Hey guys,

on my way home from vacation this morning, I got pulled over. The cop had been driving the other way, and said that he got me "on moving RADAR doing 67 in a 40". I have never heard of "moving RADAR" before, I thought that they could only get a readout on your speed if they were stopped, or using LAZER. The ticket was 245.00 and I will surely see an increase in my insurance premiums. Is he for real, or was he bullshitting me? If I contest it, will I be successful? Thanks guys.

 

Yes, it's for real. My ticket I recently received was from the same radar. Officers can now clock you while moving, so be careful. I would advise you to get a lawyer. That $245.00 won't compare to what your insurance rates will look like if you're convicted.

 

no contest, just keep postponing it and hope the cop doesn't show up. The state troopers always just drive with there radars on down 87. Should have got off the first exit and hid b/c I assume he had to turn around.

 

wow that bad huh? The shitty thing is, my rates just went up because of a traffic ticket I got 18 months ago, and the company waited this long to double my rates. This is going to kill it...is there any way to find out exactly how much my rates would jump before I decide to contest or accept it?

 

there were no exits...it's a big highway down the middle of cape cod and the only turn-offs are little country roads. Besides, it was 6 am and there were no cars on the road. There was no way was getting away.

 

They can get you going any direction. It's not BS. I would still go to court and maybe the cop won't show up and everything will be dropped. If not, you will just pay the fine and court cost and the judge will give you PBJ. (Probation before Judgement) and there will be no points.

 

well...moving radar from what i hear is not completely accurate but if you contest it....what they will more then likely do is say...ok....its off 5mph and here is your new ticket amount. No matter what contest it and appeal. Worse case scenerio is it'll be reduced. If your record is flawless....you can probably say he choose you out of a crowd because of your car and you can attempt to fight it that way. I don't recall the number of cases that can be thrown out due to radar error...but there is a number before they recalibrate the radar gun that was used. Couple things you can do or say......

your honor my driving record is flawless and i take great pride in how i drive and how i treat the motoring public. I enjoy my car and ONLY race on sanctioned tracks knowing that the roadway isn't the place for it. (bullshit your way through if you can)

bring up the radar and him traveling the opposite direction and that you were being overtaken by another vehicle right before you were pulled over and that your car must have been what caught his eye.

if you see this is going nowhere....then you can always lie and tell the judge the officer refused to show you the radar mph he clocked you at...and you wanted to take a digital photo of it since you always carry your digital camera for evidence. lol

 

The terms under which convictions are or are not reported as part of your driving record ("no points") vary from one state to another. You will need to find out how tickets are handled in Massachusetts. You will also want to know what your chances are like in the jurisdiction where this occurred. Your best bet is to locate an attorney who practices in the geographical area where the case will be heard and who is familiar with the traffic court there.

 

yeah I think I will try to use the profiling angle and say that I was unfairly targeted due to my car. I don't have a spotless driving record, but the last SPEEDING ticket I got was like 1997. Does anyone else think I need a lawyer?

 

a lawyers pressence automatically will reduce the points...trust me. but its an added expense and up to you if its worth it in the long run

 

I have been to court three times for 20+ over (automatic reckless in VA) ... each time I went to court, represented myself, and it was reduced to speeding ... IANAL, but if the officer doesn't present your driving record to the judge there is no evidence to the court of a prior offense (DMV and points are another issue) I was always nice to the officer and this helped.

Luckily it's been at least 2 years since I've been pulled over.

 

How many points would I get if I just rolled over and accepted it? not that Im going to.

 

It probably varies state to state, your local DMV should have a pamphlet on the points. It might also be on their website.

 

I would try to fight it. I got pulled over for doing 60 in a 45 but I wasn't going over 50.......the cop was using a moving radar gun and the judge just made me pay court fee.......the judge concluded that I wasn't speeding and that the gun was wrong.....I really was only going 50 or under.......I explained to the Judge that the car was new and I was only in 3rd gear when I was pulled over, so I wasn't driving in Vtec..... I would fight the ticket and hope for some luck!

 

at 27 mph over, you're looking at least 4 points, varies by state...may be considered to be reckless and my add another point for that...

I would say 5 points...not worth it...get yourself a traffic lawyer, they usually charge 75 bucks and they guarantee that they at least get the ticket reduced or they will eat their fee...

You will be 100 times better off w/ legal counsel, b/c it is such a large fine and could be the deciding factor whether or not your insurance DROPS you, as they could....

