Recently got pulled over.. really dont know what I should do

[ash16847]

Well Tuesday on my way back to cleveland, I got pulled over.. for speeding... when I wasnt speeding... heres the story:
there was a van passing me that was speeding, was about to pass me. van sees cop, I wonder why the van suddenly hit the brakes ( I didnt see cop at first, was after 6, was on other side of road I guess, and lights off). I found out maybe like a couple miles down the road. I was going 63 MPH in the 'slow' lane behind a blue ford escape. He pulls me over. gives me a ticket for 77MPH in a 65 MPH zone. which I KNOW I wasnt going that fast.. the cop wouldnt listen to a word I said. Now I KNOW I wasnt speeding when he pulled me over, so what am I supposed to do? I dont know if the court would believe me or not. (If it didnt happen to me and a bud I probably wouldnt believe it, happened to my college classmate, but he WAS speeding and it was with a silverado that sped up and got my classmate a ticket )

So, I'm wondering what exactly I should do? I mean, I'll pay the money If I have to I guess.. but the points are a big issue for me.. I could get a copy of his notes, a 24hr record of how many people he pulled over prior to me, and make and model of his radar (get a manual, take him to court, etc); OR I can do what I'm thinking about doing, pleading not guilty explaining this is my first ticket and I dont really deserve it and if I get points it''ll majorly hurt my job hunt in my career path..

any suggestions?

PS. sorry if this is a really noob question, I just REALLY need to know...

[costa_rican13]

in court it really doesn't matter what you did, its what he thinks you did or didn't do. because here's what the judge see's. a kid in a sports car,(4 cyl, or not, doesn't matter) and has ticket written for speeding. now who's anyone more likely to believe. the cop as always. i've been through this already, something i didn't do, cop said i did, i got a lawyer, ended up paying my city $774, and lawyer $300. it sucks but really only thing you can do is. one, drag it out and hope the cop doesn't show then the case will be closed, and you're free to go. or two, plead guilty, bend over, and take it like a straight guy that just moved into jail. sorry bud. thats how it is.

[Gabes13]

You can try to fight it in court, but if there was no "witnesses" with you then it will just be your word v. his. Just hope he doesn't show.

[s13sickboi]

take defensive driving?? there are ways around tickets you knows

[Lobo240sx]

End of month quota for the cop. Take Defensive Driving.

[95zenki man]

. i have been pulled over 3 times for 15+ over... every time i just shut my mouth got the ticket and went on with my day.

the first time i pretty much knew i was screwed (small town, we all know that's how they make there money) so there was no way to get out of #1.

# 2 was for 94 in a 70. the cop was cool about it ( all you have to do is not flip your s*** and try to talk your way around it.) in this case he had a 280z a few years back as he said that i turn the subject to cars. and somewhat distract him from what is going on. this is the best way to do it, make the cop your friend and don't be rude. he ended up dropping the ticket down to 89 in a 70 and i got it thrown out in court after pleading my case and got a IEF so it was thrown out.

#3 was really a BS pull over as it was 4am on a Tuesday and i had been driving for 6+ hours, half a mile away from my home i get pulled over for a 76 in a 55. long story short this cop was just having a bad day and didnt try to talk or even ask me any questions. got my paperwork and 5mins later gave me a ticket without saying one word to me. i really hate when cops do this, so i call up my buddie that owns a shop get him to write me up a report saying my speed sending unite was not reading correctly and got that ticket thrown out.

really what im saying is if you did it or not, the court doesn't care. if you go in there with nothing to prove your innocents then your guilty. they don't care if you "say" it wasn't you or you weren't speeding. so best bet here is to try to find a buddie that works at a shop and get him to write you something up saying something wasn't right and your speedo was off. your not going to get out of it if you go in there and say you didnt do it.

just my .02 and my experiences and remember its always better to have cops on your side then against you. oh also remember if you win or lose you still have to pay court fees. so save up 250-300$$

[Gabes13]

End of month quota for the cop. Take Defensive Driving.

Cops don't have quotas. But it looks kinda fishy when a cop hasn't written a ticket in 30 days.

[essex0727]

look on the ticket. does it say its on radar it should say so right on it. if it does you may be boned. also i was in maine and got a ticket in a construction zone (550 dollars) sometimes if you fight it they will drop the price like a bracket down. mine was reduced to 300 wont sting as bad. but really look for mistakes on the ticket. i have found that the whole make the cop your friend really never works for you unless you kave a certain set of genetailia

[scotty-2-forty]

Do you have any past tickets or infractions? If not, don't let this cop try to screw you. It's your American right to take it to court and present yourself in a professional manner with as much factual detail as possible. Take pictures of the area in question, and present a case reflecting the scenario with the van. Don't be phony in terms of etiquette, especially in front of a judge. If you are under 18, bring your parents as character witnesses to your defense, or maybe other adults that have driven with you. I've been through this many (ahem "many") years ago, and I also have a few friends on the force. You'd be surprised in that a judge is more likely to lean in your favor based on your presentation and standing up for your rights. But then again, you just might get a real [donkey] of a judge too. And then again-again, the cop may not even show. Choice is yours ... good luck in whatever you do though.

