Strategies To Fight A Speeding Ticket

Fighting a speeding ticket might seem like a waste of time and effort, but just paying it could mean higher insurance rates in the future. If your job depends on your driving record, accepting the ticket could have an impact on your career. Before walking into court, you need to take time to study the case and decide your best approach for fighting the ticket. Here are some commonly used strategies that might be useful in your case.  

Question the Reliability of the Measuring Instrument

In order to cite you properly for speeding, the ticketing police officer has to know the speed at which you were traveling when he or she noticed you. Officers can use various speed measuring instruments, such as a radar gun, stopwatch, or lidar gun. Depending on the instrument used by the officer, you could possibly challenge the validity of the ticket based on the measuring instrument being unreliable.  

For instance, there are reports regarding the accuracy of radar guns that you could rely on to call into question whether or not the speed that the officer noted was accurate.  

If the method used to measure your speed is not noted on your ticket, contact the police and request this information. If the police refuse to provide this information, inform the traffic court judge. He or she can take action to push the police to provide it.  

Question the Officer's Training on the Measuring Instrument

Even if the measuring instrument is found to be reasonably accurate, the police officer still needs to know how to properly use it. Unfortunately, some officers are not completely trained on the various measuring instruments used and this failure can result in inaccurate assessments of speed.  

For instance, officers have to ensure their radar guns are calibrated before use. If it is not, the speed results could be inaccurate. Request documentation, such as a log, that details the last time that the officer calibrated his or her radar gun. If the records are not provided or unavailable, you can argue that there it is impossible to determine whether or not the speed documented was accurate.  

Depending on the circumstances, there could be many other possible strategies that you can use to fight a traffic ticket for speeding. An experienced traffic attorney can assess your case and review all the documentation to determine the best defense to use. With his or help, there is a chance that the speeding ticket could be dismissed.