California Speeding Ticket Advice

Ok, Finally got my first ticket... 40 in a 25... well i thinnk it was more like 35 but... This was a side street exiting the expressway (50mph limit). Its about 300 yards long to the next major side street. The cop said it was a 25 limit but there is NO posted speed limit signs. The next street is 40mph, the continuation of the side street is 30mph WAY in the distance. I was slowing after the expressway, so he probably snagged me right as i got off. Should i contest or go to traffic school ? Thx KB

You can't get off on the "no sign posted" defense. But, there have been some recent posts here that can give you helpful information on getting out of the ticket if he used radar. I'm too lazy to find the post for you (sorry), but I remember reading it a week or two ago. Best of luck.

Unless money is an issue--and I assume since you're posting here that a couple hundred bucks won't break you--then I'd vote for traffic school. You can complete one of those schools in about 30 minutes online, and then you're basically done with the whole thing. Otherwise, you're just going to wind up wasting a lot of time pursuing a result that's unlikely to be positive. I had the same dilemma for the last ticket I got, which was for supposedly rolling through a stop sign. It was utter nonsense, and I let it go until the last minute before letting my apathy trump my outrage. In the end, though, it just seemed like cutting a check was a lot less painful to me than spending a single second more on the matter. That's all they really want in the first place anyway... Obviously things might be different if your ticket was for something worse, such that you risked getting your license suspended or subjecting yourself to points. Just my two cents... Scott

You can contest - go to court, and hope that the cop doesn't show up. If he shows up you're going to get hit for something - you were speeding after all. Traffic school is not as easy as mentioned above - typically takes 4 hrs on-line, and you then have to go to an actual testing center to do the final test with a authorised examiner checking it's really you! Ask me how I know... I used this one - was easy, fun (as fun as it could be), and a no brainer to pass the final test. http://www.trafficschooltogo.com

This past fall I received a speeding ticket in Nthrn CA. I was able to take traffic school online, including the final test, and received the certificate via regular mail, which I then sent in to the traffic court. No in-person testing needed at that time. The cost was about $34 to be able to take traffic school, and $15 for the online course iteself (about 4 hours -- but you can do it an multiple sittings).

Depends on the court - see the following Q&A Q: Will I have to take a Final Exam? A: Yes , you will have to pass a Final Exam. A few courts require that you take the Final Exam at an authorized testing location near you. If you are unsure of your court's requirements, you will be given appropriate instructions when you complete the course and it is time for you to take the Final Exam.

Absolutely right to point out that it varies court-by-court, but it's worth checking into what the requirements of the applicable court would be. I've done traffic school twice here in San Diego, and each time it consisted solely of sitting at my desk at work with one window open on the "lesson plan" and one open on the "final exam". It literally took less than 30 minutes before I was able to print out my certificate of completion. The second time I think I had to get the certificate mailed to me and subsequently notarized, but that was pretty painless as well. Anyway, check to see what applies to you. If you're in a fairly easy jurisdiction like mine, then I think it's hard to argue against traffic school. If that's not the case and you're going to have to waste a lot of your time anyway, then maybe it's worth a fight.

2 words, written declaration. A cop doesn't get paid to write their defense so most of the time that works. Also instead of the judge ruling in the courtroom in front of the police where you are more than likely going to be found guilty, he gets to sit in his comfortable leather chair in an air conditioned office by himself. So the chances of you getting by are a bit better. Also I keep hearing about ticket assassin, try searching for that.

Did he use Radar? Did you SEE him? Do you know exactly where he was parked? You need to make a decision...if you are going to fight it or not. You need to be ready to go to court and take time off of work etc. If you are willing to go all the way...just pay is and traffic school. But..if you believe it to be BS, and you want to SAVE your ONE traffic school pass and fight this...let me know. If you want some help I may be able to help...PM me your number and I can give ya a buzz...

