93 in a 70mph California I-5, No Front Plate

[That Guy]

I did realize that going 25 over turns it into another beast of a ticket, which is why 90 was where i stuck the needle. i dont need an impounded car and possible jail time, but a fat ticket like this one isnt so great either...

Nobody suggested an impound and you could NOT be taken to jail for an infraction.

As for sticking the needle at 90, you yourself posted “i was cruising about 90” which, fo all intents and purposes an admission that you were in excess of 70mph which regardless of how you look at it, is an admission of guilt. From there it gets into specific details but only as it relates to the fine amount and whether it fits under the 1 to 15 in excess, the 16 to 25 in excess or 26+ in excess of the maximum limit.

Speaking of i received my fine amount and its a whopping $483 +59 for traffic school... A far cry from $360, but this is california.

Well, California or not, speeding at 93 in 70 should only place you in the middle fine bracket. And therefore you fine should not exceed the amount stated in the Uniform Bail Schedule unless that particular county has submitted a modified bail schedule and had that approved by the judicial council. So this is certainly something I would want to discuss with the clerk or if they aren't being helpful, then bring it up in court with the judge!

I don't know if the $120 or so is worth a trip to the court for you... But it sounds to me like you're open to the idea of fighting it, and if you do fight it, then why not!

Thing is normally i would have just bitten the bullet and paid it off. Now days with my wallet being a lot more fragile for many reasons

One would assume that your foot would become lighter as well... Too bad we only think of the light wallet only after the bill gets heavy!

i am tempted to just apear and try to fight the ticket in hopes that i can plea bargain for a lesser fine... you guys are probably gonna tell me this is just wishful thinking haha

Well, you're probably wrong especialy considering the fact the no one here will try to sway you from fighting it... What we might do is explain your options to you and give you our opinion of your chances of prevailing. Whether you choose to appear and decide to fight it, you're on your own... That decision is yours and yours alone!

With that being said, your chances of beating this on merit are pretty close to nil. You have to option of filing a trial by declaration and assuming the officer fails to submit his declaration, you should get a dismissal. If that fails then you can request a trial de novo and if he fails to appear whereas you do, you win by default. Other than that, and to sit here and argue speed measurement, that you were going 90 but not 93, that he chased you but took a while to catch up... All of that will prove pointless in the end! And anyone telling you otherwise is pulling your leg!

So far i havent had the chance to research into any recent speed surveys along that stretch but would it be worth spending the time to do so in my case?

This is far from being a speed trap case... And with both the 70mph limit or the 65mph limit being considered statutory limits, and not “prima facie limits”, the prosecution has no obligation to provide a speed survey or to prove that a speed trap did not exist. Although in theory, the argument can be made that 70mph limit can be justified by a speed survey, that is only one method by which such a limit can be declared. So what happens if you stat looking for a survey and are unable to locate one, or are told that one was not conducted? You're back to where you started from.... No defense to speak of!

I guess a visit to the chp office to check the guns calibration schedule could help as well?

And that's not how you request calibration certificates... You'll have to follow the rules of discovery to have any hope of making that a point of contention.

Search the forum for discovery request and/or google the same. You'll find plenty of info on how to proceed. At the end of the day, the chances of you catching the CHP snoozing on a calibration are fairly limited. But you're free to explore any possibility you feel are worthy of your time!

is there another defense or approach i should use to increase my chances of a reduced fine or push it back to delay payments for a worthy amount of time?

As I stated above, aside from the officer not submitting his declaration or not appearing in court, you have no chance to beat this on merit!

[CenCaliChris]

I know the radar detector is somewhat off-topic but i wanted to put my 2 cents. I used the Escort Passport 9500ix radar detector a lot while traveling through high speed traffic in san jose, oakland, san francisco, and even more in central valley. Its saved me from so many tickets i almost consider this recent ticket to be charma.

Yes instant pop radar wouldnt have saved me in my situation because the cop wasn't using it on any cars in front of me... i was the only car out there. If i had the detector still i would have taken 580 to 99 which are both heavily travelled commuter freeways that use pop radar systems all the time. I would have easily been able to pick them up and slow down long before i was tagged. The latest radar filtration systems have integrated gps and even smart-phone network integration that allow you to communicate with other radar detectors in the area. The cheap ones you find at wal-mart will do little to inform you of what is a radar band or what is a automatic door opener from a factory a qtr mile away. The nicer brands have come a long way to turn them into very useful tools

[That Guy]

I've never understood why they refuse to show the radar or LIDAR (assuming handheld). Obviously, if the radar is mounted in the vehicle, then it's impossible. Theoretically, they can add on a few MPH everytime and no one would know.

