Speeding ticket in MA, but I am a licensed driver from NY

[innocentiswear]

I was pulled over for speeding in massachusetts i am from new york. The officer ticketed me for doing 93 in a 65 (mass pike) and there is no way i could have been going that fast. I have/had a clean driving record till this. the lights came on i kept my cool and remained as polite and respectful as possible. First the cop gave me hell for not pulling over the very second his godly lights came on my defense was I pulled over at the toll plaza, he was in an unmarked vehicle and i do not feel safe pulling over in the middle of nowhere when i dont know 100% sure if it is really a cop or not. The cop then asked me why i was going so fast i said "i was heading back to springfield to get my friend to her volunteer job, how fast was i going?" and then he told me "93" and i said to him, "i don't believe i was going that fast" he ignored my comment then took my license and registration and made way for his car. about 20 minutes later, he tosses in my window a crazy ticket. on the ticket is boxes to check off in regards to how he got his speed estimation, he checked off "estimated", then above infraction scribbled "laser after toll" however i was nowhere near a toll booth or an on or off ramp for entering the highway, unless he meant the toll plaza i stopped in safely, and i looked at my speedometer when he was behind me and no way was it near 90 let alone 93. HE told me i could go to court or pay the fine but if i do nothing at all my license would be suspended. to which then i asked "im from new york massachusetts can take away my license?" and he said "are you questioning me, and YES WE CAN" and he took off to his car. I feel totally profiled as well, this may sound weird but he was exceptionally rude to me considering how polite i was, I do have a bumper sticker on my car that says "support tattoos" as well as NY Yankee plate covers. Maybe i am being overly sensitive? I just do not feel his lack of reciprocating courtesy was professional at all. I plan on going to court to fight this, and I have ordered my driving record from NY so i can bring in proof that speeding (especially that outrageously) is not a norm for me. I am hoping i can get a conditional discharge since i am a college student and honestly cannot afford a ticket let alone the insurance ramifications. can i get a conditional discharge even though i am out of state? if not what can i do or ask the court to do instead of this rediculous speeding violation.

 

[army judge]

You can plead not guilty and request a jury trial.

I'd advise against that strategy, unless you retain an attorney.

I suggest you ask a friend to read your post, but don't tell them the author is you. See what a friend would advise a stranger to do. The answer might help you determine what you should do.

 

[innocentiswear]

a few of my friends that are "pre law" students, had suggested I try to see if i can get a conditional discharge, because I am not a habitual speeder, so for me staying out of trouble for 6 months (or however long they decide to prescribe it for) would not be a problem. They said if i bring a copy of my driving record to show the DA when i request the Conditional Discharge they may be willing to help me get one?

I would like to have the ticket dropped entirely because as I said im in college and dont have extra funds laying around (especially for a ludicrous ticket i know i do not deserve; yes i was speeding but not 93 MPH i was on a highway doing 80MPH and was with the flow of traffic, and in now way was that speed unsafe considering the conditions, bright and sunny traffic staggered not bumper to bumper etc). I know they wont completely drop a ticket and just let me walk out without paying for something, unless i get the Conditional Discharge, and I would rather go that route than pay for something or get points on my license and suffer the insurance boosts.

My fear with the trial with a jury is my officer will show up, and I will then be stuck with the entire fine rather than something of lesser value that the DA could have helped me with the first time around.

 

[mightymoose]

The driving record only shows that you have not been caught in violation of the law recently. It does not prove that you were not speeding or don't have a tendency to do so. I doubt anyone will be interested in seeing it.
You will need to somehow show that the officer did not accurately determine your speed. Even in your post here you indicate you were driving 80- you could easily have exceeded that if you were just "keeping up with traffic". No telling how long that officer was behind you before you looked at your speedometer.
You can avoid insurance problems by taking a traffic school course, but you would have to pay the traffic fine plus the cost of traffic school.
Your financial situation doesn't factor in to this, nor does the officer's demeanor.
In the future, obey the speed limit regardless of what other drivers are doing.