Opinions and/or legal advice

B

brpo

Registered
Ok - here's the situation and background... I haven't had a moving violation in almost twenty years. And, at that time I avoiding having my license suspended for a year by the hair on my chining chin chin. And spent 3 years on "super secret DMV probation". Since then I've developed an uncanny "spidey sense" for avoiding speed traps and identifying unmarked police cars.

Well Super Bowl Sunday I'm riding home west on I-66 outside DC in Fairfax county at dusk in order that I may enjoy a cold beverage and watch the big game. Well, the traffic was very light by DC standards and I buzzing along bascally with or slightly faster than the flow of traffic in the fast lane (HOV). At some point I notice this guy is up my pipes, so after a minute or so I speed up a little, probably 10 mph or so to create a little room. The car behind me immediately closes the gap and resumes his tailgate. At this point I move over a couple lanes and take up the speed of vehicles around me when all of a sudden this same jackass follows me over and is on my ass again. What's up with this guy I'm think'in to myself. So I decide to create a little room between me and this guy. So I now shift one lane over towards the fast lane and juke the throttle a little to once again clear this guy off my tail. This time the guy runs up on me again and you know the rest of the story. Turns on the grill lights on his otherwise completely unmarked car and pulls me - I swear the car was a Chevy Cavalier. I dutifully pull over and provide the requested documents. Do you know why I stopped you - I reply no. He says you were speeding. OK - I think to myself - did it ever occur to you that you were tailgating me? Anyway - he gives me a ticket for 19 miles an hour over the speed limit and says to me I cut you a break because I paced you in excess of 90 mph and that would have been reckless driving. End of story.

My question is this... should I try to go to court and maintain that but for the officer tailgating me I would not have been speeding? I believe this to be true and would swear to it in court. Anybody know if this would be a defense that has or could be used? I think I could question and the cop would testify that he followed me across lanes and such. Then I could explain why I moved from lane to lane. The vunerability of motorcycles blah blah blah. If I wanted to just speed, I could of just sped in the fast lane without moving from lane to lane as the fast lane was empty in front of me. And why would he have pulled me if I were in the fast lane moving with the rest of the traffic? The cop even said to me I'd was following you for awhile. Yeah I know!

This is a six point ticket and kinda puts recreational speeding in "lock down" for I think three years. Another six point tickets or reckless speeding would put me back in traffic school and on "double secret DMV probation" again. License in jeopardy... By the way it's a $180 ticket to boot.

So... should I fight city hall or just submit to "da man" and mail in my buck eighty? If I fold - this will mean there are certain folks I won't be able to ride with or will have to arrive a half hour later. Can't risk losing my permit ya know...
 
You can fight it but in the end your going to have to :moon: you can be 100% right but after you take the time and money to prprove it is it really worth it? It sounds like you have a good case if you can get the dashcam video.
 
brpo said:
My question is this... should I try to go to court and maintain that but for the officer tailgating me I would not have been speeding?
Click to expand...

You should hire an attorney.

That statement alone in court would convict you .

The scenario about tailgating is on most DMV license tests and the correct answer is to slow down to allow said offender to pass you .
 
I really don't think you can go in front of a judge and claim that someone else forced you to speed and it's not your fault that you were doing 19mph over. Truth is......you should have slowed down and let the vehicle that was tailgaiting you pass. You chose to do that speed.
 
Get the dash cam video. Another reason to get a gopro camera. They have dash cam you have go pro. Here ya go your honor you decide. I am getting one for this reason.
 
Well, you could go into court and try your story. All you have to loose is the $180, your time out of work, plus the court cost which is what a lawer would cost anyway. give it a shot, you won't be any worse off.
 
The officer baited you into speeding, no doubt. However, you made some bad choices in dealing with a tailgater and ended up loosing the battle.

A good traffic attorney should be able to get the ticket dropped or reduced to an expired vehicle license etc. Pay the attorney and keep your license clean. You never know what's going to happen down the road when you'll be very happy to have a clean driving record.

My record is also clean yet I've had a few tickets over the past 15 years, most of which was 10 MPH over or less. Everyone should do their research and find a genuine traffic attorney with a good record of winning BEFORE they get a ticket. An attorney who deals in nothing but traffic violations is by far the best choice.

Good Luck to you! Will be interesting to see how this turns out in DC?
 
i had this happen to me before, and I did beat the case based on the fact of choosing my words carefully in court, he paced you for how long becuz if it was too long and you were supposedly speeding why didnt he pull you over earlier. but some of what they also said was true by you contining to speed a lil bit to create space. You were def baited.
 
Baited and hooked my brother...... check to see how much a lawyer will cost and check with your insurance company to see what it will do to your rates for 3 years. That’s where the real cost is. If the Lawyers fee is anywhere close to the true cost of the ticket then I say hire them. I got popped for 10 over....my 1st ticket in 10 years. The ticket was $225 but it would have raised my rates $75 a month! I didn't hire a lawyer because in Arizona you can pay the ticket AND pay for traffic school and the ticket doesn't go on your record, so no points or $75 a month in insurance rates. Traffic school was another $120. Can you go to traffic school and wipe it clean? It's been 17 years since I lived in DC so I don't remember.
 
