WA state speeding ticket by aircraft radar?

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Shokoku

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On July 2nd, as part of a 4th of July DUI and speeding crackdown, I was issued a ticket (46.61.400.10 - by the way, I cannot find that listing for that statute anywhere. I found 46.61.400, but my ticket CLEARLY shows 46.61.400.10?? Any ideas??) for going "70+" in a 60 zone on Hwy 16 in Kitsap County. Both the ticket and the Washington State Patrol officer who issued the ticket stated I was caught by an airplane overhead. At the exact same time I was pulled over, no less than FOUR other vehicles within a 200-500 foot range from me were also being pulled over or had been pulled over by other State Patrol cars, some of them with more than one patrol car behind them. The officer, who was very polite and courteous, said specifically that he 'did not pull or access' my record when he took my license back to his car to check. He also told me that if 'I have a good driving record, that there are some options on the back of the ticket you may want to consider.' Why would he tell me that? The options are to 1. Pay the fine ($91.00) 2. Mitigating Hearing 3. Contested Hearing, FYI. I have NEVER before recieved a ticket or warning or anything before, and I am 23 and have been driving since I was 16. I have not responded to the ticket yet, but i have to mail it in a day or so for it to arrive in time to be post marked properly. I feel that this traffic stop should have warranted a warning at least, due to my excellent driving record, and that there might be a possibility due to the sheer number of people being pulled over that they might have mistakenly 'tagged' me because of the other people's speeds. Can this happen? What should I do? I don't want my insurance to go up for something I feel was incorrect. Thanks for reading, - Wendy
 
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Washington State Traffic Ticket

You can defer tickets in Washington State. There's a fee of $75 or
whatever the ticket would have been whichever is larger. You plead guilty, but the finding of guilt is deferred. If you go 1 year without another ticket, the ticket is dropped. Deferrment is NOT available after the court finds you guilty. If the court finds you guilty, the only thing you can request is fine mitigation. (Down to a minimum fine of $65.)

This is probably your best option. You may be able to beat the ticket since there are several options in a contested hearing that may lead to dismissal. However the time and trouble is probably not worth the effort.
 
I was also pulled over that same day on that highway, with the speed trap they had with the air plane. It was my first ticket. But I did not get a warning. I am having Mitigating Hearing to try and get it lowered or to go to traffic school. The officer that pulled me over I was clocked at 72 in a 60 but he wrote the ticket for 77 and all the passangers in my car said they heard him say 72. Every car around me was going 70+ because I was not passing people, I was right next to them the whole time. Some of the other cars did get pulled over though. I'm just wondering if I am able to get to throwen out if he put the wrong speed, I have not found the charge bracket but I don't believe that 72 is in the $153 range.
 
Re: WA state ticket....

Same road, same day by the same airplane? Jeez, you were probably in one of the other cars near me I saw pulled over. Anyway, you are doing the Mitigating Hearing? I am too. I'm hoping to get to pay the full fine and have a deferrment of the ticket. My big thing is is that I don't want to have the point on my record. I don't care if I have to pay double the fine, I just don't want the point for what really should have been a warning. My hearing is next week, Friday Sept. 17th. When is yours? If I go first I'll tell you how it went and what to expect. Here's wishing us both the best of luck!! : ) - Wendy
 
WOO-HOO!! We beat it!

I beat my ticket with an attorney's help! As the day of my hearing (9/17) approached, I finally decided to hire an attorney. He had me request a continuance (since the time of the hearing was pretty close) to 10/22. I got the continuance granted, and then he requested the discovery of the ticket - and found that there was only ONE affidavit on the ticket, one from the officer in the airplane. He said you need one from each officer - the one on the ground and one in the air. So because there was only one affidavit, the ticket is automatically dismissed as hearsay. WOO-HOO! : ) -Wendy
 
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