And theoretically, they can lock on to a speed of 85, or 93 or 107 and show it anybody or everybody that asks... So what's your point?

Interesting enough, and if you read more posts on this forum you'll realize this. When someone admits guilt here (the way you have) - but is looking for a way out/lesser fine (or hoping for a way out as you are), no one cares. It doesn't incite nearly the same anger among certain members.

If you say you weren't guilty, but are looking for advice, everyone gets mad and spends post after post telling you that you were.

The saying "truth is stranger than fiction", is true more often than not.

You'e still lost in your own fantasy... Your own time, space and dimension...

You should probably stay between 10-15 under to offset the LIDAR sweep error (cosine effect is negligible in significance unless you're driving like Mario Andretti). Obeying the speed limit does not work with LIDAR unless it's used on a tripod, which it never is.

You do realize that your worthless Lidar advice isn't needed in this thread especially since this is clearly a Radar case, right?

I know the radar detector is somewhat off-topic but i wanted to put my 2 cents. I used the Escort Passport 9500ix radar detector a lot while traveling through high speed traffic in san jose, oakland, san francisco, and even more in central valley. Its saved me from so many tickets i almost consider this recent ticket to be charma.

Don't feel bad... At least you didn't get cited with your Escort 9500ix sitting unplugged in your glove compartment!

Yes instant pop radar wouldnt have saved me in my situation because the cop wasn't using it on any cars in front of me... i was the only car out there. If i had the detector still i would have taken 580 to 99 which are both heavily travelled commuter freeways that use pop radar systems all the time. I would have easily been able to pick them up and slow down long before i was tagged. The latest radar filtration systems have integrated gps and even smart-phone network integration that allow you to communicate with other radar detectors in the area. Its a miracle california hasn't outlawed them yet.

While I will agree with everything else you've stated about the 9500ix, I will say that while it has reached a point where it is able to communicate with other Radar detectors... In the interest of full disclosure, we should mention that the service isn't part of the base price of an Escort and will require a monthly subscription fee of ~$20. While that will in fact beat any other Radar detector that can claim better range detection versus the Escort, and while it might help Escort sell more units, it still offers no guarantee that you will be notified.

Even with the quoted 2 million Escort users, not all Escort users are subscribers and even if they were, that is still less that 1% of the population. I'm not so sure it can offer sufficient coverage to be considered worth the $20 monthly investment.

Here is the USA Today Article (or should I say paid advertisement) Escort is using in its promo: Radar detectors will be able to warn others of speed traps

[CenCaliChris]

While I will agree with everything else you've stated about the 9500ix, I will say that while it has reached a point where it is able to communicate with other Radar detectors... In the interest of full disclosure, we should mention that the service isn't part of the base price of an Escort and will require a monthly subscription fee of ~$20. While that will in fact beat any other Radar detector that can claim better range detection versus the Escort, and while it might help Escort sell more units, it still offers no guarantee that you will be notified.

Even with the quoted 2 million Escort users, not all Escort users are subscribers and even if they were, that is still less that 1% of the population. I'm not so sure it can offer sufficient coverage to be considered worth the $20 monthly investment.

Its funny you say that i actually had to look it up because prior to signing over a nice golden ticket to the state, i wanted to pick up an 8500 with escort live! connected to my iphone (or android if you have that) This makes it a 3.5" display, gps enabled detector with the same award winning filtering systems as the 9500ix. Not a bad smartphone app i thought, although the salesperson failed to inform me about the monthly fee, she just said that it would be valid through 2012. Of course smart marketing tactics would catch me like that haha. Well now i gotta use that money to pay for the ticket anyways so i have time to think about it... and let the lead foot take a break for awhile while my bank recovers...

[quirkyquark]

Even with the quoted 2 million Escort users, not all Escort users are subscribers and even if they were, that is still less that 1% of the population. I'm not so sure it can offer sufficient coverage to be considered worth the $20 monthly investment.

Exactly -- and remember, even the "reporting" radar detectors need to have the Live! plugin to be able to do that -- considering the plugin isn't even available yet, it will be long before it reaches mass penetration!

Apart from a 9500ix-class detector and one of the many iPhone apps (RadarActive, Trapster, etc.), especially for CA, those with extra $$$ should be looking at LIDAR countermeasures A constantly-logging GPS is also helpful if you get into a TG-like betrayal scenario