Traffic Court 101: Basics of Fighting a Ticket

Those who receive a speeding ticket have two options: they can either pay their fine and take the other consequences, which are many; or they can go to traffic court and fight the charge. Statistics show that over 95% of those who are charged with speeding don’t fight the charge. The remaining 5% often receive a reduced charge or find that their charges are dismissed. In addition, arresting officers fail to appear in court to testify against the accused between 30 and 50% of the time. When that occurs, the charges are generally dropped. For all those reasons, it may be wise for those who have any kind of evidence for a defense against their speeding charges to take that fight to court.

Beating a Speeding Ticket

One way to “beat” a speeding ticket is to attend traffic school. While this may take a significant amount of time from someone’s workweek and there are significant costs in some states, those who successfully complete this option may have their changes dismissed and removed from their record. In addition, in some states this option may be completed online, making it easier and more convenient to fit around a busy schedule. For those who can’t or would rather not take the time to fulfill the requirements for traffic school, there are ways to fight a speeding ticket.

Understand the specific charge listed on the ticket issued. Courts pay close attention to each element of a traffic charge, and if the defendant can prove that any one of those elements does not apply, the judge may dismiss their case. For example, if the law covers speeding in a residential area and the driver was arrested on an interstate, the ticket does not apply.

Prove that the arresting officer was in error. There may be a number of means of doing this, including:

Casting doubt upon the officer’s ability to see the driver well at the time of the supposed violation.

Casting doubt about whether the officer stopped the right car. The road must have curves or turns between where the office claims to have seen the offense and where they stopped the accused. Providing evidence in court that there was no continuous view of the suspect may be sufficient to have the ticket dismissed.

Casting doubt upon the measurement method. Radar, laser, and VASCAR measurements are known to have limits in their reliability. However, when using this defense, be sure to have specific examples of such failure that match the conditions when the defendant’s car was stopped.

Casting doubt upon the danger created. In some states, if a driver is driving safely for the location and the conditions, even if they are going slightly over the posted speed limit, that may be considered a satisfactory defense.
Prove that there were extenuating circumstances at the time of the arrest:

The driver became ill, there were obstructions in the road, or that another driver would have caused an accident if the defendant had not gone over the speed limit to get out of the way.

The posted speed limit was missing, obscured, unreadable, or faded.

Getting Legal Help when Fighting a Speeding Ticket in Traffic Court

Evidence is the key to an effective defense in fighting a speeding ticket. A good argument rarely works. That is why it can be vital to call on a speeding ticket lawyer who has been successful in defending many other drivers accused of speeding. Those who worry about the costs must remember that all of the expenses of a traffic violation can add up to thousands of dollars in some instances. A good attorney can save a great deal of money while preserving a driver’s reputation in the process as well.

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