Need some help with a certain speeding ticket

[LakerGod]

Here's the story: last week I got pulled over for speeding. When I spotted the cop I saw that I was going 80 on my speedometer. Cop pulls me over and claims I was going 90. Got the citation today and it is $341! However, on the citation my first name and middle initial are spelled wrong. Can I get out of my ticket because of this mistake?

Cliff Notes: Got citation with wrong name spelling, can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?

 

[Anubis]

go to court they will either toss it out or make you pay less

 

[ReiAyanami]

its your insurance rates that will go up. so yeah try to get the ticket tossed

 

[LakerGod]

Originally posted by: Anubis
go to court they will either toss it out or make you pay less

Go to the court without an appointment and ask them about the mistake, or pay the citation and plead not guilty, then tell the judge he should toss out the ticket for the mistake in name spelling? Or, should I just ignore the ticket hoping that my insurance and the law cannot pin the ticket on me since the name was spelled wrong?

 

[imported_Strang]

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: Anubis
go to court they will either toss it out or make you pay less

Go to the court without an appointment and ask them about the mistake, or pay the citation and plead not guilty, then tell the judge he should toss out the ticket for the mistake in name spelling? Or, should I just ignore the ticket hoping that my insurance and the law cannot pin the ticket on me since the name was spelled wrong?

Yep, ignoring tickets is always a good idea.

 

[LakerGod]

bumpy

 

[Ornery]

"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

 

[LakerGod]

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

BS for the fact that I was going no where near the speed the cop accused me of going.

 

[Linflas]

I think the first step would be to get a speedometer calibration to see if it is really off by that much. That alone would get it dropped to faulty equipment most likely.

 

[TitanDiddly]

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

BS for the fact that I was going no where near the speed the cop accused me of going.

I don't think 10mph constitutes 'nowhere near'. Especially when you were doing 80.

 

[Ornery]

Gee, silly me (and everybody else) has to drive the speed limit, but you're special. You can drive as fast as your little heart desires... :roll:

Suffer, clown!

 

[imported_Strang]

Originally posted by: Linflas
I think the first step would be to get a speedometer calibration to see if it is really off by that much. That alone would get it dropped to faulty equipment most likely.

Depending on how old the car is, tire pressure, etc., there's a ton of stuff that can throw off the speedometer. It's possible that you were going that fast. So maybe having it checked out would be a good idea. In any case, going to court to fight it wouldn't be a bad idea (assuming that you can get off of work or whatever to do it).

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

BS for the fact that I was going no where near the speed the cop accused me of going.

I don't think 10mph constitutes 'nowhere near'. Especially when you were doing 80.

i was driving 1000 miles an hour, but the cop said i was going 1010 miles an hour! thats nowhere near what i was really going... :beer:

 

[LakerGod]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

BS for the fact that I was going no where near the speed the cop accused me of going.

I don't think 10mph constitutes 'nowhere near'. Especially when you were doing 80.

i was driving 1000 miles an hour, but the cop said i was going 1010 miles an hour! thats nowhere near what i was really going... :beer:

Haha. I guess I should clarify. THis is my second speeding ticket. 2 years ago, I got one for going 80 on the same freeway. The big difference was that citation cost me $78, where this citation costs me $341. 10mph is a big difference in that respect.

 

[TuxDave]

You guys are being an ass. $341 is insane, if there's a way to reduce it, why not go for it?

 

[n0cmonkey]

Go to court on the specified date. The judge will drop the fine down a bit. If I can cash checks when my name is spelled wrong (it's almost always spelled wrong), you will have to pay the ticket.

 

[Frenchie]

The spelling of your name is simply a technical error, not a substantive error and will have no bearing on the csae. The office can amend or reissue the citation to reflect the proper spelling. Your best bet is to plead not guilty, show up at the hearing and explain your case to the office and work out a plea agreement. Speeding tickets do not require intent. If you were doing 90 and didnt even know it, it doesnt matter, you are still guilty.

 

[Ornery]

Originally posted by: TuxDave
You guys are being an ass. $341 is insane, if there's a way to reduce it, why not go for it?

"...2 years ago, I got one for going 80 on the same freeway. The big difference was that citation cost me $78..."

Yeah, he sure learned his lesson with the $78.00 ticket, didn't he? :roll:

Maybe this will sink in! :frown:

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: PhasmatisNox

Originally posted by: LakerGod

Originally posted by: Ornery
"...can I get out of paying what I feel is a BS ticket?"

WTF makes you think you don't deserve it?

BS for the fact that I was going no where near the speed the cop accused me of going.

I don't think 10mph constitutes 'nowhere near'. Especially when you were doing 80.

i was driving 1000 miles an hour, but the cop said i was going 1010 miles an hour! thats nowhere near what i was really going... :beer:

Haha. I guess I should clarify. THis is my second speeding ticket. 2 years ago, I got one for going 80 on the same freeway. The big difference was that citation cost me $78, where this citation costs me $341. 10mph is a big difference in that respect.

Go to court and tell the judge you were only going 80. From my experience sitting in court watching other people make fools of themselves, it seemed that if you admitted to going above the speed limit but below what the cop clocked you at, the judge would give you the benefit of the doubt.

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: Ornery

Originally posted by: TuxDave
You guys are being an ass. $341 is insane, if there's a way to reduce it, why not go for it?

"...2 years ago, I got one for going 80 on the same freeway. The big difference was that citation cost me $78..."

Yeah, he sure learned his lesson with the $78.00 ticket, didn't he? :roll:

Maybe this will sink in! :frown:

So why not make a flat $500 fine for speeding of any kind? I think that'll do the trick and the states would be making lots of dough.

 

[Ornery]

For most people, the $78.00 ticket and points would be enough. The fact that wonderboy had already been ticketed for this same offense, was available to the cop who gave him this ticket. He may well have tacked on the extra 10MPH for that very reason. Bummer, eh?

 

[flot]

Don't even think about trying to mention that your name was spelled wrong on the ticket as if somehow that will prevent you from GETTING the ticket.

In fact, don't mention that at all.

If you do choose to go to court, you do have a decent chance of them lowering the fine etc just on the basis that you showed up for court. If you mention the name thing and act like you should be getting off on some sort of technicality, you will definitely pay the whole fine.

PS: If the cop actually radared you going 90, you're not going to have much luck talking it down. Those things are usually dead accurate and yes, they do calibrate them frequently (not that they need it) otherwise everyone would walk into court and say "your radar gun was bad." That might have worked in the early 80s but not today.

 

[LakerGod]

Originally posted by: flot
Don't even think about trying to mention that your name was spelled wrong on the ticket as if somehow that will prevent you from GETTING the ticket.

In fact, don't mention that at all.

If you do choose to go to court, you do have a decent chance of them lowering the fine etc just on the basis that you showed up for court. If you mention the name thing and act like you should be getting off on some sort of technicality, you will definitely pay the whole fine.

PS: If the cop actually radared you going 90, you're not going to have much luck talking it down. Those things are usually dead accurate and yes, they do calibrate them frequently (not that they need it) otherwise everyone would walk into court and say "your radar gun was bad." That might have worked in the early 80s but not today.

I'm not too sure how this process works. Do I show up on the due date to the court to face the judge and plead guilty? Or do i send the bail via mail and claim i was not guilty and then explain my case to the judge? If I do have to pay the fine, I still want to be able to do traffic school, so I'm not sure if i could still do that if I plead not guilty.

Thanks to all who are actually giving helpful comments.