How to fight a speeding ticket

CR250Rider
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CR250Rider
Edited Date/Time 9/26/2014 7:18pm
Mr. Park Ranger said I was speeding in his park which I totally dispute.
I have a perfect record now and since I'm retired I want to fight it.
He had just pulled off a hiway and I believe he got an echo or something from the hiway. There is no way I was doing 54mph in a 35 zone but what can I say? It's his word against mine.
He didn't show me the readout, but I didn't ask anything or really say anything either, just "there was no way I was going that fast, and I wasn't speeding at all."

We passed head-on and I waved to him. After he went another 200-300 yards behind me he turned a U-turn.

Any ideas beyond hoping he doesn't show up for court.

I've read that you can be a jerk by asking for continuances and postponing the actual court date as long as possible, then they actually spend more money dealing with the paperwork and have to cover the ranger guys shift for his court date, etc.

thoughts?
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lostboy819
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lostboy819 8/18/2014 4:47pm
8/18/2014 4:47pm Edited Date/Time 8/18/2014 4:49pm
I would just pay it... But you can also plead innocent and then contact the Ranger who wrote it up and discuss what you feel happened and he may just decide not to go to court if you ask for a trial or he may talk to the DA after he talks to you, then when you plea innocent the DA could then drop it or he can plea it down. Saying you were not speeding will not help you in any way and sometimes if you do go to court it will cost you more if it goes to trial but the best bet is to cop a plea, less money and less points. If you contact him through his department and have nice talk it wont hurt. He may not call you back but you never know.
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 8/18/2014 5:02pm
8/18/2014 5:02pm Edited Date/Time 8/18/2014 5:02pm
From what I understand the worst that can happen is I'll lose and have to pay the $190 but it's not about the money.

I can also admit I was in the wrong and beg for mercy I guess.

It's a small town deal and I feel like they're just making money off tourists. If I worked and had to miss a day of work it'd be different. I would definitely just pay in that case.
I read if everybody just fought their tickets the system would be completely overloaded.

I hate the idea of militarized park rangers. This guy was a jack-booted nazi with a major attitude. Made me sick.

anyways.....
Brad460
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Brad460 8/18/2014 5:28pm
8/18/2014 5:28pm Edited Date/Time 8/18/2014 5:29pm
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through the mail- which is usually lowered points but the fine will be the same. Again, deny the "plea deal" and take it to court and make the officer/ranger show up. You likely will not win, but perhaps he will think twice about his unethical behavior..
reded
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reded 8/18/2014 6:47pm
8/18/2014 6:47pm
When I was in my 20's I got a ticket for exhibition of acceleration because a cop saw me leave a stop sign and my tires spun in some sand. Instead of arguing with the cop I went to the DA the next week and explained my plight. He said he would talk to the officer and to come back in one week.
The next week I returned thinking that I had probably not accomplished a damn thing. I sat down in his office and he said, son you have two choices here.

A. You can go over to the courthouse and pay them $35 dollars with nothing going against your record.
B. You can go to court, contest the ticket on your own, in front of the judge and likely lose.

I thanked him for his time and drove straight to the courthouse.

The Shop

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lostboy819
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lostboy819 8/18/2014 6:51pm
8/18/2014 6:51pm
Brad460 wrote:
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through...
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through the mail- which is usually lowered points but the fine will be the same. Again, deny the "plea deal" and take it to court and make the officer/ranger show up. You likely will not win, but perhaps he will think twice about his unethical behavior..
How is writing a ticket " unethical behavior"









racin mason
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racin mason 8/18/2014 6:53pm
8/18/2014 6:53pm
Park Ranger???? how much training has he had regarding radar?When was the last time the radar was calibrated?Plead not guilty ,explain your perfect record to the judge,and plant every seed of doubt you can about the ranger and his ability and TRAINING as a traffic cop.You never know ,the judge may have seen this ranger before,and just might think he is a jack booted nazi with an attitude.
racin mason
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racin mason 8/18/2014 7:02pm
8/18/2014 7:02pm
Brad460 wrote:
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through...
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through the mail- which is usually lowered points but the fine will be the same. Again, deny the "plea deal" and take it to court and make the officer/ranger show up. You likely will not win, but perhaps he will think twice about his unethical behavior..
lostboy819 wrote:
How is writing a ticket " unethical behavior"









