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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default Can Going to Court Make a Speeding Ticket Worse

    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Indiana. I admit, I was being stupid at the time. I was with my new girlfriend and in my sports car, so I was driving very fast for a short moment after the light turned green. (Was cited at 80 and a 40). No radar was used, the cop said this himself, it was just his estimate I'm guessing. The officer was not an ass about it at all, and actually made a couple jokes. However he still wrote me up for 80 in a 40. I have quite a few points on my license already, and if I don't contest this ticket, that will put me at 16 points that I've received in a 2 year period. That means If I get two more points after this (one ticket) I would be required to attend an administrative hearing where I would lose my license for anywhere from 30 days to 1 year. In this police state we live in, that worries me a lot, because around here you will get a ticket for anything.

    I thought about combating the ticket by using this strategy. Since the ticket was received at 3:30am (Friday morning), this means the officer works the night shift. I was going to call the court and reschedule the court date for an early time also on Friday morning (such as 8am) I think that since he works night shift on those days, he would most likely still be asleep and not want to wake up that early to show up. What do you guys think?

    The main thing I'm worried about is the possibility of the court / police officer making my ticket somehow worse than it already is. Is that possible? Also since the guy was nice to me when I received the ticket, I was thinking if he did show up I could just talk to him and explain my situation and maybe he would knock it down? Also since he didn't use radar do I have any leverage to get out of the ticket there? What should I do? I appreciate any advice.
    Thanks.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Tacoma, WA
    Posts
    1,534

    Default Re: Can Going to Court Make a Speeding Ticket Worse

    Sure, you can play cop roulette and hope he doesn’t show. But, that really isn’t a very good strategy for success. Don’t know how it works in Indiana. But, in some states there is no need for the officer to show. The court just uses the statement that s/he submitted with the ticket. Even if the officer’s presence is required, remember, s/he is getting paid overtime to be there.

    The fact that you were not clocked on radar might make it so that you could argue a lower speed. However, it is unlikely that any judge is going to dismiss the ticket. If a trained officer estimated that you were doing 80, it is going to be pretty unlikely that you can successfully argue that you were actually doing 40 or less.

    It is too bad for you that “this police state that we live in” actually takes the public’s safety seriously with regard to habitual unsafe driving behavior. There may, in fact, be strategies for contesting this ticket that have some chance of success. But, it sounds to me like in your case losing your license for a while might be just what the doctor ordered.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    409

    Default Re: Can Going to Court Make a Speeding Ticket Worse

    Keep in mind, in the midwest/south it's still somewhat controversial to contest a speeding ticket.

    There's a reason over 90% of anyone looking for advice on a ticket here is from CA or WA.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Can Going to Court Make a Speeding Ticket Worse

    I'm pretty sure the officer does need to show up in Indiana, because my friend got out of one of his tickets when the officer didnt show.

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