glennhl

I haven't had a traffic ticket in years. Well today, I was vacationing in California and just left the parking lot of the Dana Point Marina. First off, I didn't notice that this wide open 4 lane road had a 30 mph posting. Secondly, I wasn't going fast, about 40. I had left it in 3rd gear at about 2200 rpm. Well, an Orange County Sheriff on a motorcycle pulls me over for doing 54 in a 30. I had a friend and my son with me and we were flabergasted, but we could not convince him that I was only doing 40. He wrote me a citation and mistakenly put the wrong time down. He put 1:05am instead of 1:05pm. Is this a mistake that can get me off, just say I wasn't there at 1:05am??

If not, then what is my defense? My word against his? My stellar driving record? I've only had one speeding ticket in my life and it was a "no points engergy ticket." Going 65 in a 55 out in the middle of nowhere, but it was back when the energy crisis was going on (around 1978). I am not going to appear in court. I can send a letter 5 days prior stating my case. Last question, can I do traffic school in Arizona for a California ticket? Also, any one know what a 54 in a 30 cost????

Thanks,
Glenn

Iv_z28

Yes, absolutely. Wrong time is your way out. Just keep saying that you were not there and have a witness and if they try to say "it's obviously am/pm mistake", then you tell them - "well, if the officer couldn't even correctly determine time of the day, how can anyone possibly expect him to be able to correctly determine my speed??".

I had exactly the same scenario - the cop put wrong year (!) on the citation. They took it back in magistrate court (1-st stage in Massachusetts), no questions asked.

CaptUSA

iTrader: (5)

You can try to say you weren't there, but the ticket has your signature on it. If I were you, just jump on the net and do a trafic school real quick. Pay w/ your credit card, take the course online (if no comp, then go to the library), takes about 3 hours, and call it a day. Don't even sweat it though. 1 point on your licence isn't even recognized. By anybody, not even insurance. Have a good time up in LA. I highly recomend the Air/Space musium.... very cool.

glennhl

Love this forum, excellent advice from both responders. I think I'll opt for the on-line traffic school. How much is a 54 in a 30 going to cost? Luckily, it's not cirminal speeding like in AZ, California gives you 25. Which tells me the Cop knew exactly what he was doing by saying I was 24 over. He can maximize the fine that way. Still makes me very mad, I know I was not over 40mph at the time.

Does anyone have the fine for Orange County for a CVC 22350, 54 in a 30?

Thanks,
Glenn

CaptUSA

iTrader: (5)

The ticket's I've gotten (that's right, I said ticket'S ) had the fine written out right on the citation. Maybe they want you in court because it's more than 15 over is all I can think. Either way though, really...... don't sweat it. If you're going to pay the fine anyway, don't even bother w/ trafic school. You can always take it when you get your second ticket, but in the comfort of your own house, and not on vacation.

hitmeoff

i live in orange county...the ticket will probably be about 130 bucks or so.

mooleyz28

Pay the ticket and write a note asking for court supervision for like 3 months. That means no court fee's/no marks or anything stating u got a ticket (unless u do get another ticket within the 90 days!) And no stupid class! My first and only ticket was in my monte carlo... I wrote a note asking for court supervision and had a check for 75 dollars in there to cover the cost of the ticket and BAM... insurance never found out about it of anything.

Whatever u do, dont say you were there at 1:05am. You got the ticket so that means you were there and he pulled u over no matter what. Secondly, he could have put p.m. but with officers sloppy *** hand writing it might be pm to him lol. So dont use that stuff... Just ask for court supervision/pay the ticket/and be on your merry way!

Goodluck

tensecondz

iTrader: (1)

Dont try to fight in based on AM/PM crap,,,,,, wont matter at all

Did you cop get you on radar? If you have people in the car,,, could maybe challenge this successfully

mooleyz28

DONT FIGHT IT!!!.... You are going to lose man.. Cops word in court Vs. yours or anyone one elses... COPS ALWAYS WIN!

jrp

iTrader: (16)

thats a cali cop for you , i dont care what anyone says, california cops are straight **** dicks, period.

as stated ticket should be around ~150, just pay the ticket and do traffic school on-line. that should run ~20 bucks then theres a 10 dollar court fee.

