Speeding ticket in Arkansas

[razorback]

I was pulled over supposedly doing 69 in a 55. I seen the cop coming in the the other direction and slowed down. I'm not denyng that I was speeding, but I don't believe I was at the mph he stated. If he was running radar, wouldn't he have caught me before I slowed down. Again, he's heading towards me in the opposite direction, at dark and on a 4 lane highway. He didn't slow down or even turn on his lights until he had already been passed me a ways. I noticed him turning around and began to pull over immediately. He approached my vehicle, asked me where I was headed. I had my wallet already out and he stated he was going to check my license. He didn't ask for vehicle registration or proof of insurance...nothing else. Before he walked away, he asked what year my car was. After a few minutes, he came back with the ticket and I signed it. Something didn't feel right because I knew I wasn't going 69. I called the # on the back of the ticket to find out what it would cost me. The lady I spoke with told me the information I asked. I asked her if 2 individuals that I knew where working. One no longer was assigned there and the other was off duty. When I returned home, i called again adn asked if she could tell me whether or not my plates were ran. She stated the system holds that information until cleared and put me on hold. When she got back ont he phone, she told me she could not tell me that information. I asked her the rank of the state trooper (who cited me with a county ticket) and how long he had been there. She said he was a trooper and she didn't know anything else. I told her I felt the ticket was unnecessary. The trooper had my driver's license, but wrote down my age wrong. He wrote down the engine model of my car rather that the actual model of the car. Experience and attention to detail obviously not important, especially if he ran my plates...he would've had the right information on the make/modle of my car. I'm not doubting his credibility...just his integrity. Any advise to offer. Again, I acknowledged that I was speeding, but not that fast.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You were speeding. If you believe you were speeding at less than 69 MPH, you can try to make that argument to the court - but you would be confessing to speeding. You should check to see if the speed you believe you were driving would actually result in a lesser fine and/or points than the 69/55 ticket you received.

[Litigator]

Sounds like a tough one to win as is true with most speeding cases. Some use lidar instead of radar. If the equipment was working properly in proper conditions and the officer testifies to the reading where you were in excess of the speed limit then the State has made its case. The errors on the ticket do not appear significant enough to invalidate it.

As noted in Mr. K's post, your best bet may to aim for probation or a disposition to keep the offense off your driving record.

[razorback]

My cruise control was set at 60/61. Here's another reason why I question whether my plates were even ran. He asked me the year of my car, a question not necessary to ask because if he ran my plates, all the information on my vehicle would've been stated. Not only that, he wrote down the engine type of my car, not the model. Again, if my plates were ran, he would've had the correct information. Also, he wrote down the wrong age on the ticket. A minor mathematical error yet, if he was not running radar and used other mathematical means to calculate approx speed, his math may have been off. Again, questioning integrity. When I called to see to see how long my information would stay in the system if my plates were ran, I was asked the approx time I got the ticket. I told her and she said would be ble to tell me because it wouldn't be cleared off the system. I was put on hold. When this lady came bak on the phone, she changed her tune and told that she couldn't give me any information and that if I had any problems with my ticket, I should consult an attorney. Don't I have the right to know if my plates were actually ran? Some of the pieces just don't make sense to me.

[lwpat]

Whether he ran your plates or not has nothing to do with the speeding ticket. There is no requirement that the officer "run" your plates. That is an individual call. By the time you saw the officer he already had you on the radar so slowing down did not earn you a "no ticket" pass.

If you show on your court date, it is normal for the court to accept a plea of guilty to a lesser speed. In some states you can go in and talk to the judge prior to the date and get a deferment or permission to take traffic school. Call the clerk of court and ask the usual procedure in that jurisdiction.

It is hard for us to doubt the officer's "integrity" when you admit to breaking the law.