Uncle John’s Slightly Irregular Bathroom Reader (84 page)

Repair records.
Is the radar gun used to clock your speed in the repair shop all the time? Has it gone three years without being serviced even once? Repair records could indicate that the radar gun is faulty or badly maintained.

Calibration logs.
Radar guns are finicky instruments that must be calibrated with a tuning fork on a regular basis, sometimes at the start and end of every officer’s shift. Ask to see the logs that certify the radar gun was properly calibrated and in good working order on the day it was used to clock your speed. If it wasn’t recently calibrated, it may have been unreliable.

Vehicle information.
If the officer was in a moving vehicle when clocking your speed, ask for the vehicle’s maintenance records, including information certifying that the speedometer has been calibrated recently and is working properly. If the police department declines to hand over what they have, or if their records are incomplete or poorly maintained, this, too, can serve as evidence in defending your case.

TIP #4: CHECK THE SPEED LAW

Let’s assume that you
were
exceeding the posted speed limit. Is there anything else you can do to fight the ticket? According to experts, if you live in a state with a “presumed” speed law, the answer may be yes.

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Most states have “absolute” speed laws—if the sign says 55 mph and you are driving 56 mph, you’re breaking the law. But some states have
presumed
speed laws: if the weather, traffic, and road conditions are favorable enough for you to safely exceed the speed limit, you may be okay.

Look up the section of the vehicle code that you are accused of violating. It may include language that says you are breaking the law “unless the defendant establishes that the speed in excess of said limits did not constitute a violation at the time, place and under the road, weather, and traffic conditions then existing.”

Were you on a straight stretch of road? Was the road dry and the visibility clear? Was the traffic light? If so, you can argue that driving 52 mph on a 45-mph road was not breaking the law.

TIP #5: GO TO TRAFFIC SCHOOL

Nearly every state lets you wipe one traffic ticket off your driving record by going to traffic school. So should you go? The experts say
yes
. Here’s why: If you fight a traffic ticket in court, there’s no guarantee that you’ll win, even if you know you are right. But if your ticket qualifies for traffic school, all it will cost you is a small fee and one Saturday afternoon spent in a classroom. Some states even offer online traffic school, so you can meet the requirements at home or anyplace else you have Internet access.

TIP #6: LOOK UP THE VEHICLE CODE

If you can’t go to traffic school, experts say the next step is to read your ticket and do a little research to figure out what it means. Why bother? You may be able to find something in the language of the law that can help you argue your case.

Let’s say you get ticketed for making an unsafe left turn at an intersection. The officer will write the applicable section of the vehicle code on the ticket. When you go to the library and look up that section in your state’s vehicle code, it will list all of the conditions that must be met in order for your offense to be considered illegal. If any of the conditions are not met, you can go into traffic court and argue that your turn was
not
illegal.

For example: In some states the section of the code that covers unsafe left turns says the turn is considered unsafe if “a vehicle approaching from the opposite direction is within the intersection or so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.”

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But what if there was no vehicle approaching from the opposite direction? What if the driver of the vehicle slowed down and motioned for you to go ahead and turn? You can argue that the turn you made doesn’t meet the definition of “unsafe” as described in the vehicle code. You can never predict what a judge will decide, but if you present your case well, you have a good chance that your ticket will be dismissed.

TIP #7: GO TO COURT

Some ticket-fighting experts estimate that in as many as 20% of minor traffic court cases, the officer who wrote the ticket will fail to appear in court due to scheduling conflicts, illness, or for some other reason. In most cases, if the officer fails to appear, the judge will dismiss your ticket. (Warning: The more serious the offense, the more likely the officer will appear, and the less likely the judge will dismiss it even if he doesn’t.)

Would you want to go to traffic court on your day off? How about when you’re on vacation? Police officers don’t want to, either—and there’s no law that says you can’t call the police department and ask about an officer’s days off and vacation time. If you can get the court to schedule your court date for a time when the officer is away from work, you increase the odds that they won’t show up.

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What if the officer does appear in court, and you lose the case? If you can’t take care of the ticket by going to traffic school (for example, if you’ve already been), you can still ask the judge to assess a lower fine. They will often comply, so if nothing else, you’ve still got a good chance at saving some money on the ticket.