On Friday night I was on my way to visit an old friend of mine who now lives in the thumb. I was driving my Dad's 95 taurus because my parents didn't want me to drive mine, they were worried something would break down. I wasn't about to argue, in situations like that it's just best to keep Mom happy so she doesn't worry. Plus my Dad's car is newer than mine anyway...

So I was in the Lansing/Charlotte area and had taken a wrong turn on the highway so I was trying to figure out how to get back on I-69. I swear I had the cruise set at 75 and all of a sudden my eye was drawn to my rear view because of the flashing red light and the spotlight. So I pulled over. The trooper comes up and asks for my license and registration and so on, which I gave to him. Then he asks me where I'm going, which I fail to see is any of his business. Like anybody ever admits to being late to a drug sale or something. But since I was confused about how to get back on I-69 I told him that I was trying to get to my friend's house in the thumb. Even showed him the directions that I printed out.

Then he asked if I knew why he pulled me over. Why do they ask this? Like anybody is ever going to say "I thought you just wanted to say hi, thanks for wearing your seatbelt"... So I told him I was a little puzzled because I had the cruise set at 75. He said "no, you were going a little faster than that. I had you going 82." I don't think I was going that fast, I would have known and besides, I had the cruise set.

Anyway, he wrote me up for 80 in a 70 zone. My question is, would it get me anywhere to contest the citation? Any number of things could have happened... he could have read a different car and thought it was I, his equipment could be reading incorrectly (I've read that this is possible with vehicles like the taurus where the front end is kinda slopey).

He did give me directions how to get back on I-69 though, which was nice of him. *shrug*

 

My experience has been to contest every ticket you get, deserved or not. At worst it gets you a few more weeks to pay it, at best, the officer doesn't show up to the hearing and you gte out of it completely. I've had that happen on several occasions actually.

But as far as a reason to contest it, I don't think you have a leg. The first thing the officers usually say on their side of the case is how long they have been an officer, their last certification on the radar equipment, and that it was tested before and after his shift.

Not to mention the speed limit is 70, not 75 where you had the cruise set

But in Michigan at least, speeding is not an intent based infraction. You do not have to intend to speed to be guilty. The mere fact you were speeding makes you guilty. Your speedo could have said 55 in the 70mph zone where you were at, and if the officer makes a convincing case, you are still guilty.

 

Isn't "fighting" a ticket the same as "contesting" a ticket?

How do I go about doing that?

 

look on the ticket it should have the court house and the # to contact. then call some traffic lawers and go from there.

They always ask those questions when you get pulled over. for all he knew you could have been high on coke and has 5 pounds of weed in the trunk. Sometimes simple info give them an idea what they are dealing with. its always in your best interest to be honest.

i wouldnt expect too much since you told him you had the cruise set at 75 and knew that you were speeding anyway. however if it is your first offence they might take it under advisement, and not give you any points and just pay court costs and sometimes the ticketed fine. But you better not get another in a certain amount of time or you get points from the new one and the old one no matter what.

 

Everybody keeps saying get a lawyer, get a lawyer. It's not anywhere near necessary in this situation. Infact, if you call to schedule an informal hearing, they wont let you have a lawyer present. It's just you the magistrate, and the cop. A formal hearing is the one where you have a lawyer, and IMO is only necessary when you have some severe ticket like DWI, Reckless driving, or something that carries a huge fine.

Here's what you do: Call the courthouse and talk to the person who does the scheduling for informal hearings. Tell them that you want to schedule an informal hearing and they will ask for your citation # and verify your address. They will send you a paper in the mail about a week or two later telling you when to show up to court. Plan on waiting a while. I got a ticket back in October of last year, and the hearing wasn't until three months later. If you want to wait even longer, call at least 3 weeks or so before your hearing and reschedule it. Tell them you have some sort of hardship. That way the cop will have more time to forget what happened. For your ticket it's probably not necessary though.

Then, when court day comes up, if the cop dosen't show up, the Magistrate drops it. From my experience the cop ponly shows up about 50% of the time. Even if he does show up, he will probably want to bagain you down to a lesser charge that dosen't carry any points. Use your discretion from there.

Traffic lawyer, LOL, you are your own traffic lawyer. If you end up getting one of those high dollar tickets you should just plan on getting bent over IMO and get one then but not until.

 

Yes, sorry. I fixed it

 

You must have not batted your eyes at him enough if he gave you the full speed ticket.

I was going west on M-57 doing 72 in a 55 to M4 and got stopped by a State Trooper and he only wrote me up for 60 in a 55. Mainly because I was honest with him, I told him I had the cruise set just over 70 and that I was going to meet some friends and we were going drag racing. I even showed him my helmet.

So bottom line, always be honest with the police it is in your best interest.

 

i must have been to honest with a state boy one time going to chicago.. i got nailed for a 94/55.. he asked if i knew why i was being pulled over. and i said. for speeding. he said you are correct. went back to his car. gave me the full amount. oh yeah , i was going to chicago and somewhere the highway i was on dropped from either 70 or 65 too 55..either way i was in the wrong and got what i deserved.

 

It is unfortunate that I have any experience in this area.. Simply put, fight it, this one, and ANY ticket that you may ever get in your life. This goes for you, and to anyone reading this!!

