How To Beat That Speeding Ticket

If you’ve been injured in an accident, you may be entitled to compensation—but getting what you deserve isn’t always simple. Personal injury claims can be surprisingly fragile and even small missteps early on can significantly weaken your case.

OK, now the good stuff:

1. Be polite and respectful.  Police officers have discretion in writing tickets so it makes sense to make a good impression.  It may help you and it definitely won’t hurt.  When you get pulled over, keep the officer calm by letting them know you are not a danger to them.   Do this by immediately turning your engine off and placing your hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel.   At night, turn on the interior lights.
   And when the officer asks, “Do you know why I pulled you over?”, do not admit guilt.  Instead, politely say “No, officer.”  But if the offense is obvious, don’t insult the officer by directly denying the offense.  Instead, without admitting anything, discretely plead your case to your fellow human who happens to be wearing a badge at the time [i.e.  “I’m late for my grandmother’s 100^th birthday party”; “I’m in such a financial bind, a ticket would really hurt me.”].  If you do get the ticket, be non-memorable.  If you take the ticket to court, you want the officer to forget all about you and generally, they only remember the ones they don’t like.
2. Fight the ticket successfully with two simple strategies.  First, request discovery of the calibration records and operator manuals.  These are often not kept in good order and if you show the judge, the case is likely to be dismissed assuming you weren’t way over the posted speed.   You can also ask for the documents at the hearing instead of beforehand, but then you won’t have any time to examine them for errors.Second, ask for continuances which delay your trial date.   This may cause the ticketing officer to not attend the traffic hearing [perhaps because they got promoted as the result of writing a high number of tickets] or transferred.  If they don’t show, your case will be dismissed.  If you’re willing to spend about $175.00, you can hire a traffic ticket attorney who will largely rely on these two strategies to get you out of your ticket.If you go to the hearing and the police officer shows up and all their paperwork is in perfect order, consider asking the Judge to withhold adjudication and order you to driving school.  Not only can you avoid points on your license, but court ordered driving school does not count toward your lifetime allowable total.   This will preserve a “freebie” election of driving school for your future in case you haven’t learned by now to stop speeding.
3. Drive no more than 10 mph above the speed limit.  Of course, it’s possible that budget strapped cities may ask their police departments to issue more tickets to help with budget revenue shortfalls, but generally police officers don’t want to waste their time on speeding tickets that are more easily dismissed in court.  To help keep you from going more than 10 mph above the speed limit, cruise control can be a great help.Now while these tips can help you get out of a speeding ticket, did we mention that SPEED KILLS.  And when it does, our law firm will represent the grieving family of the deceased.  So if you insist on speeding, be sure to carry very large insurance limits…just sayin’.

About Dale Appell

Dale S. Appell is a seasoned personal injury attorney based in Tampa, Florida, with over three decades of experience. He earned his Juris Doctor from Duke University School of Law in 1989 and has been licensed to practice in Florida since that same year. Dale is the founder of the Law Offices of Dale S. Appell P.A., where he and his dedicated team focus on providing compassionate, competent, and aggressive legal representation to clients dealing with personal injury, wrongful death, automobile accidents, slip and fall incidents and medical malpractice.

Recognized for his legal expertise, Dale has been selected to Super Lawyers, an honor bestowed upon only a select group of attorneys based on peer recognition and professional achievement. He holds an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell, the highest peer rating standard, reflecting his strong ethical standards and legal ability. Clients commend him for his dedication, responsiveness and the personalized attention he provides throughout the legal process.