Caught Speeding and at Risk of a Suspension
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Massachusetts
I was on my way to pick up a friend but my GPS had a dead battery and I couldn't find the charger; so I pulled into a parking lot to try and find the charger. In the car with me was my friend and his girlfriend. A cop drove by and saw the interior light on in my car, and pulled into the parking lot. He stopped a few parking spots away from me but stayed in his car and didn't do anything, and I assumed that he wanted me to leave the parking lot; so I slowly pulled away and he began following me. I continued to drive down the street, and he followed me for a few minutes. I knew that the speed limit was 25, and I already got two speeding tickets within the last year, so I was driving the speed limit. The cop began riding really close to my car and tailgating, and I got kinda nervous so I sped up a little to maybe 28/29 but I definitely never went over 30. He eventually pulled me over, and claimed that he ESTIMATED I was going 32 in a 25. He said that the car kinda smelled like weed, and asked if there was any in the car. We told him no, because to my knowledge there wasn't any in the car. However, my friends girlfriend in the back seat eventually admitted that she had a small bowl in her purse which had a small amount (not even a bowlpack) of weed in it, and that was likely causing the smell. (I had no idea she had a bowl on her). The cop took her bowl, but just gave me a ticket for an ESTIMATED 32 in a 25, no citation for weed, and let me go. In Massachusetts, 3 tickets within a year automatically gets your license suspended, and I already had two before this ticket, so I'm gonna have to appeal this. I seriously wasn't looking for trouble that night, I pulled into that parking lot for a legitimate reason and when the cop was following me I tried to drive at a reasonable speed. :wallbang:
Do you think this ticket will get appealed? I really hope so. I would be devastated if my license got suspended over a minor ticket like this, it would majorly screw me over. I would probably lose my job and have no way of getting to college. Thanks for reading
Re: Caught Speeding and at Risk of a Suspension
Your license didn't get suspended over a minor ticket. It got suspended because you habitually violate the law. A reasonable speed is at or below the prima facie speed limit. You're not getting anywhere with the argument about the officer following you. Generally sane people rigidly OBEY the law when the police are watching them rather than intentionally breaking it.