My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California

A few days ago I was travelling 152 East joining 99 South in California. Before joining the 99 South I noticed another car which was driving faster than me on the left lane. He did not have enough room to pass me, because two lanes merged to one.



He was going behind me, driving pretty aggressively, increasing and decreasing the distance, tailgating me from time to time. I might have increased me speed to keep the distance taking into consideration the fact I had my pregnant wife on board – to tell the truth I do not recall increasing my speed, it would be rather instinctive maneuver. We were just to join Highway 99 South so I was watching the distance between me and him and also the traffic on Highway 99. He was not keeping the same speed all the time.

Shortly after joining Highway 99 we were both pulled over by a cop. The officer said we both were driving 81-82 mph at 65 mph limit. So, I received a ticket for speeding. The device used to measure speed was radar. The infraction code is 22349 (a).

I am sure I was not going that fast since I have a gong set in my car for driving 80 mph (I am generally not a speeder, this is only to remind about the speed on downhill, etc.). The gong was silent that day. The second car was increasing and decreasing the speed, therefore, I guess he clocked him at 82 mph and said we both were speeding.

I know the reality – my word against cop’s word… life is brutal…

There were five guys in the second car. The cop said none had a driving license (at least in the car). Not sure whether that kind of facts could be helpful in the court.

My questions are:
- what are the chances of appealing the ticket?
- should I accept the ticket and do the online school to secure current insurance premium?
- according to the cop, I was 17 mph above the limit. I understand this is the second fine threshold and it is just 1 mph difference. What are the chances to reduce the ticket to the first threshold?
- if I appeal, do you always have to go to the court? This happened in Madera county, so approx. 2.5 hours drive from my place. Not sure if it is worth the effort…

Thank you for advice!