[SX APPEAL]

Here's what you do, and yes I've dealt with this kind of thing A LOT over the past 4-5 years. Go in to court in a nice suit and tie (this is important- judges will show you more respect because dressing up is a sign of respect to them) don't make any arguments at all about whether or not you were actually speeding cause they don't care. Just politely and with your best etiquette possible, explain that this is your first offense and you would like to have it lowered to a non pointed offense if possible, in exchange for a fine or defensive driving class, court supervision, whatever they offer. I'm not sure about the laws in Ohio, but there are alway things they can do. Also, always ALWAYS address the judge as "your honor" not just "sir" just like all the lawyers in there will be doing, another sign of respect.

If you really want to pull out all the stops, show up as early as possible and ask to speak with the prosecuting attorney before the court session begins. If they allow this, explain your situation to him or her (same as what I said to say to the judge earlier) and ask if they'll reduce it to a non pointed offense. The judge will have a lot of cases to get through in the court session, and he or she will turn to the prosecutor quite a bit for their input on the ruling. If you can come to an agreement with the prosecutor, then they'll speak up when the judge calls your name and advise for whatever arrangement you worked out.

Its all about taking the initiative, what I've just said to do is basically what a lawyer would do for you anyway, but you have every legal right to represent yourself, and if they see a professional looking young man taking that kind of initiative, they'll be impressed and very likely to rule in your favor. Another thing I've done in the past is look up who the prosecuting attorney is, and send him a letter a week or two before the court date, once again just explaining my situation and respectfully asking for a reduced sentence. I then spoke with the prosecutor personally before court came to order on my court date, and was surprised to see a printout of my email in his file on my case. He turned out to be very agreeable and sympathetic. And my offenses were a lot worse than a speeding ticket. All these things make a huge difference as to how the court and judge will treat you. Its all about standing out from all the other badly dressed, disrespectful scrubs that will be there with you. If you can get a cut above them, often times that all it takes. Good luck

[costa_rican13]

this^

[ponchs13]

If you dont fight it you can always got to driving school i did and it wont show up on your record.

[ash16847]

If you dont fight it you can always got to driving school i did and it wont show up on your record.

driving school here only gives you *credit* they wont take it off the record, which is BS..
and thanks guys for all the responses. I've had my license since like 4/20/2010. (yes i know 420 not that funny any more..) and this is my first ticket. first time ever being pulled over. I was driving for 5 hours and I was tired, the cop that pulled me over didnt ask any questions, didnt listen to me, and i was being all respectful and everything. he gave me a ticket for a 77 in a 65. so I dont know. I'm pleading not guilty and Im just hoping for the best.

And thank you very much SX appeal. I think I will do that and hopefully it works. THANK YOU.

Oh, and they told me court costs would be included in ticket price. wtf is that lol

EDIT: and he only made 1 mistake, and thats he forgot the y in the name of my hometown which is very minor so... i mean ill still bring that up but yea... btw how many cops write time in 24 hour time? he wrote the 24 hour clock time and circled PM. I dont get it? and yes, I know how the 24 hour clock is.

[King Chilie]

i've been driving for five years, been pulled over at least six times , and have never recieved a ticket, future reference, be polite, don't b****, and hope the cops not in a bad mood.

[95zenki man]

if you get the ticket dropped you will still have to pay the court fee, just not the full price for ticket and court fee. thats how it is here in NC. its really BS if you ask me, i sit there for 2 -3 hours stand in front of a judge for 30secs and get it dropped yet you want me to pay $300 for saying its dropped.....

anyways just do like Sx appeal said and you should be fine.

[FlipCoupe]

had a similar experience with a station wagon passing me, i even had my cruise control set at 40mph...got hit for 52 in a 40. I just paid it and went on, im too lazy to put up a fight.

[ash16847]

had a similar experience with a station wagon passing me, i even had my cruise control set at 40mph...got hit for 52 in a 40. I just paid it and went on, im too lazy to put up a fight.

I would do the same. but with me currently unemployed (cant find a job here), and in college (owing 30k pretty much), I cant afford for my insurance to go up. I mean, this all happened in Ohio, and im from MI. MI plates, insurance, everything. My insurance is already higher than most peoples I guess (state farm). I literally have JUST enough for food every week. thats the thing so I gotta at least get the points off so my insurance doesn't go up...

[Eddiemac]

Ask the prosecuter about deferral options. Here you can pay around $100 more than the original fine and nothing will show on your record if you stay clean for 6 months. Laws vary from one area to another, but it is definatly worth looking into.

[SX APPEAL]

They had a similar system in Chicago, you could pay an extra fine and they'd put you on "court supervision" and then if you stayed clean for 3 months it went off your record. Could be something similar in Ohio, I'm not sure.

[matzinm2]

I don't know the law over there, but here in CA you can ask to see the radar gun and they HAVE to show it to you with the speed clocked etc. Next time, try that, but in all honestly, if the cop is a jerk, and you don't know the law, he will probably try to make s*** up like that. Sorry, it is the way it is for us under 30's.