I got a ticket for speeding once, and asked to see the radar.The radar showed my speed and the cops speed.The f@#&ng cop was going just as fast as i was,and the chickenshit sob gave me a ticket .That is how writing a ticket is unethical behavior!!
Sandberm
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Sandberm 8/18/2014 7:15pm
8/18/2014 7:15pm
Go with the sex-less marriage defense...if the judge wont buy it, mention free shipping
lostboy819
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lostboy819 8/18/2014 7:46pm
8/18/2014 7:46pm Edited Date/Time 8/18/2014 7:46pm
Brad460 wrote:
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through...
Based on your situation(being retired) go ahead and fight it..first you need to plead "not guilty". After that you will likely be offered a deal through the mail- which is usually lowered points but the fine will be the same. Again, deny the "plea deal" and take it to court and make the officer/ranger show up. You likely will not win, but perhaps he will think twice about his unethical behavior..
lostboy819 wrote:
How is writing a ticket " unethical behavior"









racin mason wrote:
I got a ticket for speeding once, and asked to see the radar.The radar showed my speed and the cops speed.The f@#&ng cop was going just...
I got a ticket for speeding once, and asked to see the radar.The radar showed my speed and the cops speed.The f@#&ng cop was going just as fast as i was,and the chickenshit sob gave me a ticket .That is how writing a ticket is unethical behavior!!
This isn't about your ticket that I am sure you deserved, this is about why Brad406 thinks why CR250riders ticket was " unethical behavior"
vanillaice782 8/18/2014 8:58pm
8/18/2014 8:58pm
I would just have a lawyer amend it down to a non moving violation. I tried to fight a ticket once, ended up having to go to court at least five times for 3-4 hours each. I got it thrown out at one point and they brought it back up somehow and I just said screw it and paid the fine. Years later I missed out on a job because I didn't mention it was on my record. I could have paid a lawyer to fix it with the money I would have made at work instead of court. Just pay it.
TDeath21
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TDeath21 8/18/2014 9:49pm
8/18/2014 9:49pm
A Facebook friend of mine posted this not too long ago. According to the comments at the bottom, it does work. It's worth a try for sure. I hope it works out for you.

LINK
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 8/18/2014 11:09pm
8/18/2014 11:09pm
No waze. I was out in the boonies anyway. It was like 102 that day and the park was only half full at best. When we stopped at the entrance the lady in the booth was on a personal phone call and we heard facebook being mentioned. After 10 minutes we just drove on. I was sure we got pulled over for not waiting for her important call to be over. I showed the nazi park ranger our $30 discover pass as soon as he walked up to the car. He said ah thats not why I'm pulling you over...did you know you were speeding? I said speeding? Me? No I wasn't. ...
Steamboat rock state park, wa.
IWreckALot
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IWreckALot 8/19/2014 6:21am
8/19/2014 6:21am
CR250Rider wrote:
No waze. I was out in the boonies anyway. It was like 102 that day and the park was only half full at best. When we...
No waze. I was out in the boonies anyway. It was like 102 that day and the park was only half full at best. When we stopped at the entrance the lady in the booth was on a personal phone call and we heard facebook being mentioned. After 10 minutes we just drove on. I was sure we got pulled over for not waiting for her important call to be over. I showed the nazi park ranger our $30 discover pass as soon as he walked up to the car. He said ah thats not why I'm pulling you over...did you know you were speeding? I said speeding? Me? No I wasn't. ...
Steamboat rock state park, wa.
I'm far from anything legal related but a guy I work with hires a local attorney for $25 or $40 or something like that. The attorney just continues to file for extensions and continuances or whatever they're called and it goes away for a year or two. If you can get a few of those, there is a good chance that the officer will no longer work there anymore. And he certainly won't remember the circumstances after that long. I believe that method varies from county to county and may not work in a small county. But might be an alternative to taking a lot of time out of your day and cheaper.
motosmith
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motosmith 8/19/2014 8:46am
8/19/2014 8:46am
I fight every ticket I get.

I'd rather give money to an attorney than the court.
huck
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huck 8/19/2014 9:02am
8/19/2014 9:02am
A lot of times they will move it to a 'non-moving' violation if it's your first ticket...pay the fine and it doesn't go on your record.
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 8/19/2014 9:35am
8/19/2014 9:35am
OK made copies of everything and sending certified mail on the last possible day.
I'll keep posting updates, Wish me luck!

I do have a lawyer friend that I'm going to call Smile I'd rather give him $200 than the park ranger with his mandatory donation BS.

1st thing I have for them to process is a change of address to my other house, hehe
hillbilly
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hillbilly 8/19/2014 9:54am
8/19/2014 9:54am
CR250Rider wrote:
Mr. Park Ranger said I was speeding in his park which I totally dispute. I have a perfect record now and since I'm retired I want...
Mr. Park Ranger said I was speeding in his park which I totally dispute.
I have a perfect record now and since I'm retired I want to fight it.
He had just pulled off a hiway and I believe he got an echo or something from the hiway. There is no way I was doing 54mph in a 35 zone but what can I say? It's his word against mine.
He didn't show me the readout, but I didn't ask anything or really say anything either, just "there was no way I was going that fast, and I wasn't speeding at all."

