Speeding Ticket Defense vs. pacing

While that may indeed be the whole picture, the judge will not look at
a picture that is quite that whole. Traffic court judges aren't going
to look behind the law for its intent or the posted speed for its
reasonableness any more than they look behind your driving for your
motives. Uncontroverted testimony that you were driving faster than the
established speed limit, no matter how or why that speed limit was
established, will get you convicted. (While there is the "illegal
evidence" law governing radar speed traps in California, that will do
you no good if you were paced.)

A traffic court judge might buy "the officer's speedometer was last
calibrated June 30, 2003, which is less recent than the annual
calibration required by Section such-and-so." If you have a very good
argument to the effect that there were extraordinary circumstances that
made it necessary to drive faster than a prima facie speed limit to
prevent an accident, he might even buy that. But if you waste his time
with "the 85th percentile speed on this highway is 60, so the posted
speed limit of 45 is clearly unreasonable", and there's no statute
allowing you to challenge a speed limit that way, you will lose quickly
and painfully.

--
Chris Green

jaybird wrote:

> Let's look at the whole picture here first. Were you actually
speeding and
> does the citation accurately reflect what you were honestly doing?

The cop cited me driving 55mph on a 35mph street, while I thought I was
driving 40mph on 40mph street.

jaybird wrote:

> Let's look at the whole picture here first. Were you actually
speeding and
> does the citation accurately reflect what you were honestly doing?

The cop cited me driving 55mph on a 35mph street, while I thought I was
driving 40mph on 40mph street.

The (urban) street is quite wide - 3 lanes, with additional 1-2 lanes
of protected left turn.
There're no shart corners/turns. So presumably when it's off hours
(e.g. midnight), one
can drive much faster than 35mph on it. But I suppose if the traffic
is heavy in busy
hours, the limit may make some sense? Furthermore, the same street
with similar
condition further down actually has 40mph limit (i.e. the limit changes
at some point).
I was driving through it around midnight when there's little traffic.

The (urban) street is quite wide - 3 lanes, with additional 1-2 lanes
of protected left turn.
There're no shart corners/turns. So presumably when it's off hours
(e.g. midnight), one
can drive much faster than 35mph on it. But I suppose if the traffic
is heavy in busy
hours, the limit may make some sense? Furthermore, the same street
with similar
condition further down actually has 40mph limit (i.e. the limit changes
at some point).
I was driving through it around midnight when there's little traffic.

Are you speaking from experience in California? I thought there's a
Basic Speed Law that I can use (as long as I can show my speed
is safe). Don't know how yet.
I still don't know how he cited me for 55mph!

Are you speaking from experience in California? I thought there's a
Basic Speed Law that I can use (as long as I can show my speed
is safe). Don't know how yet.
I still don't know how he cited me for 55mph!

If it's my words against the cop's, without any witness, why would I
need
to prove my innocence (shouldn't I be presumed innocent?)? How does
it work? If my verdict and that of the cop's are different, it's
possible that
one of us is lying. But why do we (or the judge) assumes that cops
won't
ever lie?

If it's my words against the cop's, without any witness, why would I
need
to prove my innocence (shouldn't I be presumed innocent?)? How does
it work? If my verdict and that of the cop's are different, it's
possible that
one of us is lying. But why do we (or the judge) assumes that cops
won't
ever lie?

"Garth Almgren" > wrote in message
...
> On 1/7/2005 1:11 PM, jaybird wrote:
>
>> > wrote in message
>> ups.com...
>>
>>>A common defense against pacing I found is to challenge
>>>patrol car's speedometer's calibration.
>>>
>>
>> Let's look at the whole picture here first. Were you actually speeding
>> and does the citation accurately reflect what you were honestly doing?
>
> What does that matter?

LOL... every freakin thing on the citation.

--
---
jaybird
---
I am not the cause of your problems.
My actions are the result of your actions.
Your life is not my fault.