VBR; Speed Racing

[Guest]

I was riding west bound on Hwy 18 headed for the beach traveling at roughly 65 to 70 mph. Speed zone is 55 mph. I was traveling faster than I normally do on the road to create space between a pickup who I determined was either distracted or drunk traveling 45 mph. After about 5 miles, the road entered a passing area when I noticed a state cop on the other side of the grass median pull out headed east bound. I was not sure if he radar'd me, or a BMW behind me going the same speed. I continued down the now two lane road on the right lane. As I turned right down a side road to take a break and partially in case the cop decided to turn around, the BMW increased his speed and continued down HWY 18 passing me as I turned. I chose to take a break because it was 10 PM on a Thursday and I couldn't feel my legs nor my hands anymore. I had no idea what awaited me on this side street, but it turned out to be a no outlet road which was great because I didn't want to be clipped by any drivers and it was better than getting hit by the drunkard off of HWY 18 5 miles back. I didn't notice any speed signs, so I began to down shift to decelerate when I saw flashing lights behind me, so I pulled over. The state cop stated that he chose me because I was the one who turned off and that he was going to attempt to pull over the BMW and myself at the same time. I explained to him my case, but he wasn't listening. Once he came back from the car, he had VBR 31+ and speed racing written up. I wanted to explain more of what happened and wanted an answer as to why speed racing? His response was the BMW was accelerating and so was I... he continued on about how you can't do that in Yamhill county. I continued to plead my case, but to no avail. After he left I examined the ticket further. I immediately recognized that I was wrote up in a completely wrong county, I was actually in Polk county, and the model; color of my motorcycle were wrong. I am okay with speeding, because I admit I was going faster than normal to create space for safety, but the speed racing is ridiculous. I read up on the law and I don't think he could determine if I was "accelerating excessively" or "exhibition of speed" because he had to travel further east bound before he could pull an illegal u-turn. Anyways, thoughts? Ideas? Did he radar me, or the BMW? Any chance of a dismissal? I have a relative who knows attorneys in yamhill that will help me out, but I have yet to schedule a consultation.

 

[army judge]

First of all, don't ever try to talk your way out of a traffic citation or arrest.
It never works, and can anger some officers.
You simply comply with the officer;s lawful requests, and wait.
When the citation is handed to you, you accept it, and wish him or her a good day, AFTER they are through with issuing you the citation.
Never try to explain, argue why you didn't so what the officer is accusing you of, or try to change the officer's mind.
Its too late after the officer has taken pen to paper and written the ticket anyway.

You can take traffic school if its allowed, pretend you're a lawyer and be your own client, or hire an attorney to assist you.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

There is a chance of dismissal and of winning your case. There are questions of jurisdiction as well as the facts and credibility. It's impossible for any of us to be able to tell you what your odds of winning are. We haven't seen the summons either nor am I sure of the charge. All I can say is that if the amount of information on the ticket was that excessive and material, it's usually a pretty good sign that the officer may not have had a good day. If the color says blue but your motorcycle is really "midnight blue" or more gray, it's not going to make any difference. These are superficial and the vehicle you were driving may have been otherwise sufficiently identified.

Whether the incident happened within the jurisdiction and whether the officer had the right to provide you with a summons is another question that can be answered in court and, even better, by a local attorney. We don't know any of the details as to which court you are in. For example, if a state trooper handed you a summons, discussion of the county is irrelevant. He may have meant to say "racing is against the law" but tacked on the county thinking he was in Yamhill when he was actually in Polk County - and where racing is unlawful as well. Sure you can mention that in court but it isn't going to make any difference.

What you will be told is that your option could have been to slow down if you wanted to avoid a dangerous driver. A significant question to answer is how the officer was clearly in error and unable to estimate your speed, which appears to be 31 MPH above the speed limit. You claim you were going 65 in a 55 MPH zone and the officer claims it was at least 86 MPH. This claims is over 200% faster than the amount you will concede here that you were driving above the speed limit, over 100% even if you want to concede you were going 70 MPH. You will find out how the officer estimated your speed, be it radar, laser or following you, which your attorney can accomplish more easily than you will figuring out how it works. You may have been better off being shut down by the police officer and letting your attorney do the talking - and I do think that a traffic attorney would help you immensely in court. He'd know how to question the officer, who may have notes about whey he thought you were road racing with a BMW, even if it was for a short time with two motorists challenging the speed limit. I think the advice given to you is excellent - you need a traffic attorney for this speeding ticket for dangerous driving (road racing.) The insights provided here should convince you that this is probably a good idea.