Got A Citation, What Should I Expect?

Hey guys, got myself in a tad bit of trouble riding home from my grandparents house. I currently don't have my gauge cluster on my bike, so I hopped on the highway and caught up to the car in front of me so I could get my speed right. There was a a highway patrol officer in on-coming traffic and he caught me with his radar. I was doing 82 mph in a 55 :confusion:
Anyway he wrote me up a citation and I have to appear in court in a month or so. I have never been pulled over in my life so I don't know what to expect ? Any tips to keep the costs down for my ticket? I figured I could tell the judge I'm a minor and unable to pay the fine because I'm unemployed. (technically)
Should I bring up that I didn't have a speedometer because I was working on the bike? Explain why I was speeding to catch up to the car in front of me? I'm going to tell my parents tomorrow, I'm more scared of them than the judge and whoever else. How should I break it to them? I guess every teenager goes through this, probably not on a sport bike though :topsy_turvy:

 

first of all DO NOT, tell the judge you didn't have a speedometer on the bike. That will get you nowhere. 2nd 82 in a 55... pssh that's nothing. well it's gonna be somewhat pricey, but not the end of the world. Do you have to go to court because you're still a minor? What exactly does the ticket say the citation is as far as the actual code or whatever. You can easily find out what the fine in full would be.

I don't know where you are, but some jurisdictions let you take an online or safe driver's course to clear a misc. ticket or add safe points (depending on the state's licensing program) especially if your record is pretty clean.

Talk to a traffic lawyer.

Also, do you have a smart phone? Droid, apple thing or whatever? There's tons of free speedometer aps that run off gps positioning. duct tape that bastard to your handle bars before you go out riding again.

 

Uh, 82 mph in a 55 mph zone is a pretty big deal around here.

A lot can depend on where he caught you, whether he was a Highway Patrolman, a local sheriff, or some other LEO. In Missouri you can get the ticket reduced to a "Faulty Equipment" citation, which will save you some points off your license, and help your insurance. Don't know what state you're in so don't know how they work it there.

 

Im in California. I have to go to court and bring a legal guardian. Officer had somewhat crummy handwriting but the code looks like "22349(B)UC"

He wrote approximate speed of 75+ and he also wrote actual speed of 82. I Am going to down load a speed app now. I know you can take a safe driving course at some point to keep a point off of your license. I'm not sure what my options are for that right now.

 

he got to drive away, no cuffs and flatbed for the bike. out here in rain land, you can be going 47 over in a 55 and it's still just a ticket (hideously expensive, but just a ticket). The real fun doesn't start until you break 100.

 

You're in Cali. aww man, 82 in a 55 is like normal flow of traffic around the bay area, lol. 22349 looks like just a simple speeding ticket, adults most likely have the option of just paying the fine.

You'll get pulled over again, nothing to be scared of

I've dealt with the highway tax collect.. I mean patrol numerous times. batting little over .600 with warnings using the following protocol.

1. Turn off the bike, stay on the bike. Rest your hands on the tank. raise your visor. keep looking forward
2. when taxman approaches, the first line is "do you know why I pulled you over" this is trying to get you to self incriminate. Your response should ALWAYS be "no, officer"
3. they may or may not ask you to remove your helmet. I'm not clear on your obligation at this point, but I will do as asked.
4. Do not reach for an ID until prompted, when they ask for cards etc... tell them the location on your person or bike and ask if it is ok to reach there.
5. If they ask where you are going you have no obligation to tell them anything exact, but to keep from pissing them off I use a simple "just out for a ride".
6. they'll probably ask again "do you know how fast you were going" again, another attempt to get you to self incriminate. I usually respond with "I'm not sure exactly" or something vague
7. that's usually followed by "why were you in such a hurry" again, half assed attempt for self incrimination. again your response should be a vague "I don't think I was in a hurry"
8. at this point they'll probably waddle back to their car and run your info. you can use this time to drum "wipeout" on the tank with your thumbs or something.
9. at the point when they get back out of the car, note that all paperwork if any is done. They have already decided to write you a ticket or just issue a warning. so any excuses or arguments at this point is a complete waste of time.
10. If it starts out with a long winded lecture, chances are you're getting a warning. My last warning included a 5 minute safety brief regarding local riders who had been life flighted and scraped off the blah blah blah... just nod along.

