ssfiress

well the great cop story that happened last week was quickly forgotten about today. i was going downtown to have lunch with my girlfriend and i was running a little late. on 35 the speed limit goes down to 60 but no one drives that slow everyone drives 70. i was blocked out from going any faster by an 18 wheeler in the fast lane going 55 little metro going 60 in the middle lane and a truck going 60 in the slow lane. i saw a window to go for it and did. i dropped it to fourth and speed up to around 100 or so i wasent looking at the speedometer. i have a radar detector and it wasent going off so i thought i was good. then i see this unmarked pewter 5-0 behind me while i was slowing down. throws on the lights and i was like fffffuuu****kkkkkk. pulled over. cop comes up to me and asks for the usual stuff. asks me why i was going so fast and i say im running late for lunch and that my girlfriends dad is a bexar county cop thinking that would help. goes back to his car and writes me up a ticket for speeding and no turn signal. he didnt have his radar on so at least there is no speed on the ticket just driving too fast for conditions. i have a court date on the 2nd of jan and the cop told me to go to that and try to get it dismissed? i asked why and he said he didnt have me clocked in so what should i do? i havent talked to my girlfriends dad about taking care of the ticket for me so i dont know what to do quite yet. ive never gone to court for a ticket before. who here has and gotton it reduced by going to court?

02PHOENIX

I had one reduced from the fine to just court costs. I explained to the judge that I was attempting to pass this semi whose blind spot I was driving in, due to the slow moving vw bug in front of me. Judge asked why I sped up and not slow down. Said that I couldn't because the 4x4 truck behind me was riding my ***, and as soon as the bug sped up and cleared the lane, I got on it. The judge says I was endangering other driver's. So I countered by telling the judge that I've been pushed off the road three times by semi's, all into the left emergency lane (where the cops like to hang out)! That's pretty ******* scary doing 65, thinking "where's that broken down car again?" or "I hope there's not a cop ahead" while next to a semi that would pull a 2F2F on my car....no way, wasn't having it. Judge couldn't say much after that, and got off with just the court costs and no ticket. Just gotta have a good story and know how to defend your point.

Tell them you were doing 5 over the speed limit, and it was the cops judgement call that you were driving too fast for conditions. The cop never paced you, and had no radar on you. You didn't cut any one off, checked your blind spot, and didn't get ticketed for driving too close to someone, just sped up to pass. How's that driving too fast for the conditions?? You were already slowing down in the lane before the cop pulled up behind you, so your turn signal was already off.....RIGHT?! Stick to your story and DON'T FLINCH, be prepared to tap dance for the judge if he askes you a question you're not ready for. He must not have seen the signal, I mean he already f'ed up twice by not pacing you and not radar tracking your speed. You did everything correct, RIGHT!?!

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

I'll tell you one thing, if you do that you're admitting that you were speeding and you will get nailed. You're going to have to think of a better story then that, especially if the cop shows up to the court like they do here. If he says he estimated you going 90+ mph in a 60mph zone, there isn't much you're going to be able to do about it. If he says you were just passing traffic or something you should be okay.

Good luck

ssfiress

how much are the court costs? he said he paced me at 85 but there isnt anything written on the ticket. no speed or anything just driving too fast for condition. there is also a checkmark for the aggressive driver box. he told me to go to court because he didnt have me on radar. that makes me think that he wouldnt be there to testify against me right?

cudaeh

iTrader: (2)

do you have any previous tickets? if not play that up what they are going to do is get every one that had a ticket by that cop all in one room they are going to call you up one by one and ask if your are guilty not guilty or guilty with explanation. chances are they are going to prolly try to bend you over when they see what kinda car you have. so try not to mention that and hope they dont notice on the wright up . i would play it as guilty with explanation. just clame that you wanted to get around the 18 wheeler so you wouldent be in his blind spot and wouldent be subject to rocks being thrown by it. you noticed that you were going a little quicker than you should have been so you started to slow down just before the cop pulled you over. then just say you do you have a clean record admit fault to the turn signal offence that you are a hard worker (good place to throw in student if you are) and that you dont mind paying the fee but you request the points to be under advisement so your insurence doesent go up.
some times this works for me they sed nope points and fee stand (60 in a 45).
good luck and prey that they cop doesent show. try to down play the speeding and focus on defending the turn signal thing it will make the speeding sound like a lesser offence.

ssfiress

i appreciate everyones advise. ill take that into consideration if all else fails. my girlfriends dad just got home and says hell talk to a friend of his that is a san antonio cop about losing the ticket in the "shuffle". i hope that works and if not ill have to try plan B. thanks again guys

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

See, this I don't understand. I have never heard of Court Costs in a case where you are the defendant and the government is attempting to prosecute you for anything.
Basically you are saying that they charge you with a crime, don't have sufficient evidence to convict you of that crime (meaning you are innocent and your case is dismissed), but they make you pay Court Costs?!!? That is obsurd. I think what is really meant by court costs is that they are downgrading your ticket and just charging you the money instead of applying the points to your license. I have heard of moving violations being knocked down to parking tickets and such so there are no points taken off your license.

Bottom line though is that you were doin 100mph and got caught. Hopefully you can find a way to get out of it, but you have to accept that most likely he's got you. A car going 100mph in a 60mph zone is something any idiot on the side of the road can see, let alone a police officer who is required to accurately be able to measure a vehicles speed by +/- 3mph (in NY at least). Being off by 30+ mph would require a blind, deaf, and mentally disabled bunny rabbit who is located in a different zipcode. heh Good luck again dude.

