Fight Your Speeding Ticket

The first step to fight your speeding ticket begins when you are pulled over. The average police officer will conduct many traffic stops and issue numerous tickets. Because they interact with so many people, it can be easy for them to forget the details of a routine, run-of-the-mill traffic stop. As such, your first priority is to remain anonymous. You should be cooperative, polite and you should not argue with the officer, even if you feel you are not guilty of anything. In short, don't give the officer any reason to remember you. The less you give him to remember, the less likely he is to recall the particular circumstances of your stop if called upon to do so. If you decide to fight your ticket in court, your recollection of the situation should be much greater than that of the officer. And although the magistrate or judge will generally give more weight to the officer's testimony, you should attempt to recall every detail of the stop if called upon to testify and you should be prepared to impeach the officer's testimony if they cannot recall relevant facts about your stop.

If you're going to fight your speeding ticket it is essential that you not admit your guilt when you're pulled over. The most important thing to know about how to fight speeding ticket enforcement, or how to fight traffic ticket enforcement in general, is that you not admit your guilt and give up your right to defend yourself. One of the very first questions an officer will probably ask is "Do you know why I pulled you over?" You may know you've been speeding, or you may know you've blown through a red light, but you really don't know for sure why the officer pulled you over. Do not guess just to give an answer. There is only ONE CORRECT ANSWER. THAT ANSWER IS "NO"! You need to know that any admission you make can be used against you if you fight your ticket in court. Also, be aware that the officer may try to engage you in a conversation. This is their attempt to get an admission of guilt on your part. Whether you've done anything wrong or not, accept the ticket and do not make a scene or argue with the officer.

If you're going to fight your speeding ticket, you need to start preparing your defense as soon as you're pulled over. When I decided to fight my ticket, I found that the information I noted at the time I pulled over was as valuable to my defense as anything else. Look at signage, road conditions and weather. Was it raining, or foggy, or sunny? Was there rain or snow on the road? Was it dark or light? Were the signs placed properly and were they readable? Were they obscured? Record every relevant detail about the stop. Also, review the ticket immediately for any erros. Take note of any mistakes the officer may have made. Create drawings or diagrams if necessary. If there are any witnesses, talk to them. Do everything you can to gather as much information as possible. The link above or the big arrow link below will take you to a guide that will give you all of the information you need on what to gather at the scene to start preparing your defense.

If you're going to fight your speeding ticket in court, you need to know that there are, in general, two types of defenses. There are factual defenses and there are technical defenses. A factual defense is one that alleges that the police officer got certain relevant, factual matters wrong. For example, if you are given a ticket for speeding but you can prove that you were not, that is a factual defense. A technical defense is based upon non-factual, technical issues. If the signage was improper or if the officer charged you with the wrong offense, these can be vaild technical defenses. In addition, in many jurisdictions the case against you will be dismissed if the officer does not appear in court. There are strategies and techniques that you can use to help minimize the chance of the officer showing. Click on the links here or the big arrow link below for much more detail about how you can use these defenses to fight your speeding ticket.