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

just a question,do you ever plan on going back to orange county?if not,just forget about the stupid ticket.they wont ever do anything about it if you dont get pulled over there.and if you arent ever there,tough luck for them.

im friends with a few cops,and plan on becoming one myself in a few months,and two of them told me this.they said anything out of state,and anything out of town in your state,as long as its not DPS,you can just forget about,as long as you dont go back.

glennhl

Yea, I thought about not paying it, but I do plan on going back every year and sometimes I'll end up driving. I would rather just pay it.

Hey, I've found some sites that say Orange County is one of the few CA counties not to allow internet traffic school. Is this correct? Also, what is this court supervision thing, I'm 51 years old, not sure if that will work, please explain.

I called today and I have to wait 3 weeks before they tell me what the fine will be. The cop knew what he was doing. He said that I was doing 54, that's 24 over which keeps me in the 25 and under to allow you to take traffic school. There is NO WAY I was doing 54, 40 max! But you guys are right, it's his word against mine. Life aint fair, but that's the way it goes, I'm out $200 max.

Anyway, back to putting on my Stainlessworks headers. I've got my Y pipe and CATS off and I'm working on getting the old manifolds off.

Thanks for all the advice!
Glenn

rookie501

iTrader: (2)

I would pay the fine and do nothing else. I went on vacation a few months back and got a ticket in Wisconsion. The ticket never left Wisconsion. So my record back home is still clear. Its just shows up in Wisconsion that I got a speeding ticket.

Cerebrex

iTrader: (20)

ask them about deferred adjudication. Like he said, it's a probationary period and you usually have to pay a little more on the ticket. For example, a $100 ticket owuld be $130 or $140, but off your record.

Danny2tek

iTrader: (1)

Down here you take it to court and plead no contest. The judge will usually withhold adjudication and give you a reduced fine with no points or driving school if you've been clean for atleast a year.

rustylt1

Listen up and don't try to argue with the am/pm thing. It happened to me here in Ireland. I passed an unmarked cop car at 125 in a 60 zone (!) and when the ticket was written the cop had got one digit wrong on my license plate. My solicitor told me that the judge will ask if you deny being there and driving the car to which you can't really deny it. I was lucky and got away with a reasonable fine thanks to a good solicitor.

02transhawk

Glenn,

I am not very familar with the laws of Cali, but being a cop in Alabama, this sounds like a pretty easy defense. Here is what I reccommend

1. Send the letter of appeal/denial whatever

2. Appear in court and state your defense, tell them you were unfamilair with the area, didn't know the speed, and you were only doing 40mph, have your witness present if possible or have them write an affidavit on your behalf. Then point out the cops error on time and say if he can't even get the time right, how can he use a radar. The county should then pull his tickets for the last month and also check his calibration on his radar.

3. The next thing is it was 1:05 pm, was the traffic heavy, if so, it would be almost impossible to pinpoint the speeder, especially if you were going with the flow of traffic.

Sounds like you got singled out for driving a sports car, so take pictures of your car and state this to the magistrate. Also, go back to the area and take pictures of the area at the same time you got pulled over and show traffic flow, if possible, have the time set on your camera so it shows the time the picture was taken.

If you need anymore help, feel free to ask.

James

glennhl

I'd like to thank everyone for their help. OK, here's an update. I sent a letter to appeal the traffic ticket along with a check for the full amount ($173.50). I hadn't heard anything for a few months when I got a letter stating that my ticket was overdue. I called and found out that even though I had a USPS receipt that they had gotten my registered letter, they had no record of it. So I gave them my credit card to cover the $173.50 before I was penalized. In the mean time, they allowed me to fax the letter to them. Well, I just got a letter back and they have dismissed the ticket. I am very pleased. I don't know if it's because the Police officer made a mistake on the time or my argument that I was not going that fast. I will never know the reason, but that's OK.

luvmeZ28

iTrader: (3)

so you had to pay twice? that sucks! at least it got dismissed.

msbz_ls1

iTrader: (1)

DON"T PAY IT>>RUN!!! AND HIDE IN YOUR HOMETOWN

Joking just pay it..unless ur extremely pissed then go to courta nd fight it.