While cruising in the country last Sept, State boy pulls me over. Nice car he says. yada yada yada, I ask him why he pulled me over. "You just happened to be going by while I was doing nothing" I couldn't believe his answer. He goes back, checks me out, I come out clean, he comes back with a ticket for the window tint (I have a prescription), and for the tires being too wide, he says they stick out past the bumper valance, not the fender mind you, as the law states. I just went to court for that last week, paid the tint, kept it on the windows, and they dropped the tire one, because it is has to do with the fender. (Hey, they are only 335's )

Or the State boy who pulls me over & gives me a ticket for running a stop sign, even though it was a blind corner, the ones where you stop, then have to pull way out to see if it's safe to proceed, it was, so since I had already stopped, I kept on truckin. The magistrate looked at all my pictures, and went out to look at the site. Got there, and determined that the Trooper submitted the ticlet to the wrong county & dropped the ticket (translation, we know the trooper was wrong, but we give him a way out) Win win for both of us on that one.

Or the infamous Dream Cruise careless driving ticket, for squeeling the tires. Went to see the magistrate & had to sit there and ramble on about how the dream cruise just doesn't make any sence to him. I never said I was there for the dream cruise, it was written on the ticket. The officer was cool about it, but the day of court, didn't know me from Adam. Going to district on that one.

Set an informal, see the magistrate. Tell him you were not going 80, and that he must have clocked the cars that were passing you. Let him ask you how fast you wee going, dont volunteer that. The point is that you were not doing 80. 9 times out of 10, the magistrate will drop the ticket down. If you like what he proposes, you accept it & pay, if not you still pay, but file an appeal right there (a 1 form sheet) , and then you go see a real district court judge, and the county prosecutor is in charge of all deal making. Do you think they want to see you there on a traffic offense? It's a waste of their time. That's your opportunity to say, I def was not speeding, I was not going 80, and I will not accept the point on my licence and the hike in my insurance, however, I'm willing to plead to impeding traffic offence (no points, no raised insurance, but you still pay a fine), he gets a conviction, you get a lesser charge. Win, win. Even if he says no, go in front of the judge, please your case, and have the guts to ask him for the impeeding traffic. He can only say no. Sorry so long. Good luck.

 

Find out if he got you with a laser gun, or radar gun.

If there were other cars on the road at the time when you got pulled over, and he was using radar, you could contest that the radar locked on to another car going 82 and not yours. However if he used laser, than you probably dont have a chance. The most important thing is to plead for no points.

 

I have quite a bit to say here:

Police ask questions for a many reasons.
1) To see if you are being truthfull
2) To try and detect if you are drunk / drugs
3) To see if you are more nervous than you should be, a sign that something isn't right.
4) To see if you straight out hate them.


When the Officer asked where you were going he is doing all of those above things. If he are nervous it is going to be a little harder to think on the fly. Get what I mean? Insted of asking where you were headed, which IMO is his business because you were speeding, should he have asked how you like the weather?

I DO NOT RECOMMEND going in to court with the radar excuse. About 15 yrs ago it worked well, but now radar technology is far more advanced and makes pinpointing the vehicle much easier for the Ofc. I do not know of a case within a few years that was won on that account.

Just remember there is 100 good cops for every *****.

 

Nick, when I went to Court on the stop sign ticket, there was a lady there who swore that she was doing the speed limit, and didn't know why she got pulled over. The magistrate asked the officer if there were other vehicles in the area, and he admitted there was. Since it was 50-50, him claiming she was, she claiming she wasn't, the magistrate gave the defendant the benifit of the doubt, and dropped the ticket. I was surprised, because most magistrates do favor the cops. So, the moral is, you never know.

 

Well, certainly they must assume that everyone will be a little bit nervous when they get pulled over. I certainly was. It gives a person a very sick feeling in the pit of her stomach when she sees those lights back there... I was and always am honest with them, I figure lying isn't going to get me anywhere but into more trouble. I even showed him the directions my friend emailed me that I had printed out.

I called the number on the ticket today and found out that the fine is $90 and 1 point on my license. The point goes away in 2 years. I just wonder if it is worth my time. I'd likely have to take a day off from work to drive up to the 56th district court in Charlotte, and I really don't feel like I can afford to take days off from work. Then I don't know how to argue the situation because I don't know everything that was happening. How long was he following me? What kind of device did he use to see how fast I was going? And I can't remember if there were other cars around me at the time. I mean, there was traffic, but I can't remember how close it was...

And yes, I know there are 100 good cops for every jerk. This guy wasn't mean or anything. He did give me directions how to get back on I-69... And other officers have helped me out in times of need, so it's not like I hold a grudge. They are there to serve and protect.

 

Sounds like the state boys got you that hide in the weeds up there.I get about a ticket a year and fight every one of them. It does take an attourney for the judge to listen, but its usually the only way to get it broke down to impeeding traffic-no points. I have an auto transport business and cannot get any points or my insurance will double from the $7000 I am paying now. Most lawyers are $200-300 now for a simple moving violation. Cops really dont want to hassle with court but most get paid to show up and usually have notes that they make while their thoughts are fresh in their minds. Fight the ticket! That ticket is 2 points to the insurance company and stays on your record for 3 years. I just hope to see the day when you can get a jury trial for a traffic violation.

 

Yeah, right! In 21 years, I have only been helped by a cop ONCE.