So in the end, I've found the best way to receive a warning is pretty much say nothing. Be vague with a hint of clueless in your voice. Unless you're a hot chick, then you could try the whole sniffles thing.

 

Well I pulled over, killed the bike and lifted my visor and put my hands on the tank. He looked at my bike for a sec, and to me seemed like he looked if I had gauges. Then said I pulled you over because you were speeding. I asked how fast and he said 82. I just nodded my head and then he asked for my license, reg, and insurance. Then he went to the car, did his paperwork and came back and told me that I may get a notice in the mail and if not show up to the court on January 26. He didn't tell me a time though? On the citation there is a box for date and time and he put the date but just a line through the time box. So unless I get a notice in the mail, I'll just show up at 2 A.M. and maybe he won't show and I'll get the fine waived otstir:

 

You just left your grandparents how pissed could your folks be? And honestly this would probably be your best angle in court. iterate you had just left from visiting your grandfolks like a loving grandson should. tell them you weren't racing, and you're fixing the bike yourself.

Be polite, dress appropriate. Make sure your vocabulistic judo is up to par. Leave out "uhms" and "like like" any stupid teen slang. Maybe even throw in some big words the judge will have to go back afterwards and bust out a dictionary. say for example you started with "I'm sorry your honor, the motorcycle in question is currently under going a comprehensive reahabilitation. I am affecting the repairs myself, and at the time of the traffic stop I was not completely cognizant of my bike's current velocity, as I was listening for any errant noises from the clutch assembly" at this point the judge will probably turn to the security dude, and whisper something like "dafuq did this kid just say?"

 

Sorry about your ticket dude. At least now you won't be such a virgin any more. LOL!

It's really not a big deal. I can't tell you how many times I've had to deal with speeding tickets! Too many. I've been in and out of Traffic Schools so many times I've practically memorized the curriculum!

First off, you have to pay that fine no matter whether you go to traffic school, fight it via Trial by Mail, or go to court. If you go to court, you can just plead not guilty and explain to the judge that your speedometer stopped working and you decided to follow along the flow of traffic (please don't tell the judge you had no speedometer and you went for a ride anyway). If the cop shows up in court, your chances of winning a no guilty plea is slim to none.

If you go to Traffic School, the points won't show up. But you will have to pay the fine PLUS the cost of traffic school. My guess is $350-$400+. But not having the points on your record will be the reward. Trust me, if you get a point your insurance will go up and you will pay a lot more than the fine!

If you decide to fight by Trial By Mail, you still have to pay the fine first. If you lose the case, then they'll offer you Traffic School and you just do the above. But if you win, you get your money back and no points! Worth it I say! Google the subject, "fight speeding citation by mail" to give you all the info you need.

Good luck.

PS: If you don't have any money to pay that fine, you will have to make arrangements with the court. I don't know what that will involve. This is CA so all bets are off. Community Service like cleaning up the roadside of trash. Maybe sexual favors. :witless: I keed you about the latter.

 

Traffic school. ..online maybe...shit I'm sorry no help here...haven't had a ticket in 17 years.
And I drive for a living. .go figure. Hope it works out for ya....my guess... $300.

 

My last ticket was for 20+ over, which in the state I'm licensed with is an automatic wreckless driving charge. But being as the ticket wasn't in that state, all they could do is yank some points away. douchers.:bounce:

 

Well Sweetpea. You just never drove on my roads when I was the sherriff. I wudda thrown you sorry tight ass in the pogie just cause. Bubba gets lonely in there. LOL

Nothing but good advice has been given here. You don't have to agree with the LEO's position on your speeding at roadside. But that is not the place to argue it. That is a sure way to cause that LEO to pull out the book and read the fine print. Being courteous and polite goes a very long way. Being suckie does somewhat the opposite.

