Speeding ticket in Vermont - fight or not?

Wasn't sure where to post this so feel free to move it Mods. I was visiting my wife's aunt in vermont this weekend and got a speeding ticket for supposedly doing 61 in a 40. It's for $219!! Now, I'm not saying I was doing 40 or not but I know I wasn't doing 60, it's a 2 lane back road and there's no way I'd be going that fast. My question is do y'all think it's worth it for me to plead NO and go to court for it? It's about a 3 hour drive from my house to the town in VT and taking off work isn't a problem, plus my wife's aunt will let me stay at her place and I'll get a truck load of firewood from her property to take back home with me. The only thing I'm worried about is the ticket says if you plead no an are still found guilty you pay the ticket plus a $50 court fee.

SO...worth it to fight or no? This is the first speeding ticket I've had for nearly 15 years, perfect driving record with no accidents or violations at all.

 

If you know you were speeding... pay the ticket.

Frank

 

Pay the fine and move on with your life.

 

So you weren't going 40 but you weren't going 60? You seem to know a lot about your speed without knowing much about your speed...

 

Do you have a way to without a doubt prove you were not going 61? (And "I would never drive so fast on such a small road" won't cut it

If not, you are not going to win and might as well just pay it and be done. You can also try to throw yourself on the judges mercy and try to get it reduced.. But even that can backfire...

 

I understand your point here, but don't you think it's kinda shitty that that's how the law works? "can you prove to me without a shadow of doubt you weren't speeding? No? here's your ticket and you can't fight it". Cops should have to be able to prove that you were speeding just as much as we have to prove we weren't. They ALL have cameras and should have to submit the clip of the person speeding to court, and if they "forgot to turn on their camera, or you can't quite see it" than it should be thrown out just like it would for any other citizen.

If you WERE speeding, than the ticket should reflect EXACTLY how fast you were going, cops that tack on a few MPH to the tickets should be stripped of their badge and kicked in the balls by the person they were trying to illegally ticket. It has happened to me, and when I was a Federal Officer, with 3 other Federal officers (none of us in uniform) in the car, were pulled over for supposedly doing 78 in a 65, my passenger/occupants agreed that they saw my speed was 71, and never passed that. After the cop wrote the ticket, we all showed our badges and that we never went over 71 mph, and that if he (the cop) wanted to re-write the ticket, I would be glad to accept, if not we would be calling his superiors and would be handling the issue entirely too high on the chain of command. He took the ticket back and "let me off with a warning". I have no patience or respect for shitty cops. No offense to the good ones!

 

Never had a cop add a few mph. The two speeding tickets I've got was for dead on what I was doing. One was completely legit and one was fair but sucks cause I got written up due the having outta state plates.
I just don't speed any more...Don't have any problems that way.

 

I was issued a speeding citation while I was stopped at a red light.

I was stopped at a light, an officer was approaching the intersection from the opposite direction, the light turned green, I started going, the police pulled a U-turn, (took him a while because of heavy traffic) then flew-up behind me and pulled me over, and issued me a ticket for doing 45 in a 35.

I explained that I saw him U-turn, and that I was stopped as he approached the intersection...but to no avail. I can only assume he confused me with another vehicle. Oh well. Life happens. Paid the ticket and moved on.

There are plenty of times I desrved a ticket and didn't get one...so this was just a little Yin for my Yang.

 

$219 ticket?
So IF you win, you've taken time off work, and spent about $60 in gas for the trip.
If the cop shows up, you won't win.... Now it's $219 + $50 + $60 + day off work.

Must be nice having these low traffic fines.
In California, with the penalty assessments and the other taxes and fees they throw on, you're pretty much looking at $500 minimum for anything.

 

I have heard of incorrectly calibrated radars before. Clocked a family members dually dodge going 110 km/h in a 50 on a road that there is absolutely no way you could go 110.

 

He would be getting a truckload of wood, so it wouldn't be all for nothing. Just an added point

 

Fight it, get a load of wood. You'll prob get it reduced.

 

Not always Rich. If the officer doesn't show up, the OP may lose his case anyway.

Most municipalities have a 'stand-in' officer to read off the report to the judge.

OP, you know you were speeding, it sucks to get bagged, but pay the ticket... I've been there myself.

 

The judge will take the officers statement over yours. They might reduce the fine or not. If not it aint worth a load of firewood. You were obviously driving over the speed limit to a certain extent. I would just mail a check before the court date and let bygones be bygones.

 

The legal standard is "beyond a reasonable doubt", not a 'shadow' of doubt.
The State has the word of a leo, and most likely a properly calibrated radar or speedometer used to determing the OPs speed.
The OP "knows" he was going more than 40 but less than the 60 cited.... And cant say how fast he was going.... And has nothing to support his claim.
Sounds like a losing proposition to fight unless you can PROVE that the device used to clock you was improperly calibrated.

 

As previously said, you got caught. For all the times you weren't caught, you're ahead of the game. Not to mention, it was out of state so you will not get points. I would pay it and move on. It's a reverse lottery.

 

Bingo.

It sounds like Napoleanic Law, and in practice, it is, but it falls within the bounds of the Constitution because the officer is presumed to be a credible witness.

 

Either the load of wood will cost 50 bucks on top of the ticket or you could come out just paying the gas money to get there. It's probably worth it checking out considering. Just make sure you have a good leg to stand on

 

The cop, the DA, the Judge, none of them will care if you went 60, 70 or 100mph. They care about the $219. And they will do most anything to get it.
I recommend you call the county clerk and speak with the ADA handling the traffic cases. Most of the time they will reduce the ticket to a non-moving violation like broken taillights. This will prevent your insurance from jacking up your rates over a moving violation.
Note that it's likely the broken taillights will be a $50 fine and $169 in court costs. So no matter what you do, you will be out the cash.
BTW, you can get a nice radar/laser detector for $219.

Fritz

 

No-What I said was the cop documented what he says occurred that day and if trained and equipped properly is a credible witness. If the OP had a dash cam or other device that directly refuted that citation it's worth raising the issue as it would counteract that credibility. If he just walked in to say "I was probably speeding but not THAT much" you aren't going to get anywhere.
The judge decides innocence or guilt based on the case presented...so the OP is still innocent until he pleads guilty or is adjudged a guilty verdict.