TIMMYDUCK said:
You should hire an attorney.

That statement alone in court would convict you .

The scenario about tailgating is on most DMV license tests and the correct answer is to slow down to allow said offender to pass you .
Click to expand...

Huge +1

When being tailgated the proper thing to do is to slow down to a point where his following "time" increases to 2 or more seconds.

If you say to the court that you sped only because you were being tailgated is simply an admission that you were speeding.

Get an attorney who can work a deal for you, all call the DA yourself first and see if they can cut a deal with you and save you the atty's fees.
 
well i know here "okaloosa county, Fl" if you fight it and take it to court, the officer who wrote the ticket is supposed to show up to court and if they don't your ticket gets thrown out. BUT, i would check to see how they handle it up in your neck of the woods.

you could plead your case to a judge, worst case you gotta pay the ticket and court fee. if your hire a lawyer then your out even more money. Also, see if you sign up for driver improvement class if the points wont go on your record.

Here "Florida" you can opt for driver improvement class and the points wont go on your record, your insurance cannot go up, and usually there is a discount on your ticket. but then again thats FL. check your local/state laws and see if this would/could apply to you.

just my .02
 
Baited... People on here say slow down, I have tried that at times and have had jackasses continue to ride me or pull up next to me and give me the good'ol F-YOU sign. Now if I feel if a car is acting suspicious, I might slow down a bit or get over to allow them to pass, but I usually just speed up increasing my distance between me and the "jackass". After a l get adequate distance between me and them. I will slow down to regular speed, all the while keeping an eye out for that vehicle.

If you actually switched lanes, reduced your speed, and he continued to "be up your pipes". With it being, i'm assuming, an unmarked car. Seriously, how else are you suppose to take that? It could be any joe schmoe. Who knows, maybe next time it won't be an officer but someone who has a serious biff with bikes. Then what?

Your only defense would probably be that you were freaked/scared/felt threatened by a car tailgaiting you for so long, even after switching lanes and reducing speed. Allowing them or giving them a chance to pass if they wanted to.

Oh, never admit to an actual speed. Just say you thought you were going with the flow of traffic.

I know how you feel. Hope it turns out well for ya.
 
"Changed lanes to avoid a potential threat" is all you need to tell the judge. Once you did your part to allow the car to proceed, you've done the safe thing.

The fact that the cop continued to pace you (and change lanes) at close quarters allows you to escape at any speed.

Fight the ticket without an attorney. You'll win.
 
880jedi said:
"Changed lanes to avoid a potential threat" is all you need to tell the judge. Once you did your part to allow the car to proceed, you've done the safe thing.

The fact that the cop continued to pace you (and change lanes) at close quarters allows you to escape at any speed.

Fight the ticket without an attorney. You'll win.
Click to expand...

Good F**kin Luck!

Do you have any idea the percentage of drivers who win their battle in traffic court without an attorney? Try sitting in traffic court for half a day and watch the customers defend themselves. Takes about five minutes or less per customer and during a 3 hour set from 9 - 12 there may be two that the judge lets off. The traffic attorney I use has a success ratio of 99% plus. His best run was winning 871 tickets in a row.

You don't get a fair shake in court. You win if you have a better defense than the prosecutor. Having an attorney that plays golf with the judge makes a huge difference as well. What makes you think Joe Blow Citizen can compete with a professional who plays the game for a living? It's like racing against Danny Eslick, you have two chances "Slim and None"! :beerchug:
 
Did he write "reduced to" or the actual speed as a note on the ticket? In NM if they do you a favor by reducing the speed, it is only good for a guilty plea. If you try to fight it, the original speed or most severe infraction comes back.

Also, he will say you were speeding before the tailgating started and that he was following you while he ran your plates and he stopped you when you started driving erratically.


Next time something like that happens, dial 911 and say you think you are a victim of road rage and you are in fear of your life.
 
If your story is 100% accurate. Get a lawyer. Otherwise go to court plead guilty and beg for mercy from the judge, pay the hopefully reduced ticket and then pay to go to a defensive driving course and get 4 points back.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

K Wolf
  • Poll
First ticket on the 'busa
2
Replies
31
Views
1,697
SAMBUSA
S
K
almost got run off the road
Replies
8
Views
835
MrGxr
MrGxr
busa_boy_69
Who do cagers think they are?
Replies
15
Views
836
gtrpimp76
gtrpimp76
Revolution
freakin moron !
2
Replies
28
Views
1,634
1 BAD 2K
1
IG.
Didn't get pulled over... Whew!
2
Replies
27
Views
1,835
expat1970
expat1970
Back
Top