Opinions and/or legal advice

Schexy1 said:
Did he write "reduced to" or the actual speed as a note on the ticket? In NM if they do you a favor by reducing the speed, it is only good for a guilty plea. If you try to fight it, the original speed or most severe infraction comes back.

Also, he will say you were speeding before the tailgating started and that he was following you while he ran your plates and he stopped you when you started driving erratically.


Next time something like that happens, dial 911 and say you think you are a victim of road rage and you are in fear of your life.
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Officers have to testify to the facts in court under oath. My reduced tickets are amended back to the actual charge, then the judge reduces it back afterwards :laugh:

He should only testify to what he saw. It's funny he didn't charge you for being in the carpool lane if I remember your post correctly.

And please don't ever tie up emergency lines with BS and get 40 cops responding to you. I jokingly say I hate cell phones, you just wouldn't believe the number of BS calls we get because someone is a child instead of an adult.
 
Tufbusa said:
Good F**kin Luck!

Do you have any idea the percentage of drivers who win their battle in traffic court without an attorney? Try sitting in traffic court for half a day and watch the customers defend themselves. Takes about five minutes or less per customer and during a 3 hour set from 9 - 12 there may be two that the judge lets off. The traffic attorney I use has a success ratio of 99% plus. His best run was winning 871 tickets in a row.

You don't get a fair shake in court. You win if you have a better defense than the prosecutor. Having an attorney that plays golf with the judge makes a huge difference as well. What makes you think Joe Blow Citizen can compete with a professional who plays the game for a living? It's like racing against Danny Eslick, you have two chances "Slim and None"! :beerchug:
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No need to bold my quote to justify your reply. It's just my opinion, not quoting the laws, OK?

Now to further prove my point, was the ticket written for 19 over after pacing from the initial contact, or after a few evasive manuevers to end the tailgating? If it's the latter, then entrapment might be a justified reason for dismissal.

The OP said his cruising speed was just a little bit faster than the flow of traffic, not 19 over.

A lawyer is needed if you're guilty and looking to get the charges dropped, (or reduced).
 
Big Bo said:
When I am in my truck, YES! On my bike I NAIL it to create some space.
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+1, I don't try to control traffic speed when I'm on a bike, I stay clear, I'd go to the traffic court by myself & explain that slowing down in front of a tailgater while on a bike "takes more guts than I have". The dash footage should confirm the tailgating & the 20 over or whatever. "Ride to live"... ,if he's a hater your are right where you are now, if you are convincing, you might get somewhat of a break. I've received good honest treatment & som surprizing leniency around these parts. I guess I'm assuming you were on the bike, and a 20MPH boost is just a mild reaction on the mighty Busa. OR, get Tufbusas guy!
 
Take it to court with a lawyer and make them show how close the cop was to you with his video. He should never get that close to a bike. When someone gets that close to me, I drop about 3 gears and leave him.
I used to live in Haymarket and know exactly where he got you.
 
I would take it to court as well. The last ticket I got I went through all the driving schools and all that crap and still did not get anything dropped. From what you are saying I would think you can get the vid subpoena of him doing what he did and get off. Of course you need a lawyer because in Va 99% of the time you cannot win without one.
 
Thanks for the input - all good! Listen - I know when I'm willfully speeding. And God knows I've been lucky I have gotten pulled at "boy you're go'in to jail" speed. In this case, I just believe I would do the same thing again. I have until mid March to make a decsion to fight or bend over, but after I wrote out the check, I just couldn't mail it. I honestly felt like I did the right thing and tried to get out of the guy's way and de-escalate the situation.

That said I spoke with a local attorney aquaintance and the advice was I probably have a better chance of the cop not showing up than the prevailing on my own. With an attorney, my age and clean record probably better than 50/50 of prevailing. Also the lawyer will probably cost $800 to $1200 dollars to handle the case. Also, called my insurance and it would not likely go up at all or if it did it would increase "nominally".

So taken as a whole I'm leaning toward just pay'in up. I let y'all know.
 
