then driving along like an old geezer. Cruise control is my new friend.

Dress nicely---- judges see it as a sign of disrespect if you show up in jeans and a t-shirt. You don't need to go over the top, but a nice set of pants, with a collared shirt can do wonders. Also-- shave and speak clearly and directly.

Appearances matter in court. The farther you distance yourself from the mouth-breathing masses the judge has to deal with every day.....the better.

I would go with a plan to beat the ticket, and not rely on some unknown judges compassion.

I'm not sure how it is in OH, but In MA you don't need to prove you weren't speeding, just that the reading may have been someone else.

How easy it difficult that is depends on a lot of things such as: method used (radar, lidar, pacing), traffic, distance when reading was taken, and how many lanes the reading was taken across).

How you reacted when stopped will also be in the officers report, so if you admitted to speeding when stopped (even if you said you weren't doing 81, but we're going over 80) it will be in there and make it tougher to fight.

Provide more details and I can make some recommendations. I have successfully beat tickets and guided several friends/coworkers to successful outcomes. The info listed above is a good place to start.

If you go in with science and math as your defense and not excuses you will have a better chance than 90% of the people that appeal a ticket.

If they get me. I take the lumps. If I think they exaggerate, or they got the wrong car, I fight it. Got nailed for 72 in 60, was in left lane and got waved over by a cop in the shoulder. I told the judge that, I was jn the left lane cuz i was ferryjng a car that needed attention to the repair shop and wanted easy shoulder access if the problem got worse and showed the invoice for it, and, I was being overtaken on the right qnd the cop pulled me just because I was in the wrong lane. You can also turn a speeding ticket into a defective equipment ticket pretty easily. They still get your money as planned, but you don't have insurance consequences. You can show somethig like measuring speedo error (golly, forgot how much taller tbose snow tires were!) after the ticket and surprise look here it is 10mph slow gee whiz. They will often turn it into def equipment or talking on celphone, or even, true story, illegal pickicking. The fine is still the same, funny thing, but ye olde insurance company need not know about it anymore.

what I've done, don't know if it's an option in Ohio, but here we usually are able to meet with an assistant DA prior to court time … more often than not (dependent on the charges, and often dependent on your attitude when stopped) charges can be lowered to where there are no points … this cuts down on the traffic in the court room … money is made by the state, without taking up court time

T.J. wrote: Two years of living in MN where everyone drives the speed limit or less and there are a bajillion cops with nothing better to do than to pull you over taught me to drive the speed limit. It was a stark change from when I lived in AL and my commute consisted of a reenactment of a NASCAR race at Talladega. I miss those days sometimes, but when I moved to MN and found out that 10 over in a 55 would get you pulled over in a heartbeat and that even on the interstate going 5 over resulted in flying past everyone else, it reformed me. Now I pretty much focus on accelerating as fast as I can to the speed limit and then driving along like an old geezer. Cruise control is my new friend.

And now you know why I'm an expert at court. I used to have at least one driver adjudicator on a first name basis. my 20s were fun.

In reply to wbjone: What he said with respect and side dish of nice apparel.

In reply to CGLockRacer:

No problem. My standing record is 6 ticket discharges at the same time, I enjoy court. I get a show, and I get a bit of competition. Come for the goobers, stay for the get out of jail free card.

Not sure if it is true for the whole state or not, but in Marysville if you pay the ticket and take an online driver course you can go double or nothing on the points. If you stay clean for a year the whole matter is forgotten.

23 years ago I got stopped in Key Largo for Tag Not Assigned. Headed for Fantasy Fest in Key West. Long story. I showed up in court in Tavernier in a suit, clean shaven, to appear before Judge Ronald Reagan. No joke. Others appearing were basically locals dressed in their best wife beater shirts, shorts, and flip flops. Most on domestic abuse and lobster poaching charges. I looked more like an attorney than an offender. Remember the TV show Night Court? Exactly like that. I explained that I had legal ownership of the van, the company I bought it from had been bought out 3 times since the truck was purchased and could not find the paperwork, and I had a letter from the company stating this. Apologized, said it was a stupid idea. Judge asked the prosecutor what did she want to do, she said "Drop it". That could have ended very differently. Much more to this story that should not be posted here.

been awhile since I went to a MI court for a ticket. There was a "advisement" process where you paid the fine, but no points if you stayed clean for 6 months. Dress right and be nice, common sense right?

In reply to Gearheadotaku:

The bad part is I live in MI and the court is in OH, so I've got that going against me

I have relationships with good ticket attornies here in my Ohio town but first, what County is the ticket from?

In reply to JohnRW1621:

Sandusky

And the one time I don't want snow, 6-8" is being predicted for Sunday night and I need to be there 8:30 a.m. - about 2 hrs away from where I'll be. Maybe no one will show up.

nderwater wrote: Ticketed for 11 over? Jeez.

He did say Ohio. 11 over is almost a felony there! They have huge groups of numbers living in fear of a ticket every day. I avoid Ohio if at all possible!

You said you live in Michigan? A Michigan plate spotted almost anywhere is like painting Cash Cow on your bumper.

I grew up in Ohio, I dont get the fear. yeah, they ticket for 11 over, dont tend to for 5-9 over. If you want nuts, go visit Virginia!

In reply to CGLockRacer:

michigan is one of only five states that does not reciprocate ticket information. i have no points on my license, but in the last 5 years may have been pulled for speeding a time or two.

In reply to AngryCorvair:

Are you saying that Ohio points won't show up on my license? Or Ohio doesn't get MI points?

EDIT: Found my answer: http://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-48296-88474--F,00.html

F*#^