So I'm late to work today. CHP got me doing 86 in a 65. Does anyone know the approximate bail amount for this type of speed?

I'm not trying to avoid paying this, but I swear my speedo was at 81 when I saw the patrol unit. FWIW the car was on the shoulder of the road with the "built-in" radar unit and there were plenty of other cars around doing various speeds above and below me. How did it single out just mine?

Should I sucker up and pay the fine or try to contest it for a lower speed, or is it pointless to fight it?

It's been about 8 years since my last ticket so I'm sort of a newbie at this again! :P


Thanks.

200 +

close to 300 with traffic school

Is there any chance to fight this and win, given that:

a) the patrol car was using "stationary" RADAR (not LIDAR, it specifically says "RADAR" on the ticket)

b) there were other cars on the road simultaneously to me, including a larger late model X5 travelling at a similar speed.

Is there any chance to fight this and win, given that:

You can try, but IMO your chances are slim.

Since you can, pay the fine & take traffic school.

That's my 2 cents.

Is there any chance to fight this and win, given that:

a) the patrol car was using "stationary" RADAR (not LIDAR, it specifically says "RADAR" on the ticket)

b) there were other cars on the road simultaneously to me, including a larger late model X5 travelling at a similar speed.CHP Officers are trained to estimate your speed to within a few MPH with just their eyeballs, and they use the radar to verify their visual estimate. They're very very good at it and it holds up in court so it's not likely you'd win. Even if you can get the speed lowered to as low as 68 mph you're still over the posted 65 mph limit and still just as guilty.

probably ~275 with traffic school.
also wouldn't help you to fight it and have it lowered to 81, it's still speeding and the fine probably wouldn't be any less. other people going faster/slower than you isn't a valid argument, he'll just say you were the fastest he saw, and he didn't have time to pull everyone over. it sucks, but I don't see a way out. you could always try the extend, trial by written declaration, trial de novo, plead guilty and do traffic school anyway thing if you want to burn some time, and if at any point something falls in your favor the case may be dismissed, but the chances are small.

gl

i don't know if you want to go through the hassle of getting the records of when the radar was last calibrated, but it may be worth it. My friend was clocked doing 90 in a 65 and got off clean because the equipment wasn't up to date. technicalities.

You can try, but IMO your chances are slim.

Since you can, pay the fine & take traffic school.

That's my 2 cents.

+1.

I have fought a speeding citation issued by the CHP and did not win. The officer was very well prepared and, as another member said, their visual estimation will hold up in court if you use the "radar distance splay/spread with multiple vehicles" argument. If they say they had a visual on you at that speed and the radar confirmed it, you will most likely lose your case. The officer in my case even had the valid speed survey for the road, so the illegal speed trap argument wasn't there for me either.

Unless you know you have a point that can have your case nailed, just take traffic school. It's not like you don't admit you were speeding anyway. I learned my lesson fighting that ticket...I'm only fighting tickets now where I believe I am truly right or have done nothing wrong.

3k with my lawyer fees.

Go fight it, piece of cake...you have nothing to lose. Plus the ticket fee is a small 1 -compared to what they can really make out there. Fight it and if the cops shows up, just apologize and ask the judge to let you go to traffic school. Dress nice and don't be a dick when you talk to the judge/cop.

Don't ask me how I know. :devillook

The only way you would win if the officer was sick or not present on the date of your court,
or you can just show up to court dress nice/ be polite and the judge will lower the fine for just showing up.
I had a ticket that was $640 dropped to 360 and one of the points dropped all just for showing up.
Plus since you havent had a ticket in 8 years you are eligible for traffic
court and then the ticket will never appear on your record.

The only way you would win if the officer was sick or not present on the date of your court,
or you can just show up to court dress nice/ be polite and the judge will lower the fine for just showing up.
I had a ticket that was $640 dropped to 360 and one of the points dropped all just for showing up.
Plus since you havent had a ticket in 8 years you are eligible for traffic
court and then the ticket will never appear on your record.

That's right! Just show up to court and if the officer who cited you show up just be polite and ask the judge for traffic school. If he CHP dosn't show up you're off the hook - No record! Been there, done that.

Take community service. my cousin got 20 hours for speeding in a school zone. or you can fight it and pray he doesnt show.

So I have nothing to lose other than my time if I show up? I won't have to pay court fees, etc., if found guilty?

So I have nothing to lose other than my time if I show up? I won't have to pay court fees, etc., if found guilty?You have two choices. 1. Pay the ticket via mail or in person and request traffic school to keep it off your record. 2. Go to court and plead not guilty. They'll have you pay the bail right there and then you will be given a future court date to come back to court to face the officer and try your case. The deal is that if you take it to court, they usually will not let you take traffic school if the officer shows up and you lose your case. You give up your shot at traffic school when you plead not guilty.

Just know that CHP officers get paid overtime to go to court so they LIKE to go to court, and it's not likely that he'll be a no-show. They are always very well prepared, they don't usually make any errors, and they pretty much always win. They are very good at this stuff, it's what they do.

