I've just received a traffic ticket for going "70+" in a 55mph zone. There are two reasons I know this can't be right (but I'm not sure it would be enough to hold up in court)
1) My son had just commented on how slow I was going through this well-known speed trap and I glanced at the speedometer and took note that I was going 60mph.
2) I had just gotten this car the day before. Its a smaller car (Camry) compared to the minivan I've been driving, and the size difference gives me the feeling that I'm going much faster than I actually am. 60mph felt too fast.
Furthermore, after a week of driving this car I have found that rarely have I even gone 75mph. The only time I have gone that fast is while passing another vehicle on a 4 lane freeway in the passing lane. And that is rare since I'm generally very comfortable in the slow or middle lanes cruising at 65mph. 76mph or even 70mph is inconceivable to me on a curvy two-lane road such as Hwy 18!
Anyway, the officer stated that I was going 76mph but when he wrote the ticket up he changed it to 70+ stating that it would "bring the cost down".
I've earned an excellent driving record over the years (no tickets), which has greatly reduced the cost of our already expensive insurance- this ticket would set us back quite a bit.
If I request a mitigation hearing could/would the judge take this off our record or do I need to plead Not-guilty for any chances of that happening?
Thanks for any advice you can spare.
Trudy
1) My son had just commented on how slow I was going through this well-known speed trap and I glanced at the speedometer and took note that I was going 60mph.
2) I had just gotten this car the day before. Its a smaller car (Camry) compared to the minivan I've been driving, and the size difference gives me the feeling that I'm going much faster than I actually am. 60mph felt too fast.
Furthermore, after a week of driving this car I have found that rarely have I even gone 75mph. The only time I have gone that fast is while passing another vehicle on a 4 lane freeway in the passing lane. And that is rare since I'm generally very comfortable in the slow or middle lanes cruising at 65mph. 76mph or even 70mph is inconceivable to me on a curvy two-lane road such as Hwy 18!
Anyway, the officer stated that I was going 76mph but when he wrote the ticket up he changed it to 70+ stating that it would "bring the cost down".
I've earned an excellent driving record over the years (no tickets), which has greatly reduced the cost of our already expensive insurance- this ticket would set us back quite a bit.
If I request a mitigation hearing could/would the judge take this off our record or do I need to plead Not-guilty for any chances of that happening?
Thanks for any advice you can spare.
Trudy
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