bassik277

I just got pulled over for 3 citations (apparently she was following me for a while and somehow I didnt notice) These included; "70 in a 45 zone, failure to make a full stop in negotiating a right turn on a red. and then 55 in a 40 zone". She specifically said that I am lucky, because she is only going to give me the ticket for a 65 in a 45 zone and a warning for the others. However on the ticket itself, the other violations are recorded, was she BSing me, or is it possible that she is only giving me the 65 in a 45 despite the others being recorded.

8_wannabe

sounds to me like you're screwed. ARe they mentioned in the same way as the 65 violation? Like the box is checked off? Or is it just in a comments field and says warning or something?

bassik277

I dunno, heres a scan of my ticket:

mikeb

thats not good
looks like she got you for everything
but maybe not because she didnt mark the other boxes

If you only got 65 in a 45 it will be $200 or $250 with traffic school

bassik277

Yeah i actually just realized the fact that she only marked the first box, which probably means that she did exactly what she said. However its pretty weird that she wrote 70/45 in the violations box, but then in the box where it asked for max speed she put 65 in a 45, which is also what she told me i was getting the ticket for. Maybe it is because she visually estimated it? Or why do you think she did that?

brothervoodoo

She probably wrote all that down on the ticket and then after seeing what your attitude was only checked off only the 1st one.

Jsuzuki

Topanga near Lassen eh? This is my route sometime to and from work! I don't have any advice but maybe you could go into black box mode and maybe give us hints on how to avoid getting stopped.

bassik277, what time of the day did you get caught?

In your opinion, was it a "deserved" ticket? As in were you going faster then the flow of traffic? Using the bonus lane?

I take it was either the sheriff or the local PD and not the CHP?

bobclevenger

It's common practice for a LEO to write a speeding ticket for a little less than the actual observed speed. Makes it harder for the speeder to fight it, and gives the LEO a margin of error.
Be thankful she didn't write you for everything you did -- be VERY thankful, because three moving violations at one time is prima facie grounds for a reckless driving charge. Sounds like one damned good cop.

syntrix

I don't know if they have lawyers like this in CA, but in NV, they will usually fight the ticket for free and get it reduced to a parking ticket in most cases.

I'd make some calls to traffic lawyers, I'm sure their fees (if they are qualified) will be less than the ticket if you went in front of a judge.

Good luck fighting that, and I can't believe that hand writing! They checked no on "eligible for dismissal" for the first line.... I'd say they judged you on that and they are the executive branch of government.... but hey, I'm no lawyer, lol!

S3/P3/E2

IMO, "Visually Estimated" is a CYA type of term. I could pitch a baseball and ask her to estimate its speed; but not even the cop-of-the-year has eyes calibrated to compute speed, otherwise there'd be no use for police radar/laser/VASCAR in the first place. Personally, based on your description of her comments and what the citation actually reads, it would appear that that she never actually clocked you as doing 70 in the first place and that possibly the most she may have you at is 55 in a 40...until you get to the last line of 45 in a 25 in a residential district - that'd be the one the judge would smack you around with.

Hire a traffic attorney? Maybe. He/she might be able to do something for you; however, I think in this case I'd likely just eat it and go to traffic school.

bassik277

Thats what Im probably gonna do because Im almost sure she wrote all that stuff, so that if I were to try an fight what i was actually getting the ticket for, all those warnings, would go in her favor

SpYnalChRd81

Gotta keep that eye out and that car driving safe!
Geez, were you really going 70 on a 45 zone?
Going 20 over the speed limit is like an arrestable offense
Although cops are usually too lazy or too nice to arrest you and write out all the paper work
You might come across some that would slap you right on the spot.
You don't want to be one of them.
Stick to 10 over
and save the speeding for the race tracks......

Although one time
I got pulled for going 50 on a 40 zone on Huntington Drive of South Pasadena
stupid cop was being so rude to me
asked me "do you realize how fast you were going?"
and I said, "I dunno i wasn't paying attention"
so he guessed I would probably say "no" or "i don't know" all the time
so
he proceeded to ask me stuff like, "you know you were speeding around cars and speeding around the turns"
so I kept saying "I dunno"

BUT GUESS WHAT

After he let me off with a warning
I remembered there WERE NO CARS
and there WERE NO TURNS EITHER!!!!!!
IF he gave me that ticket, I woulda fought it
but then again he'd probably use my "i dunno" words against me
But I did have two witnesses in my car
so because of his stupidity in making comments that weren't true
that's why he let me off on a warning

I've been going 50 on the 40 zone all the time and I still will...

8_wannabe

She probably just thought you were some hot stud and decided to go easy on you. Plus, she got your home address and will probably start stalking you now. My advice: Pay the fine, move, and leave no forwarding address.

boothguy

The "observed" comment means the officer did not clock you, but the judge will take her word over yours - guaranteed - and that charge will stick. Since the CVC violation was not listed for the other infractions, I doubt that they'll be recorded, unless you decide to go to court. Then all bets are off, because it's the judge's discretion on what gets recorded and what doesn't. Or is this a mandatory appearance infraction?

Sounds to me like the officer was subtly suggesting that you to take your medicine on the one charge and not try to fight it.

Situational awareness is everything. Always remember to check your six!

shawrf1

Read over this site and give it a try... I got my wife off of two separate stop-light violations (from the same cop in Dana Point two weeks apart, no less) with it ... it'll take some time and some forms, but you can fight it all by mail and it's well worth the $$ you're about to pay.

www.ticketassassin.com