Speeding Ticket

[Rusco]

Jurisdiction

Wisconsin

I got a speeding ticket for 20 over in a 55. While I do know for a fact that I was speeding, I find it very hard to believe that I was doing that much over. I believe my top speed would have been 70 and was just caught not paying too much attention to my speed until it was too late. I'm not sure what my next step should be.

 

[flyingron]

Your "belief" is not going to get you anything.

You can always go to court and make your case, it will cost you nothing but your time.

If points are more important to you than money, hire an attorney.

 

[Zigner]

I got a speeding ticket for 20 over in a 55. While I do know for a fact that I was speeding, I find it very hard to believe that I was doing that much over. I believe my top speed would have been 70 and was just caught not paying too much attention to my speed until it was too late. I'm not sure what my next step should be.

In other words, you have absolutely no clue how fast you were going.

 

[army judge]

I got a speeding ticket for 20 over in a 55. While I do know for a fact that I was speeding, I find it very hard to believe that I was doing that much over. I believe my top speed would have been 70 and was just caught not paying too much attention to my speed until it was too late. I'm not sure what my next step should be.

While it may be difficult to fight a speeding ticket (
How To Fight A Speeding Ticket ) in Wisconsin due to the absolute speed limit law, a driver may choose to go to court and claim their innocence based upon one of the following:

The driver may oppose the determination of speed. In order to claim this defense a driver must know how his or her speed was determined and then learn how to disprove its accuracy.

A driver may claim that an emergency situation caused the driver to break the speed limit in order to prevent injury or damage to themselves or others.

The driver may claim a case of mistaken identity. If a police officer clocks a driver speeding and subsequently has to find them again in traffic, it's possible that they could have made a mistake and pulled the wrong car over.

Penalty for exceeding the speed limit in Wisconsin
First-time violators may:

Be fined between $30 and $300

Be sentenced to up to 10 days of jail time

Have their license suspended for up to one year

Penalty for reckless driving in Wisconsin
Exceeding the speed limit by 25 mph is automatically considered reckless driving in this state.

First-time violators may:

Be fined between $25 and $200

Be sentenced to between five and 90 days of jail time

Have their license suspended for up to one year

Violators may be eligible for reduced points by participating in a driver improvement program.

If you qualify, traffic school just MIGHT be the best way to rid yourself of the citation.

https://trafficschoolonline.com/state/wisconsin-defensive-driving

 

[Rusco]

In other words, you have absolutely no clue how fast you were going.

I slowed down slightly because a turn I needed was coming up and I was going 62 when I saw the trooper and hit the brakes. The amount of time I was on the brake and how lightly I was using it, I see no way I could have been going as fast as the trooper said I was.

 

[adjusterjack]

Yet the judge more likely to believe the trooper over one of the many thousands of drivers that come to court and say they didn't do it.

I believe my top speed would have been 70

You've just confessed to breaking the law. Say that in court and you lose anyway.

 

[Zigner]

I slowed down slightly because a turn I needed was coming up and I was going 62 when I saw the trooper and hit the brakes. The amount of time I was on the brake and how lightly I was using it, I see no way I could have been going as fast as the trooper said I was.

In other words, you really have no clue what speed you were going and you also have no clue when the trooper observed you.

 

[Redemptionman]

Do discovery as to how the trooper determined speed. Was it radar or a marker estimate?

20 over being a mandatory court appearance you will need to be prepared. Like has been said hire an attorney if you do not want the points or the citation going on your record.

 

[zddoodah]

I find it very hard to believe that I was doing that much over. I believe my top speed would have been 70 and was just caught not paying too much attention to my speed

Regardless of what you wrote in your follow up post, this says you don't have the slightest idea how fast you were going.

I'm not sure what my next step should be.

Pay the ticket or see if you can take traffic school to keep it off your record. Then start paying better attention to how fast you're driving.

 

[mightymoose]

I see no way I could have been going as fast as the trooper said I was.

Assuming your speed was determined by radar, you were likely observed at 75 long before you ever saw the officer, and before you began to slow down for the turn.
Many officers will actually write you up for a slower speed. If you were going 78 they might write down 75, or even 70, but they will note your actual speed somewhere else on the citation or in their notes.
The argument that you were only doing 70 rather than 75 is not going to win any sympathy. You should find a way to resolve this outside of court.