I completed a traffic school on line for a ticket, and mine took a little over 4 hours to complete. It's worth it because it saves you from points and higher insurance, but you can only go as fast as they allow you too, and it's very time consuming. Good luck in either event.

Where did this happen?

A year or so ago, I went to court with the remote hope that the officer wouldn't show up. He did. They get paid overtime for showing up. When I went to court they twice offered "traffic school" in lieu of standing trial. Once before and during my trial. I had already completed driving school less than a year prior and the judge still made an exception. My driving record was less than pristine. If you are not eligible for traffic school, set a court date and go. At the minimum you will just get a traffic school exception. Regarding online traffic school: You can bang a test out in less than 30 minutes. Learn to 1) Open multiple tabs/windows. One with the study chapters and one with the test. 2) Love your CTRL-F key. Use your browser's page search function to search study chapters for answers while you complete the test in the other window. All the questions usually have the same verbiage as the chapters. Bummer bro. Good luck.

sunnyvale... just off central expressway and commercial on the way to the gym at applied materials

anyone tried the ticket assasin ? SOunds worth a try perhaps. One ticket in 12 years driving in the us isnt bad... im from the uk originally

Be careful going to court unless you are prepared to offer a pretty convincing defense. Here in the communist state of Oregon, a judge will actually INCREASE your fine if he or she decides that your argument isn't valid. This has happened to quite a few people that I know.

Some of the online TS sites are now too sophisticated to allow you to do this. They force you to progress sequentially through the reading material They have a timer running that prevents you from moving to the next section early They ask you a randomly timed personal question at some point in each section to make sure it's you They set you a question for each section that has to be answered within a pre-set time limit They have got wise to the suggested ploys above, and want to be sure they 'educate' for the fully alloted time. In addition, some courts will still require you to test in front of an approved witness for that final test. If you can find a website that gets you around these restrictions, and is accepted by your court, then use it - but don't get your hopes up that online TS is only going to take you 30 mins of your life. There is no 'one size fits all' when it comes to online TS.

The cop does not get overtime if you use a written declaration ... There is no need to show up in court.

For the cop to make a case of speeding on surface streets (non-fwy) in CA, there must be a traffic survey done within 5 years of the segment of road in question, and the posted speed limit must be set at the speed which 85% of the vehicles are traveling. During a trial, if the cop does not ask for the survey to be put into evidence, or if the survey justifies a higher speed, the case must be dismissed. I suggest you go to the court where your case is assigned and ask the bailiff to see the survey, which they keep in the courtroom. If the 85% percentile speed is above your ticketed speed, you have solid grounds to beat the rap.

Check which court it is an see if online TS is even in option...in Orange County it IS NOT.....I just did traffic school and it was simple....actually quite interesting and educational in how to AVAOID other tickets....It was taught by a retired police officer so he told us some good info on how to beat a ticket before you goty pulled over and after you got pulled over. So its not a complete waste of your time....

Most likely a cop trying to finish his monthly quota of tickets. (Happened at the end of the month right?). Sunnyvale & Milpitas are notorious for giving out tons of tickets at the end of the month. Anyway, I'd fight it. There are so many tickets given around that time that the cop might not show up.

Ticketsassassins.com. Just do a trail by written declaration. You can also pospone the ticket by 4-5 months. I have won: 61mph in a 45 zone ($191.00 refund) 66mph in a 45 zone (~250.00 refund) Lost: 76mph in a 60 mph ($300.00)

I got a speeding ticket back in July (57mph in 40mph zone on Central expressway and San Tomas) and I just paid it and took the online traffic school. It is so easy, so flexiable, and painless. I did about 2 hours each night for 3 nights and you have to take a quick 10 minutes in person test at the local FedEx Kinko stores.

www.ticketassasin.com helped me with a BS speeding ticket: 75 on a 70mph while I was driving in the middle lane behind someone. Refunded $114.00

But what do you do when it's your word against the police? They say you went 85 and you say 65