02PHOENIX

Yeah, this is probably what happened in my case. I didn't care, just didn't want any points to be on my license. The five mile an hour thing though, was just instead of saying he was only going 30 over! It might be admitting to 65, but that's a helluva lot less a fine than 90 in a 60. I have had a ticket dismissed by the judge while admitting to that (5 over) but then again the cop LIED about how long he paced me for. He said he paced me for 1 mile, when the stretch of highway I was on was only a mile from onramp to offramp, and I had to pass the cop while he was already on the highway.
ssfiress, it soundS like you're unsure about going to court. If I had a hookup like you, I'd go with plan B FIRST!

BigBronco

iTrader: (2)

since he said you can get it dismissed, you can just go take defensive driving on the interent or what not and you can turn that in and get it dismissed

ssfiress

true true thats some funny stuff. i dont know yet but ill find out when he gets home and tell me the deal. everyone keep your fingers crossed for me please. the thing is that i have a california drivers licence still and licence plate. the cop asked me how long ive lived here for and i just said im here for school even though i live here now until i graduate and move back. i thought you couldnt do defensive driving if you dont have a texas drivers licence. the cop also said that this ticket shouldnt affect my current licence. dont ask me what im going to do once i move back to california as far as passing my car for smog. oh well ill figure out that one when im in route.

cudaeh

iTrader: (2)

"dont ask me what im going to do once i move back to california as far as passing my car for smog. oh well ill figure out that one when im in route."
find a friend in the area that has a simmular car the can pass smog take a didgital pic of your vin # and print it out to the correct size and slip it uner the windsheld over his vin than just swap plates do the test hope they dont look close at the vin and buy your friend a case of beer.

EvilStang

iTrader: (8)

x phantom x

iTrader: (14)

Yeah see I had thought this would be a good idea too ...
A few years ago I got a ticket for doing 78 in a 55 ... which is 11-30mph over. I attempted to say I "definately know I wasn't going any faster then 65" thinking that worse case he would get me on the 1-11mph over ticket, which is half the points and half the fine.
Well was I ever wrong. The judge took that as me admitting that I was speeding, and said since the officer has a much better judgement of speed, and since I admit that I WAS SPEEDING, he found me guilty for 78 in a 55.
I told a lawyer buddy of mine a week or so later and he told me that I made a dumb mistake and you should never admit that you were breaking the law, even if you think it would lead to a lesser ticket. Go in there either explaining why you were going that fast (I was trying to get to the hospital because ... blablabla) or go in there saying there was no way it was YOU that he caught going that fast and it must've been someone else since you definately weren't speeding.
I have also found through 6 court appearances that it helps to be more prepared then the cop. If the officer goes in there saying "i saw him going fast" and you go in there with detailed paperwork showing that your speedometer is properly calculated, and have a clean past driving record (get it from the DMV) and go in there asking him precise questions about his radar equipment (if he used it, and WHY he didn't if he did not use it), also ask him about the training he received in judging vehicle speeds, his grade in the class, etc. Remember, the judge has probably heard this **** 1000 times, but you cannot assume he just knows things, he cannot use anything he has heard before unless YOU make a note of it. Point out the ineffectiveness of radar, and how it can hit other cars, point out how many vehicles there are that are exactly like yours (could've been another red ta, etc). Also ask him if he ever lost visual contact with you. If he did that's grounds for dismissal since he could've been chasing after a car that wasn't you (well i just got on the road and he pulled me over ....).

**** like that, if you come prepared you have a much better chance of winning.

Good luck again.

z289899

Woah! aggressive driving is a whole different story, it is actually worse than something like a reckless driving. Basically there are three parts to the criteria to nail you for it. Speeding, failure to signal and one more like cutting someone off. I know in VA it is a very serious thing. You might want to ask your GF's dad about that one to make sure if it is the same way down there.
Good luck bro.

FLYNLO

Ultimately, you need a lawyer. That aggressive driving is a biggee and it will at least raise the judge's eyebrows as to the credibility of the rest of your story. If you wanna gamble on the cop not showing, just go with no lawyer and plead not guilty. If the Cop doesn't show(which it kinda sounds like he was hinting at), then it will be dismissed. If he does, then there may be a chance that the state is not ready to try you right then and there and they resked and you get a lawyer. If they want to try you on the spot, just say you want to exercise your right to a jury trial and then they will HAVE to resked and you will HAVE to get a lawyer. If in all this shuffle you get a chance to talk to the prosecutor face to face, they WILL deal. They don't want to go thru the jury trial bullshit....cost a lot of money and time.
If you need/want a lawyer, theree are many that make there entire living in traffic court. Just ask around on these forums(remember, this is not Chevy specific so don't be afraid to try the Ford forums either) and you will get an idea of a good traffic lawyer. There is a very good chance your GF's dad knows one. I could help you if you were in Houston. Under no circumstances do you talk down to the judge or think you are smarter or more clever.....they will roast you alive....they make the rules in their court. That is why you ultimately need a lawyer.

ssfiress

thanks for all the great advise. my gf's dad went out of town tll mon. so ill keep you posted on the situation

01SSM6

i duno bout where you live but in Rhode Island...if you haven't had a ticket for 3 years for any reason....and you get one after the three years it can be dismissed on a good driving record...

ssfiress

yeah my last ticket was wreckless driving when i got my DUI which later got reduced to a "wet and wreckless". i got that sept 10, 2000. ill see if that rule appplies to texas law. thanks man

StealthSierra

iTrader: (1)

texas is hard on everything , i got a lawyer to dismiss my exhibition of accelleration ticket, and immediatly after that texas presented a zero tolerence policy for racing and things going along with it.