Reasons to Fight a Traffic Ticket is an article intended for educational purposes only and shouldn’t be considered legal advice or substitute for legal advice.
Have you recently received a traffic ticket or violation? You have 30 days to either plead guilty and pay the fine or plead not guilty and attend traffic court. There are a few textbook traffic ticket myths floating around describing reasons to fight a traffic ticket and myths are exactly what they are. However, there are some legitimate reasons to fight a traffic ticket.
Getting pulled over and receiving a ticket is a bummer, but so is pleading not guilty and showing up to traffic court (without legal representation) because of a textbook traffic ticket myth. If one of the reasons listed below is a reason you’re going to use to fight a traffic ticket, you might want to think again.
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- You were speeding to match “the flow of traffic.” Remember, you were still speeding.
- Clerical mistakes on the ticket. Clerical mistakes such as not signing your name or misspelling of your name are viewed as simple mistakes. The violation is valid once it has been written.
- Officer does not show you the radar gun. Officers are not required to show the radar gun speed, period.
According to the DMV, the following are reasons to fight a traffic ticket and are best determined by a traffic attorney.
The Officer’s Observations or Subjective Conclusions
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- Challenging the citing offer’s views on what actually happened. Witness statements, photographs of the area, and diagrams of where the officer’s vehicle was located compared to where your vehicle was located can help prove that their vantage point was not ideal for reliably witnessing your infarction.
Mistake of Fact Conduct
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- On occasion, a judge may dismiss a ticket if you can prove you made an honest mistake. For example, a Speed Limit sign was pushed to the side or hidden from view.
Legally Justified Conduct
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- A common legally justified action would include exceeding the speeding limit to quickly arrive at a hospital for a medical emergency.
Conduct to Avoid Harm
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- On occasion, a judge may dismiss a ticket if the illegal manner occurred in order to avoid harm to yourself or others. For example, speeding up in the left lane to move to the right lane to make room for a driver tailgating you.
Source: www.dmv.org/traffic-tickets/when-to-fight-a-traffic-ticket.php
While these reasons are hard to prove, the most successful way to fight a traffic ticket is to seek legal consultation from an experienced traffic ticket attorney. Being a motorist involves following all traffic laws, but if you think you have a legitimate reason to fight a traffic ticket, call Reginald Keith Davis, Attorney at Law to schedule a free consultation