The few times I have been pulled over, I have always removed my helmet. Not just put the visor up. This does a couple things. Allows the cop to compare the photo on your DL with your face, and is also tends to lower the stress factor a little bit. Shows you are sitting put and not about to bolt. I always turned the motor off, cranked and locked the steering and removed the keys from the ignition. Same reason as for the removal of the helmet.

I don't know for sure on this, but I would think that California does offer up a payment plan if you apply for it providing you can show some sort of hardship, such as student loans, tuition or lack of employment. As long as you are making an effort to make ammends, they should look at that favourably.

No speedometer in most cases is not a defense. In most jurisdictions, speeding is an Absolute Liability Offense. You exceed the legal speed limit, even my 1mph, you have committed the offense. And there are no exemptions for vehicles other than emergency vehicles in the execution of their respective duties.

Good luck.

 

Good advise ..never been called sweetpea by a guy...guess there's a first time for everything good its not wit Bubba

 

You boys get away with murder over there out here 20KPH over is immediate loss of licence, do 60kph in a 40 zone same deal

 

The rise in insurance costs over three years will be more than the fine and the traffic school. Pay the cash, go to traffic school, get the ticket dismissed, go on with life.....and fix your speedo.

 

Lots of definitions have gone missing on this one. Location, time, flow of traffic, calibration of equipment, the actual charge and what if any rights do minors have . You state that you used the alleged speed to catch up to/with the car ahead of you. Sounds like you actually passed the car since if you were still behind the car the CHP (California Highway Patrol) Officer would have had a time targeting you on radar tucked in behind a car travelling at nearlyh the same velocity and direction.

Hire a lawyer that specializes in traffic citations. Go to the State of California website and drill down to the vehicle code

All the rest is jailhouse lawyer stuff that happened somewhere else, to somebody else and has become internet lore.


It was a dark and stormy night on I-5 when out of the blue, a black and white flashed his red lights...

Not to worry, Randy won't be the prosecutor or the judge who has you guilty already..

 

I am sure glad you don't pull oot that "rertired LEO" ID when getting stopped.

 

I get one or two speeding tickets per year. Here, Miss., ya call to find out how much the cost is then mail em a check. Ya gotta pay to play, then forget about it. Last ticket was $227, 20mph over.
I doubt that you HAVE TO go to court, that seems excessive.

 

In NC you can get a reduction to "Improper Equipment" and pay out the arse and get it over with. No points. No insurance increase. There is also a new program just for people in your demographic (under 25 years of age) that allows for one major screw up and then you go do the "Alive at 25" program from the SHP. Out here we fall into the reckless driving at 20mph over speed limit as well and they have the option to take your driving privileges on the spot, impound the bike and lock you up. Usually does not happen, but they have the option.
In order to get driving schools here the drill is you have to go see the District Attorney before court on your court date. Show them your ticket and see what they can do for you. That is also how to get "Improper Equipment" here as well.
In NC you can also go see the DA prior to your court date and get some free lawyer advice. There is also a Prayer for Judgement plea but I would not recommend that at your age. As you get older, definitely try and make friends with a lawyer! It has helped me a couple times through the years. I have definitely had my share of "performance awards" from Law Enforcement Officers in the past.

 

Just for yet another example, I received my latest ticket in south TN. 96 in a 55, expired insurance & expired tag on hand (thank God he didn't ask if I was armed as my CCP had also expired). Long story short, I went to court with the proper tag/insurance docs (I'm just old & forget this shit sometimes, I had the current stuff at home) & spoke to the judge when it came my turn. He dismissed the expired docs charges, but was rather unhappy with my rate of travel :smile-new:. I explained that I understood but was just hoping that he might be willing to reduce the points (these get ya in the long run). He asked if I could pay the full fine ($239) today, I said I could. Bingo, speed charge reduced to 1-5mph over, 1 point.

I was polite to the trooper, and to the judge. Best course to take if you're not 'lawyer-ing up'.

ACE