Who cares how or what happened. You go to court with a lawyer to achieve what any simple ticket clinic can accomplish. You got a speeding ticket, period. Sorry for it but the hows and whys don't matter. A good ticket clinic like we have here will charge you a fee and send a rep to court and get it reduced for you. Done easy deal. You may have to go to an online traffic school like I did and it may even wind up costing you the $180 or more but the biggest advantage of what they accomplish is zero points on your license and no history on your record which means ins never sees it.


And I dont mean any of this in an mean way. Sorry he baited you apparently.
 
police are exempt from motor vehicle laws while in the performance of their duties so the tailgating defense isnt gonna fly. speeding up to get away from a tailgater is not an excuse the courts will accept. its just one of the chitty situations where the trooper gets on ur ass to see what you would do. some slow down and pull over, some speed up. obviously, u chose the later and he nailed you as u sped up.

I would not say that is baiting you cause if u slowed down and moved over he would have never stopped u. u dont know what he wrote on the back of the summons. if he wrote u were goin 90 mph in a 55 and u fight it in court ur charges can surely be upgraded by the prosecutor.

getting an attorney usually helps ur cause but not always. the court knows that u payed probably $500 or so for a traffic attorney and will often think that is punishment enough and a good deterrent from doing it again anytime soon. but if the judge has a hair accross his ass that day then u could lose the money u spent on the attorney and pay the ticket. its a roll of the dice. been to traffic court 6 times this year and have yet to lose.

ur at a disadvantage being on a motorcycle. anytime a judge has asked me why I followed so close behind a motorcycle on the highway I simply say because the plate is so small I cant read it unless im very close. its a lose lose situation imo. the video camera is not activated at all times unless he acticated it himself. it automatically records when the strobes go on but by then ur pulling over. its really different state to state on how a video camera records. some just use it for DUI, others use it all the time. tough to say.

the cop is just complaining of ur actions. the court decides the rest IF u decide to go to court. if u elect to pay it then the reckless operation is off the table. the trooper has descretion and opted to use it. but so does the prosecutor if u go to court and not in way that could make ur life any easier. GL
 
Cycles are allowed in HOV lanes in Ga as well.

I got popped twice in four weeks in traps. Both times I got the speed dropped to a non points level by offering to pay the full fine. One the court clerk is allowed to adjust the speed down up to 7MPH. In Ga 14 and lower is non points and at 17 over (62 in a 45. Near my house too, they had changed the signs recently and I got lasered just as I crested the hill.) she lowered it herself and the other I had to go to court. The judge let me plead guilty, lowered the speed to 14 over and I paid the full fine both times. The second one was an irritation. 46 in a 25. Three lane road, two traffic and a center turning lane, posted limit of 45. Admittedly I missed the speed limit sign just before the city limits and the cop was standing on a sidewalk shooting radar. He was next to his unmarked car and shooting folks just as they crossed the city limit line.

Maybe calling the court first would help out. Both times they told me that I could get it lowered if I paid the fine. Honestly all they care about is the money.
 
I don't even think a decent lawyer would even have an initial consultation for $75 around here. Hell - I couldn't even get an HVAC guy to come out to house to look at a problem for $75.
 
You might try to see if you can talk to the prosecutor first before getting an attorney, if you cant, see if you can get your case continued then talk to an attorney. Usually you go to court plead not gulity then see what you can do. Most of the time if you have a somewhat decent driving record the prosecutor can work out a deal with you. It might be worth a shot and it doesnt cost anything to try. Good Luck,
 
Personally, i dont think you need a lawyer for a $180 ticket. I've beat tickets for more than that.

You just need to get your facts in line, know a thing or two about the law (google is your best freind),try remember EVERYTHING about the day you got pulled over (i mean everything..the weather, time, the cops attitidue, how long it he was on your ass to the time he pulled you over.) know how the court system works-like scheduling a court date when the cop who pulled you over is on vacation! or after recieving a court date file for an extension, know the court language, have the right attitude in court-wear a nice suit and tie, etc.

Good luck.
 
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