Should I Go to Court for a Speeding Ticket

[supermonk22]

My question involves traffic court in the State of: Vermont

I was found going 64 in a 40 on a clear night. The officer gave me a break and marked the actual speed as 52, half of the original infraction. He said that that reduction was the most he could do. I do not believe that I was actually traveling the speed the officer said however I am not sure because I had a spare tire on my vehicle and the speedometer was not accurate. I also thought that I was still traveling in a 50 zone which had ended two signs before the officers speed trap location. The first sign I missed (worried about the fact I had a spare on the car) and the second was obstructed by a bush. Would the defense of "my speedometer wasn't accurate" hold up in court?

[Mr. Knowitall]

So you believe you were going less than 64 (but have no clue how fast you were actually going), but admit that you were going at least 50? Then a 52 MPH ticket seems pretty much in line with your admitted speed.

It's your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is in proper working order. If it's so far off than you don't know you're going 10 - 20 MPH over the limit, you know it's completely unreliable. Also, frankly, if you had an undersized spare on your vehicle you had no business going 40 MPH, let alone 50 or 60.

[cbg]

Do you REALLY think it's a good idea to go into court and claim that a crucial element of your vehicle was so far out of order that you couldn't tell you were going too fast? SERIOUSLY?

[cmre3456]

supermonk22, you are toast, LOL.

The officer already gave you a break. You can go into court and see if the judge will further reduce your fine. I don't know if traffic school is an option in your state. Just do the best you can with the judge and take your lumps. You were speeding.

[supermonk22]

So you believe you were going less than 64 (but have no clue how fast you were actually going), but admit that you were going at least 50? Then a 52 MPH ticket seems pretty much in line with your admitted speed.

It's your responsibility to make sure your vehicle is in proper working order. If it's so far off than you don't know you're going 10 - 20 MPH over the limit, you know it's completely unreliable. Also, frankly, if you had an undersized spare on your vehicle you had no business going 40 MPH, let alone 50 or 60.

I had been coming out of a 50 zone so 52 would have been a reasonable speed. the officer was close to the transfer zone. The undersized spare is because that is all the car had... I suppose going 50ish was operator error...

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Do you REALLY think it's a good idea to go into court and claim that a crucial element of your vehicle was so far out of order that you couldn't tell you were going too fast? SERIOUSLY?

seriously. Thanks for you insightful advice.

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Traffic school isnt an option. There is no way to remove points in my state. I am going to just take my lumps haha. It just sucks because I am pretty new to driving and had never driven a car which was not in proper working order. I got a flat. Did the replacement. And then got pulled over. I later had my speedo tested and it was under-indicating 2 miles slower for every 10 miles per hour. Which means at 60 it was saying 48. Its the exact margin which I was caught at.

[cmre3456]

I have to tell you the same thing I tell everyone else. Don't make lame excuses because it could cause the judge to believe she needs to change your attitude and things could go worse for you. You were speeding. Apologize with no excuses (other than you can't afford the cost of the ticket maybe) and hope for the best.

You are responsible for the proper maintenance and operation of your vehicle including your speedometer. BTW, a smaller tire, if it's on the drive side of the differential, will cause your speedometer's sending unit to signal that you are going faster than you are, not slower. That tire will simple be spinning faster than normal. It will also cause undue wear on the differential (differential between the RPM's of the two tires) and for that reason alone you should slow way down when using that tiny spare. That's not to mention that the tiny spare isn't designed to go full speed.

You were supposed to slow down with that spare. Mine says don't exceed 40 MPH right on it. Please don't give the judge any reason to think she needs to "teach you a lesson" or change your attitude. I wouldn't even mention that I was driving on that spare. It just looks worse.

[That Guy]

I have to say that this is the strangest thing I have heard about the spare being 2" smaller than your regular tires. So do we assume that the spare is OEM and you, for some odd reason, upped your tire size by 2", or is it that your vehicle had the larger wheels/tires and you replaced your spare with the wrong size?

Also, if you're saying the spare affected your speedometer reading, then is it safe to assume that you had the spare on one of your front wheels? I can't even imagine driving a car with tire sizes that are off by 2"... And not just driving, but doing so @ 64 mph (or even at 52)!!!

[cmre3456]

Many newer cars now have those mini spares which are very small compared to the regular tires. They are also rated for only 40 mph and a distance of not more than 50 miles. They need 60 psi of air pressure, but who checks the air in a spare?

You aren't supposed to mount them on the drive axle. That means if you have front wheel drive, it's supposed to go on the back and vise versa due to the differential RPM of the two tires. If you have limited slip or "positraction" you danged sure better not put one on that axle. You'll tear the posi clutches out. This all means that you may be changing two tires to move a normal tire to the drive axle.

Back to the law, just don't tell the judge that you were speeding on your mini spare. That borders on reckless driving. In many states the fine for a speeding violation is a suggestion, not mandatory. Here in Oregon you could get a ticket with a bail of $200, and have the judge increase it - maybe double it if the judge didn't like your attitude.

[That Guy]

Many newer cars now have those mini spares which are very small compared to the regular tires. They are also rated for only 40 mph and a distance of not more than 50 miles. They need 60 psi of air pressure, but who checks the air in a spare?

I thought it was 50mph max speed! And I realize all of the rest of it. I'll even add in that it has a built in safety feature where it will start to smoke if you drive it too fast for too long... Or maybe that is because it got too hot!

My point is, the car manufacturer is NOT going to sell a car with 16" wheels and a mini spare that is 14"... The mini part refers to the width but not its size in reference to the normal drive wheel.

[cmre3456]

I thought it was 50mph max speed! And I realize all of the rest of it. I'll even add in that it has a built in safety feature where it will start to smoke if you drive it too fast for too long... Or maybe that is because it got too hot!

My point is, the car manufacturer is NOT going to sell a car with 16" wheels and a mini spare that is 14"... The mini part refers to the width but not its size in reference to the normal drive wheel.

LOL about the smoke safety feature.

I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just not sure we're communicating. The actual rubber on that mini spare has a much smaller diameter than the tires on the car. I'm not talking about wheel size because I don't know, but the whole mini spare has a much smaller diameter and will therefore spin at a much greater RPM than the standard tires on the vehicle.