Speeding Ticket going 93mph in 65 zone. How to fight it? (prices, safe)

[PosterExtraordinaire]

sometimes the judge will give you traffic school or something like that so no points go on the license. is that something they do in MA?

Regardless fight it! 65 is too low a speed on the expressway

[ram2]

Originally Posted by lrfox

I agree with you. Speed limits always struck me as a little goofy. I understand why we have them, and I understand that they need to be generalized; but I don't think there's such thing as one single "safest" speed. You could say 55, 65, or even 70mph are "safe," but it's really only relatively speaking. Each driver is an individual and has different levels of skill on the road. Not to mention a lot of other variables (type of vehicle, age/experience, physical limitations, etc). There are plenty of drivers out there that are safer at 70-75mph than other drivers are at 55. Regardless of what the speed limit may be, there are going to be drivers who are good and drivers who are bad. Then people argue, "but more people will be at risk if the speed limit is higher!" True. 55mph is probably safer than 65mph for most people. Then again, 45 is probably safer than 55. And 5mph is safer than all of them! So why not reduce all roadway speeds to 5mph? Speed limits are a balancing act. There's no such thing as a "safest" speed. The only thing we can do has have a balance of reasonable speed limits to allow for traffic to move at a relatively safe speed and get to their destination in a reasonable amount of time. 70mph is fine (in my opinion) on many highways outside of urban areas in MA. I cruise at around 70 on the highway now.

Speed limits are SUPPOSED to be set based on measured 85th percentile vehicle speeds, as measured by traffic engineers.

[wk786]

Originally Posted by PosterExtraordinaire

sometimes the judge will give you traffic school or something like that so no points go on the license. is that something they do in MA?

Regardless fight it! 65 is too low a speed on the expressway

Nah I read somewhere that taking traffic school in MA wont exempt you from the pints that go on your record.

[wk786]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Only because the officer chose not to charge the OP with a criminal offense. In MA, there's no set "reckless" or "criminal" speeding speed (in many places 30mph over the limit is "criminal"). It's entirely at the discretion of the officer. 93 in a 65 is nearly 30mph over (again, the amount that many places consider criminal) and it's not at all out of the realm of possibility to receive a reckless driving or driving to endanger charge for that type of speed if the officer felt inclined. Reckless driving and driving to endanger are criminal offenses, so yes, the OP is lucky they weren't arrested.

To answer the OP's question, I agree with the others. Appear professionally dressed, well spoken and sincerely sorry. It'll be tough to get 93 dropped, but it's worth a shot. Keep in mind, these magistrates deal with these sorts of things nonstop every day. It's repetitive and they just want you out of there fast. Challenging legalities and trying some of the nitpicking suggested in this thread may work, but it could also just annoy them into upholding the fine (especially if you're 18, you'll appear like a know it all kid). These guys deal with frustrated argumentative people all day and have little patience for it; so really make sure you know what you're doing if you choose to argue. Read the room and choose your approach accordingly. However, professional appearance is a must. And certainly don't argue for the sake of arguing. You may find that regardless of the approach you choose, you barely get a word in. They have a lot of cases to hear and, unfortunately, 28mph over the speed limit is a pretty easy one to call in the eyes of the court.

Still, I am a big believer in always challenging speeding tickets. I got my first ticket two weeks after getting my license. I was going 54 in a 40. I challenged it and got it overturned because the magistrate saw that I was young, scared, and sincerely sorry. I've gotten 2 tickets since (one in Maine and one in RI), and both were overturned by challenging. I'm in my mid 20s and haven't had a ticket in 5 years (I've learned to slow it down and living in the city keeps me from driving as much). I'll challenge a ticket 100 times out of 100. You really have nothing to lose.

Yes I guess its worth giving it a shot at fighting the ticket. Did you get a lawyer to represent you in court when fighting your tickets? If you have any connections with any reputable lawyer, please send me a private message with the details as I am looking for one now.

Thanks

[sirk98]

Originally Posted by wk786

Nah I read somewhere that taking traffic school in MA wont exempt you from the pints that go on your record.

in NY, once you have points, taking the course can reduce them. If you take the course before you get the points, you are outta luck...

