NJ Careless Driving Summons for Speeding

[PatMc]

This evening I was going north on a county route, driving between 55 and 60 mph and slowing down. In the northbound lane, the speed limit quickly changes from 50 to 40 mph. However, in the southbound lane the speed limit changes from 40 to 50 mph a few hundred feet south of that point (the speed limit zones are staggered).

I passed an NJ state police officer who was going south. He turned around, followed me for a little while (I made sure I did nothing wrong from then on), and finally pulled me over. He told me that I was doing 60 in a 40 mph zone. He said he let me off the hook and handed me a summons for careless driving instead of a speeding ticket.

Later I went back to that road and noticed the location of the 40 mph speed limit sign. I'm pretty sure I was before that sign when I passed him, so I was in a 50 mph zone. Though as I said, the zones are staggered so for him the limit was 40.

I'm 19 years old, and I've been driving for close to two years. I have a clean record; this is my first offense.

Now here are my questions:

• What kind of penalties can I expect from a careless driving complaint (NJ statute 39:4-97) if I plead guilty?
• His 60 mph measurement sounds like an estimate to me (too round a number). Also, he was moving when he took it. Is there anything wrong with that? It was my understanding that a radar gun had to be properly mounted, stationary, and callibrated for use. Or could this have been a visual estimation?
• I noticed on the summons that there is no "equipment" (helicopter, pace, speed measurement device, or EBTD) marked. But there is a "Unit Code" listed. What does this mean?
• I've been reading around and I see a lot of people saying it's best to plead not guilty. Then you'd go to the prosecutor's office, discuss the charge, and get a final decision from the prosecutor and the officer. Is this generally true?
• Should I make an attempt to meet with the prosecutor before the scheduled court date and discuss this to try to arrange a deal?
• Could I cite mitigating circumstances, since I'm fairly certain I was in the 50 mph zone?
• Can I access the officer's notes, or any other information about the complaint?
• What courses of action are available to me? What should I do?

Any help with this would be appreciated.

 

[traffic101]

If you cannot get out of a ticket, it is best to ask for prayer for judgment. I believe NJ now has an option for online traffic school now. If you have not had a traffic ticket in some time, the judge may allow you to attend traffic school online course and then the ticket can be waived and all you had to do was just pay for the court fees and the cost of the online course. Good luck to you.

 

[tpajet]

I would take it to court and explain that the speed limits are staggerd and that you were still in the 50 MPH zone for your side of the road. I would mention to the judge that you would be willing to attend the driving school if needed, but you don't think that you were driving enough over the limit to count as careless driving.