[LoserCard]

First off, contest it, because you probably have a 1/5 chance it will be dropped. If it does get to the trial, don't be scared. Here are some steps:

1. Remember to the best of your knowledge the time of day, the weather, the surrounding traffic (the van in your case), and any other little detail.
2. Wear a nice shirt and some slacks, you don't need to go all out suit.
3. When the trial proceedings occur, it will go something along the lines of this:
a. The cop will present all the information he gathered such as your speed, the time, date, what method of speed detection he used, etc...
b. This is where you get to ask him questions. DON'T BE SCARED! Alright, follow my directions and again DON'T BE SCARED. Ask these questions and disregard any questions that he answered in his statement:

Did you use a radar gun to assess my speed? (If yes continue, if no ask for a dismissal)
Did you correctly calibrate the radar BEFORE and AFTER my speed was measured? (If yes continue, if no ask for a dismissal)
Was there any interference such as trees or poor weather that could have altered or misguided the signal? (If yes continue, if no continue)
Did you notice my surrounding traffic? What details do you remember? (If yes and mentions the van continue, if no ask him about the van continue)
Did you notice my speeding vehicle BEFORE or AFTER you got your radar reading? (If before continue, if after continue)
Is it possible that you could have received a speed reading from the van next to me? (If no continue, if yes continue)
So if the van next to me was traveling the same speed as me, wouldn't I be traveling the speed of traffic? (If no continue, is yes ask for a dismissal)
If you noticed the van next to me traveling the same speed in the passing lane (I assume), and you didn't notice my vehicle before assessing speed (I assume) you have no way to prove that I was the one speeding. The van next to me noticed you parked in the opposing lane and slowed down to around 60 which gave my vehicle which was traveling the speed limit the illusion of passing the van. Would you not say that this assessment is correct? (If no your f***, if yes ask for a dismissal if the judge doesn't already, lol)
One final question to see if the dude is a douche. Would you say a sports car or van is more likely to be speeding? (If van that is a plus for your case, if sports car accuse him of profiling, HAHA SUCKA!)

Good luck and DON'T BE SCARED!

[Safo]

Well Tuesday on my way back to cleveland, I got pulled over.. for speeding... when I wasnt speeding... heres the story:
there was a van passing me that was speeding, was about to pass me. van sees cop, I wonder why the van suddenly hit the brakes ( I didnt see cop at first, was after 6, was on other side of road I guess, and lights off). I found out maybe like a couple miles down the road. I was going 63 MPH in the 'slow' lane behind a blue ford escape. He pulls me over. gives me a ticket for 77MPH in a 65 MPH zone. which I KNOW I wasnt going that fast.. the cop wouldnt listen to a word I said. Now I KNOW I wasnt speeding when he pulled me over, so what am I supposed to do? I dont know if the court would believe me or not. (If it didnt happen to me and a bud I probably wouldnt believe it, happened to my college classmate, but he WAS speeding and it was with a silverado that sped up and got my classmate a ticket )

So, I'm wondering what exactly I should do? I mean, I'll pay the money If I have to I guess.. but the points are a big issue for me.. I could get a copy of his notes, a 24hr record of how many people he pulled over prior to me, and make and model of his radar (get a manual, take him to court, etc); OR I can do what I'm thinking about doing, pleading not guilty explaining this is my first ticket and I dont really deserve it and if I get points it''ll majorly hurt my job hunt in my career path..

any suggestions?

PS. sorry if this is a really noob question, I just REALLY need to know...

For future precautions... http://translogic.aolautos.com/2011/02/ ... lnk1|46637

[ash16847]

I changed my mind. Im just gonna pay it and forget about it. doubt my insurance will find out anyway by what ive been hearing a lot. I dont wanna deal with driving there and going through all that and down here im already stressed out enough as it is. plus its an hour away and I don't feel like missing another day of school if I dont have to.. but thanks for your help everyone I really do appreciate it. You guys are the reason nico is still fun to come back to, most other forums are full of ***holes... thanks guys

[95zenki man]

yeah 11 over really isn't to bad, down here in NC insurance dosnt pickup on it till there is points on you license (15mph over i think) , so you should be ok. although i have driven 4+ hours to take care of a ticket. i guess that one was a little more serous though... but anyways best of luck to you.

[ash16847]

12 over... and in OH its 2 points if its over 10 mph or over the speed limit

[SX APPEAL]

Which is a good reason to at least ask the judge to bump it down to a non pointed offense...

[charat]

get a friend, tell him the details. ask him to be your "witness". tell the judge your friend was following you right before you got a ticket and left when you got pulled over to meet you at a pre-decided meet up place. tell your friend to tell the judge you weren't speeding and the car next to you was and the cop pulled over the wrong guy. problem solved.

[ash16847]

right. only problem is. there wasnt anyone directly behind me lol

[SX APPEAL]

Do what I said to do, don't make up s***, be respectful, don't be a douche. Problem solved

[ash16847]

yea I know lol. But I just said f*** it and mailed it in. I dont have the time for it and im too stressed as it is... just found out my rent may be getting upped so I might be dropping out of college and going home (cant afford it).