Not sure about in MA

[n1ey]

Originally Posted by NY Annie

Ah, the MA statute says, "Do not cross" a double yellow line - EXCEPT if turning into a driveway.

The NYS statute" Do not cross a double yellow line." - no exception stated.

You cannot make a left turn across a double yellow line.

The statutes do NOT say, "do not pass" but specifically say not CROSS. What part of not crossing is crossing to make a left turn?

So, it excepts driveways in MA, but not in most other states.

You are making something out of nothing. You may turn left across a double yellow line to enter any private way or driveway in MA. It is as such in most other states. It is such even in California. I believe NYS is the same way.

Famous cases revolve around people making u turns, which have to be authorized, or those turning left to enter an intersection. Those cited for turning left into those intersections can not actually make the turn. The intersection in general has to be for right of way which intersects from 0 to 90 degrees from the drivers viewpoint. An intersection which comes via an unsafe angle is not safe.

You can not make a left turn into a another street when there is a double yellow.

In general there are no double yellows at safe intersections.

In MA you will see double yellow when the path to the to the adjoining street is not safe. This is very rare. you would only see it on nondivided four lane roads with off ramps or on ramps(there are not many of such nature around here).

bill

[unit731]

Originally Posted by dysgenic

I live in Massachusettes, and where I live the cop doesn't actually show up, there is someone that goes in his/her stead and reads from a card as to what happened in a magistrates hearing. The first question I would ask of the magistrate is:
"Do you accept hearsay testimony in this hearing?" If he/she says yes: "I would like a continuance so I can collect the testimony of 9 or 10 people who can speak on my behalf. Or if you are really ballzy, bring a signed letter from 10 of your friends all saying that you weren't speeding. If he says no, move to dismiss the ticket based on no evidence or witnesses on behalf of the prosecuter.
Other ways you can win:

Ask the prosecuter if they filed a valid cause of action against you.
When they say yes, ask: "how many elements are in a valid cause of action."

(one of the elements in a cause of action is the appearance of a victim that sufferered a net tangible loss in the form of a financial harm or physical injury, absent this element the magistrate is SUPPOSED to dismiss the case)

I've had limited success using these tactics in court. I hate to tell you, kid, traffic court is a criminal junta run by criminals looking to get your money. They care nothing about the law.

dys

Some interesting sugestions but a tad over the top.

Note that this is an 18 year old kid here. Not Perry Mason.

I have appealed a couple of speeding tickets in my day. Lost them both.

An expensive lawyer might get you off. How much money are you capable of spending?

Note that a speeding ticket is on your record for life. Yes, your entire life. It is there. The laws may be that no government agency can use that against you is meaningless. This speeding ticket will show up on every police computer for the rest of your life. For the rest of your life.

For the rest of your life. Maybe this will get you to change your behavior in the future. No one is perfect all of the time. Even the best of us make mistakes and don't pay strict attention to speed limit signs. Specially in some of the speed trap cities and towns.

Probably best to obtain a bumper sticker that states "Support your local police" or some such wording and place on your back bumper.

Hopefully the rest of your life is a long time.

[PosterExtraordinaire]

i was in traffic court where they literally WAITED for the cop to show up. Some people had to wait 5-6 hours PAST their appointment for that cop to show up. The court itself looked no more fancy than a dive bar. Everything reeked of a scam to take your money. This was traffic court for a small city.

[SuperSparkle928]

Originally Posted by NEOhioBound

You're lucky you weren't arrested on the spot! 93 in a 65!

If I recall correctly, back when I was in MA, 30 mph or more over the speed limit is an offense (not talking school zones or construction zones) that you can be arrested. 28 mph they won't. A long time ago they would write me up for 29 over, as they didn't want the hassle of taking me downtown. And the simplest way to get out of them is to have a friend police officer in the state... all taken 'care of'. They somehow 'lose the ticket'. Been there, done that. But I disclaim any of the above us true, for legal reasons.

[hamster21]

This thread needs to die