QuestionHI,Terry,
First off, i really appreciate you have time to read my story. and i thank you in advance.
here is what happened to me:
i got out of school at 3:00 in the morning on Feb, 23rd , we had extra lab time every Mondays. by the way,i live in EL Monte, CA. and My school is in santa monica, CA. i was just running on 10 freeway as usual. the difference is that the right 2 lanes were closed for construction.
i still drove as fast as i usually do on tuesdays' morning, it was about 80-85. i passed about 3 cars on the freeway. there was another car running almost as fast as i did. i did not know why, i just want to pass that car. so, i slowly passed that car, my speed was still about 82.
i got my ticket 3 months ago, so, i am really sensetive with my speed.
after i slowly passed that car, i saw a car that was running really fast from behind. i did not know it was a police car. but for some reason, i kind of slow down a bit to about 78, and i tried to change lane to let that car go to pass me since i am relatively slow. then i saw the police car light flashing. i slowed down and get out of the freeway on the nearest exit and i stopped my car on a street.
here is the conversation:
officer: you need to watch your speed, sir.
me: i am sorry sir. i am really sorry.
officer: where did you drive from?
me: i just got out of my school, we had a extra lab time.
officer: did you drink any alcohol?
me: no , i did not. you can smell, right?
officer: ok, eyes follow my finger.
me:( i follow his finger, and i guess i pass the little test)
officer: can i see your driver license,registeration, and insurance.
me: yes.(i took a little while to look for my driver license, i know it was in my wallet, but i did not find it imediatly)
officer: do you have a california driver license or not?
me: yes, i am pretty sure i do, just give me a second.( i found my ID , i pass it to officer as well as insurance and registration)
the officer took my stuff and go back to his car.
after about 20 mins, he step out to my car and let me sign the ticket.
i was kinda surprised... because i thought he was just trying to search if i have valid registration or not.i did not sign imdiataly. i was begging the officer to take the ticked back.he said if it was written , he can not take it back. i said, i did not speed, i was going as fast as the other cars.he said, you can play that in court, now sign the ticket or you go to jail tonight. i said, you are threatning me. he said, i am not threatning you, i am trying to be nice,i could have written 85 miles, but i did not. i dont understand why there is a problem here.
i dont know what to say, i took the pen and was ready to sign, i saw that he wrote my current address wrong, i did update my address by send a letter to DMV, but it did not show up on my driver license. i said, this has wrong information, this is not my current address. he said , what you mean by wrong inforamtion, this is not your ID. i said this is my ID, but my ID doesnot have correct information. officer said , so you did not update your address? i said, i did , i wrote a letter to DMV regarding changing address. but anyway, he said ,you need to sign the ticket, or go to jail tonight. i signed the ticket. i was to upset. i asked, sir, do you know how much this is going to cost me? he said, i dont know. the court will let you know. i said, but you must have some idea, right?
he said, do you know the way back to freeway? i still tried to ask, can i just talk you personally? he said, do you know the way or not? i said , YES. and he imdiataly go back to his car.
that was it. i dont know he used anything like radar or laser gun, he got my speed probley by pacing. the citation was 22349(A):eceeding 65 mph.
i just need some advices. do you think i should fight the ticket or just pay for the fine? do i have a good chance to win if i present my case by i was safely driving?
also, this is my second violation in 18 months, if i want to pay the fine ,can i still go to online traffic school?
if i simply pay for the fine, what will happen if i dont go to traffic school ? how much will be my insurance increased?
Thank you so much, Terry, i really appreciate it.
AnswerHello Yifu and welcome to AllExperts!
Firstly, your citation was going faster than the maximum speed allowed, which has nothing to do with safe speed (22350 CVC), so you would have no recourse to contest "safely driving".
Concerning whether radar was used, it usually will tell you on the citation if you look for the checked box. The greatest problem there is the officer was trailing you at that speed per your story, so there would be no false radar return or false tag defense. Per your statement, it sounds like the officer clocked you at 17 mph over the limit.
Concerning traffic school, you may only attend once every 18 months. It sounds like you would not qualify based on the prior violation being inside of that period. I doesn't hurt to ask the judge, but I wouldn't get your hopes up.
I'm very sorry to say that your chances of fighting/winning this are very unlikely at best. As this would be another point against you, there is a good chance your insurance company may penalize you, however, I would have no idea how much that would be. Every company and circumstance is different.
I wish I could have given more cheerful information, but short of the officer not showing up (and the judge not continuing the case if that happens), you will more than likely be found guilty.
Best of luck Yifu!
Terry
