My question involves a speeding ticket from the State of: CA
Let me paint the picture for you.
Its a nice sunny day, I just got out of school and have to hurry to make it to work on time. Usually I would drive from school to work, but I needed to stop to use the bathroom. I'm driving home, going about 60 mph on a road thats speed limit is 50 mph. Breaking the law already, I know, but I was in a rush, although I know that is no excuse.
Driving down the road I get to a section where the speed limit is 25mph due to children being present on the sidewalk. After realizing that I am in this zone, I slow down to around 35-40 mph, which was the average speed of the rest of the traffic. I was, at one point, doing 60mph in this zone.
I make it all the way to the end of the street, to a stop sign where I would normally take a left and enter my community. However, a CHP officer signaled for me to pull over at the end of this street. He cited me for doing 61mph in a 25mph zone.
He said he saw me about a mile or so back down the road doing 61 right at the beginning of the 25mph zone.
The back of my ticket says that people are not eligible for traffic school if their ticket is for more than 25mph in excess of the speed limit.
On my ticket, he wrote my speed down as 61, and in the box next to it, it says "P.F. / Max Spd." He circled "P.F." and wrote 25 under it.
My question to all of you is, whats the best way to go about doing this?
I talked to another CHP officer during a class on law enforcement that I am taking, and he said to plead not guilty, and if the citing officer decides to show up then to just ask for traffic school. However, I was reading another thread on here that said judges usually dont give traffic school after pleading not guilty.
Should I ask for the ticket to be reduced? I mean I was going 61 in a 25, so i dont really know if the judge would be lenient or not.
Please help, If I dont go to traffic school my insurance will be through the roof, and I doubt my parents will let me drive anymore and this will cause me to have to quit my job which I really do not want to do (I am 17 years old if that makes a difference.)
Thank you all for your time.
61 in a 25
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11-16-2008, 11:26 AMelementboarder61 in a 25
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11-16-2008, 12:13 PMcdwjavaRe: 61 in a 25What section were you cited for?Quote:
Quoting elementboarder
Is it POSTED at 25 or is this a "school zone" which is normally posted at a higher speed limit?Quote:
He said he saw me about a mile or so back down the road doing 61 right at the beginning of the 25mph zone.
That just means that the clerk cannot offer it to you (in other words, the offer will not be present if you receive a courtesy notice). The judge, however, still retains the right to permit ou to take traffic school if you wish.Quote:
The back of my ticket says that people are not eligible for traffic school if their ticket is for more than 25mph in excess of the speed limit.
"P.F." = Prima Facie ... the prima facie, or "on its face" safe speed, was apparently 25 per the officer. This is likely due to the posted limit at 25 or the lowered limit due to the presence of children.Quote:
On my ticket, he wrote my speed down as 61, and in the box next to it, it says "P.F. / Max Spd." He circled "P.F." and wrote 25 under it.
It depends on the specific section you were cited for. if you search the posts on this cite for 22350 you can find a number of suggestions and methods to try and fight a citation. However, note that a successful fight will take time and effort on your part so you have to decide if you are willing to tackle the matter.Quote:
My question to all of you is, whats the best way to go about doing this?
This is typically the case, yes.Quote:
I talked to another CHP officer during a class on law enforcement that I am taking, and he said to plead not guilty, and if the citing officer decides to show up then to just ask for traffic school. However, I was reading another thread on here that said judges usually dont give traffic school after pleading not guilty.
You can ASK ... but there is no guarantee.Quote:
Should I ask for the ticket to be reduced? I mean I was going 61 in a 25, so i dont really know if the judge would be lenient or not.
If you are 17 and have a lot to lose if found guilty, you might seriously consider the traffic school option in court at your arraignment.
- Carl -
11-16-2008, 12:39 PMelementboarderRe: 61 in a 25
Thanks for the response.
Normally, the speed limit is 50mph and there are posted signs saying so. However, there are also posted signs that say "speed limit 25mph when children present, school zone".
And yeah, my ticket says " CVC 22350".
Will the judge offer me traffic school? Or will I need to ask for it or what?
Sorry for all the questions, I've never been in any trouble before with the police, and all I have been told is to show up by the 21st at 8:00 AM.
Also, can anyone give me an estimate on the price of this ticket? -
11-16-2008, 02:03 PMcdwjavaRe: 61 in a 25Were children present?Quote:
Quoting elementboarder
Kind of what I suspected.Quote:
And yeah, my ticket says " CVC 22350".
I cannot say what the judge WILL offer or permit, but it has been my experience that the court will ask if you'd like to avail yourself of the option. If not, you might ask the court if they would entertain the option of traffic school.Quote:
Will the judge offer me traffic school? Or will I need to ask for it or what?
Unless informed otherwise in writing, show up at the location indicated on the date and time provided on the citation.Quote:
Sorry for all the questions, I've never been in any trouble before with the police, and all I have been told is to show up by the 21st at 8:00 AM.
The base fine with assessments and fees, should be in the neighborhood of $146. If you take traffic school, you might see an additional payout of $50 to $75 depending on the school you take and any fees assessed by the jurisdiction for taking that school.Quote:
Also, can anyone give me an estimate on the price of this ticket?
- Carl -
11-16-2008, 02:15 PMelementboarderRe: 61 in a 25
Thanks so much for the help. And yeah children were present, I admit I should have been going 25.
That amount of money really relieved me, I thought it would be a lot more. On paper, 61 in a 25 seems really bad. -
11-16-2008, 02:42 PMcdwjavaRe: 61 in a 25Well, it IS bad ... I forgot that the speed plays a part. The fine and fees will be about $380 for speeds greater than or equal to 26 MPH over the 'prima facie' limit, not $146. Sorry.Quote:
Quoting elementboarder
But, you are already in the highest insurance bracket (16-19) and a male, so the points saved from traffic school will still likely make that a viable option still.
- Carl -
11-16-2008, 08:02 PMblewisRe: 61 in a 25
Carl, in WA traffic fines are DOUBLE in a school zone. Is it the same in CA?
Barry -
11-16-2008, 08:04 PMcdwjavaRe: 61 in a 25I don't think so. It is the school zone that authorizes the reduction in the PF speed. It's a good question, and it might be the case (it is with Construction zones). I did not find any indication of that when I last looked in the 2008 Bail and Fee schedule.Quote:
Quoting blewis
- Carl -
11-17-2008, 06:07 AMblewisRe: 61 in a 25
Our school zone fines don't show up on our Fine Schedule either. We just have this little statement in RCW 46.61.440:
We also have double fines in construction zones. I was just curious about CA.Quote:
Quoting RCW 46.61.440
Barry