DO NOT pay the fine...radar is not 100% accurate and you should at least be able to get it down...

one ? i do have, were you the only one on the road? How cluttered was the road, any variables may help in the "inaccuracy" of the gun...keep this in mind...

 

My ticket was for 83 in a 55. It would have added 6 points to my record here in NC. They can also suspend you from driving for 60 days. Get a lawyer, you won't be sorry. It's well worth it as I can say that from personal, recent experience.

 

Getting off and hiding is an incredibly bad idea. What cops often do when you hide, is wait just a little farther up the road for you. When you go blowing by after hiding for a while, they then ticket you for your speed, and avoiding arrest/fleeing.

I find the best way to handle it is just to reduce speed when you think you have been caught, and give the officer every single little courtesy and help that you can. I'm even very pleasant to them, telling them that I'm sorry they think I was going so fast (I don't admit anything, just act apologetic as if I have insulted them by making them pull me over) and always tell them to have a nice day in a friendly (read: not sarcastic) manner when they are getting ready to leave. I have found that the friendly "care bear" treatment often blows their mind, as they expect you to be upset and almost abusive to them. I just try to remember that it isn't their fault they had to pull me over (usually, for those abusive cases....well....ignore my advice I guess) so there is no reason to be rude or nasty. This worked well once when in a previous car, I was pulled over for 60 in a 40, with a construction zone to boot (that's double the fine son). The cop, while he still gave me the 60 in a 40 (Plano has a zero tolerance policy), didn't write on the ticket that it was a construction zone. That saved me a lot of cash. I can only assume it was the way that I handled him. He seemed shocked that I was being so polite and nice, and naturally, that can help to defuse some of the tension the cop may be feeling too, allowing him to be more lenient and almost demanding politeness towards me in return.

Definitely get a lawyer. Seems that all cops are using rolling speed traps now. Just barely avoided one on the way to Buttonwillow (dang I love the brakes on my car). He got the guy that was shadowing me at 90 in a 70 instead of me.

Good luck!


[Modified by timberwulf, 1:27 PM 7/30/2001]

 

Ross,

Get an attorney if you are going to fight it. Just call your local BAR association, they can reccomend someone. Then ask the attorney what they think you should do. They will lay out your options, etc, and you can go from there.

 

Ross,

Were you on route 6 by Eastham and Orleans? They have really been cracking down on people this year. I though you would have been afraid of speeding especially after your run in on the way down to the Cape.

 

I was actually in wellfleet, but the guy that pulled me over was an eastham cop.

I slowed down, but not enough...I had no idea they were using these rolling traps. Doh!

 

I posted about getting a ticket for doing 58 in a 30 while test driving an RSX. instead of going to court, getting 6 pts on my record, taking defensive driving school, and paying 300+...they gave me the option of taking a 50 in a 30 which is 175 bucks, 4 pts on my record, and i dont' have to go to court. I took the latter, but i'm going to take defensive driving school voluntarily to void the 4pts that i recieved. This has only been my second ticket ever, and I just turned 21 today

peace

 

I guess you realize now that cops can nail you with radar even when moving. They can nail you if you are in front or BEHIND them, so the "I was behind the cop so he couldn't have given me a ticket" mentality doesn't work does it?

I guess that mentality got you into a little trouble. Maybe you should get a radar detector???

 

Damn, you guys have a whole hell of a lot more self control than me. I got hit 3 times in 4 months. (I have a birth defect, my right foot weighs 25 pounds)
I paid the first, schooled the next and have 12 more days for a decision on the last. I think I'm going to take the advice of the guys on this post and try to get one of those traffic lawyers ($57 gurantee no points or money back). Wish me luck

 

Wow Ross talk about someone having bad luck with cops
I thought it was just me

I have a Lawyer that specializes in automobile issues etc give me a call, But I definately say fight it and bring a lawyer. Try the I have a good driving record if you can, usually the magestrates don't like to hear the whole being targeted issue.

Mike

 

heh KJ weren't you the one that was giving me **** last week?

Yeah well you're right, it looks like I need to start being more careful, and minding moving cops, not just ones that are plainly in speed traps. If I can get this ticket overturned or reduced, the $$ that I saved will go towards buying myself a detector. I'm thinking eithr V1 or the new Escort, 8400 or something.

Mike - I'll call ya tomorrow, maybe I'll leave work early and stop by. Anything you have to tell me is much appreciated, thanks man. Closing in on 2000 are we?

Mo Speed - do you really have a defect in your foot or are you just bullshitting us?