Hmm. Well if that's the case, I guess I'll just pay for traffic school then get the points off my record. I believe I'll save money in the long run this way by not having my insurance go up.

Thanks for all the help guys -- I'm seriously considering a) Getting a radar detector, b) Installing a logging GPS receiver, and c) Driving slower. All of the above should help! :D

I offer 2 things to help you.

Get as Many extentions as possible....

...Then do a Trial by Declaration

The last ticket i had i pleaded not guilty and went to court, the CHP didn't show and I got let off. For the people that were there and their citing officer did show, they still had the option to go to traffic school. IMO, plead not guilty and try your luck, you can still go to traffic school if the guy shows up, according my understanding.

The last ticket i had i pleaded not guilty and went to court, the CHP didn't show and I got let off. For the people that were there and their citing officer did show, they still had the option to go to traffic school. IMO, plead not guilty and try your luck, you can still go to traffic school if the guy shows up, according my understanding.

I just went through this for an unsafe lane change.
Kept getting extensions until I went to challenge the officer.
Of course, he showed up bc they get extra pay for it.

I have the option for traffic school and when time came to pay up,
I went to the clerk and told her I didn't have the money, so I was given another date to see the commissioner- 2 months hence.

I still have another month.

I got 80 in a 65.

$180ish for the ticket
$215ish for the ticket+traffic school.

I just got my first ticket a few weeks ago. I was going 86 in a 65 as well :rolleyes

You have two choices. 1. Pay the ticket via mail or in person and request traffic school to keep it off your record. 2. Go to court and plead not guilty. They'll have you pay the bail right there and then you will be given a future court date to come back to court to face the officer and try your case. The deal is that if you take it to court, they usually will not let you take traffic school if the officer shows up and you lose your case. You give up your shot at traffic school when you plead not guilty.

Just know that CHP officers get paid overtime to go to court so they LIKE to go to court, and it's not likely that he'll be a no-show. They are always very well prepared, they don't usually make any errors, and they pretty much always win. They are very good at this stuff, it's what they do.

Hold it! This all depends on the Officer's supervisor. If the fine is in the thousands he will definitely be there. If it's only $200 to $300 and the court date happens to be his day off I'm pretty sure he's not gonna be authorized and get paid OT by his boss. You will still be allowed to take traffic school if you are found guilty.

you might as well try and fight it, if he's there then ask for traffic school, if not then woohoo! you're off

There is no such thing as a "speed trap".... go look up "entrapment"... entrapment is making an otherwise honest person do something illegal. That is what entrapment is.. you were speeding, no one forced you to do it. It won't hurt to go to court, but your chances are slim. I'd take traffic school and be done with it...

Hold it! This all depends on the Officer's supervisor. If the fine is in the thousands he will definitely be there. If it's only $200 to $300 and the court date happens to be his day off I'm pretty sure he's not gonna be authorized and get paid OT by his boss. You will still be allowed to take traffic school if you are found guilty.

WRONG..... officers get paid overtime to attend court on days off. Most get at least 3 hours of overtime for ANY OT appearance. That means that if an officer shows up for 20 minutes, he will still get paid 3 hours OT.. he'd be an idiot to not show. Also 21 over might not qualify for traffic school.

Hold it! This all depends on the Officer's supervisor. If the fine is in the thousands he will definitely be there. If it's only $200 to $300 and the court date happens to be his day off I'm pretty sure he's not gonna be authorized and get paid OT by his boss.

You will still be allowed to take traffic school if you are found guilty.Wrong on both counts. CHP and (LAPD Traffic Division officers IIRC) are authorized for up to 4 hours of OT to show up in court to defend their ticket, and they typically will go on their day off or on a vacation day. They make their schedule available to the court system so the clerk knows what day and time to schedule your next court appearance to give the state the best chance of winning the case. Sometimes the officer just can't make it, or has a more important court case and cannot make it, but chances are he will be there.

And if you plead not guilty and force the officer to come to court, you forfeit your right to take traffic school if found guilty. Now if the judge wants to be a sweetheart he can allow traffic school, but the system is set up so that you get screwed if you cause the county/city/state to spend thousands of dollars in court costs by pleading not guilty. I've gone through the system many times in my 35 years of driving and have sat through countless traffic court cases in various courts and only once have i seen a judge allow a guy to get traffic school after losing in court. Check with any court and ask if you can get traffic school after pleading not guilty and being found guilty in court.

When I fought my case in court and lost, the commissioner did not offer me traffic school when I asked simply because he "does not offer traffic school for speeding, red light, or stop sign violations." This was based on the reasoning that traffic school is to help people become better drivers, and that it wouldn't really help speeders or red light runners. I thought it was an absolutely ridiculous and terrible reason (as well as an excuse for being a jerk), because not issuing me traffic school will not really teach me to be a better driver any more than sending me to traffic school.

At any rate, the commissioner can say no, and probably will.