We passed head-on and I waved to him. After he went another 200-300 yards behind me he turned a U-turn.

Any ideas beyond hoping he doesn't show up for court.

I've read that you can be a jerk by asking for continuances and postponing the actual court date as long as possible, then they actually spend more money dealing with the paperwork and have to cover the ranger guys shift for his court date, etc.

thoughts?
If he has video of you and can use it and it has the right view of a tar,that is hillbilly for tire,try this.

You could count the revolutions of said tire per second. Measure the circumference of the tire and calculate the feet per second.

Then convert that to mph, 60mph is 88 ft per second.

Pit Row

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71Fish
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71Fish 8/19/2014 11:18am
8/19/2014 11:18am
Can't you do a driving school or something to have it erased? If not, just pay the thing. Chances are you were in the wrong and can't or won't admit it. Any time I've been stopped, I was in the wrong, just happened to get caught. I'm never a dick to the cop and I'm let go with a warning everytime. Last ticket was in 2002.
enketchum
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enketchum 8/19/2014 9:34pm
8/19/2014 9:34pm Edited Date/Time 8/19/2014 9:37pm
Sorry. I was doing it backwards
Falcon
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Falcon 8/19/2014 9:47pm
8/19/2014 9:47pm
It sounds like you are willing to fight it and possibly lose, so do yourself a favor and prepare. Here are some things I've heard:

The cop must explain how he obtained your speed. Remember, peace officers are supposed to be able to tell speed within 5 m.p.h., so his best guess could be over by that amount.

He says he "got an echo." What is that? Radar? What did the radar gun show on the display? Did he record that reading? When was it calibrated? When was he last trained to use the radar gun? Does he have his most recent certification for training?

You are assumed innocent until proven guilty, so make the bastard prove it if he wants that ticket to stick.
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 8/20/2014 7:14am
8/20/2014 7:14am
I've gone my whole life and never fought a ticket, its about time eh? Of course I haven't got a speeding ticket since I was in college either.
Thanks for the ideas and input.

Can I appeal if I do lose? Smile
KMC440
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KMC440 8/20/2014 8:06am
8/20/2014 8:06am
There's a 9mm thread you can look into .... Whistling
h&m_cycle
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h&m_cycle 8/20/2014 10:02am
8/20/2014 10:02am
anything over 15 cost some people their job, good thing your retired.

the cop was probably just another kid that got picked on in school.
Brad460
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Brad460 8/20/2014 10:33am
8/20/2014 10:33am
lostboy819 wrote:
How is writing a ticket " unethical behavior"









racin mason wrote:
I got a ticket for speeding once, and asked to see the radar.The radar showed my speed and the cops speed.The f@#&ng cop was going just...
I got a ticket for speeding once, and asked to see the radar.The radar showed my speed and the cops speed.The f@#&ng cop was going just as fast as i was,and the chickenshit sob gave me a ticket .That is how writing a ticket is unethical behavior!!
lostboy819 wrote:
This isn't about your ticket that I am sure you deserved, this is about why Brad406 thinks why CR250riders ticket was " unethical behavior"
Either CR250 is lying or the ranger is unethical...based on how passionate CR250 is on this ticket I am guessing the latter..therefore the Ranger was acting unethical by handing out a bogus ticket.


Racer92
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Racer92 8/20/2014 10:50am
8/20/2014 10:50am
Brad460 wrote:
Either CR250 is lying or the ranger is unethical...based on how passionate CR250 is on this ticket I am guessing the latter..therefore the Ranger was acting...
Either CR250 is lying or the ranger is unethical...based on how passionate CR250 is on this ticket I am guessing the latter..therefore the Ranger was acting unethical by handing out a bogus ticket.


Doesnt really matter. Unless you have bonafide evidence to support your claim its your word against his.

Been through this before, you cant win. You cant fight City Hall.
CR250Rider
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CR250Rider 9/26/2014 5:55pm
9/26/2014 5:55pm Edited Date/Time 9/26/2014 6:22pm
Hi boys!
I had my day in court today and the park ranger did not show up. The judge asked me a couple of questions about how it went down, I explain them and he said okay I'm satisfied case dismissed ticket dismissed.
I think what I learned is always fight your tickets every time unless you're just too busy. Me, I'm retired and I had a fun morning!
stantdm
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stantdm 9/26/2014 6:36pm
9/26/2014 6:36pm
Good for you and I am glad it turned out that way. Lets assume the ticket writer didn't show up because he knew he was wrong for writing it in the first place. Smile
hvaughn88
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hvaughn88 9/26/2014 6:39pm
9/26/2014 6:39pm
Step #1 for fighting a speeding ticket: don't be Hillbilly.
Step #2: repeat step 1 LaughingTongue

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