Speeding Ticket

[jhohrein]

In PA if you receive a speeding ticket for obedience to traffic control device how can you fight it? The officer said he clocked me going 67 in a 55 .. then he gave me a ticket saying I was going 76in a 55. Not to mention.. he was standing outside of his car with his overhead lights were on when i was a 1/4 mile away... no i was not speeding..i left my house early because I knew there would be traffic and i wanted to get to school early for my last day of finals. Right when I got on the highway, There was a police officer with his lights on sitting right on the exit. To me, this means danger or warning. I was in not in a rush to go anywhere. i was falsely accused. He also said the stop had been audio and video recorded. How can i get out of this ticket.

 

[seniorjudge]

Your only defense is that you were not speeding.

How do you plan on proving you were not speeding? In other words, what FACTS can you show the court?

(You gave no defense in your original post, other than you felt like you were not speeding.)

You may want to talk to the prosecutor and see if you can plead to a nonmoving violation.

 

[jhohrein]

I had my last final at Shippensburg University at 10:00 AM. I left my house and was on the highway by 9:28AM. It usually takes about 20 minutes to get to the University. I traveled onto 81 North via the Lincoln Way exit en route to the Fayette St. exit. When first merging onto the highway, there was a state trooper with his lights on sitting at the corner of the on ramp at the Lincoln Way exit. I travel this same route every other day on my way to Shippensburg University to attend classes. I knew that there was a construction zone up ahead as signs were posted for the past week or so. When first merging onto the highway, there is a 65mph speed limit sign. About a quarter mile ahead, traffic signs were posted saying the speed limit changes to 55mph and it is a state law to turn on your headlights. I turned on my headlights and continued traveling down the highway. Now, I know from traveling this same route yesterday (May 6, 2008) that the left lane would soon close and there would be police watching traffic on the highway. After being on the highway for only a minute or two, I noticed that traffic in the right hand lane was slowing down. I was in the left lane as there were no signs visible saying the left lane was closing. Once I saw the sign saying "Left lane is closed 1 mile ahead" I knew that I had only 1 mile to turn into the right hand lane. Right after i passed mile marker # 17, I began to see more cars in the right lane as the left lane was soon closing. Traffic in the right lane was going about 40mph. I was in the passing lane going about 50mph (the speed limit was 55)because I looked ahead of me and saw a police vehicle and officer with his lights on standing outside of his car with his door open. I then noticed another traffic sign that stated, "Left Lane Closed ½ mile ahead. This told me I have a half mile to get into the right hand lane. Before passing the officer, I put my turn signal on to get into the right hand lane. The officer which I had seen standing outside of his car motioned to me what I believed to be the officer telling me to merge into the right hand lane. I waved to the officer (basically saying thank you for the warning to merge into the right lane). As I drove by the officer he threw his hands up in confusion. This confused me. I slowed down to about 30mph due to traffic and the fact that I didn't know what they officer was trying to communicate to me through his use of hand signals. A truck on the right side of the honked his horn and flashed his lights signaling me to merge in front of him. At this same time, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw the police officer getting in his car. He was only a short distance behind me, I would say about 100yrds.
As soon as I saw the police officer start driving, I pulled off onto the shoulder. My passenger side window does not roll down so I rolled down my back passenger window so I could communicate to the officer. The officer came to the passenger side, knocked on my passenger window like he was going to break it. Scared the daylights out of me even though I knew he was standing right there. I told the officer my window did not roll down. He asked for my license, registration and proof of insurance. He then asked me why I was going 67 mph in a 55mph construction zone. I replied by saying, " I am sorry officer but I don't know what you're talking about. I was only going about 50 mph." The police office did not have what I believe to be a good response to my answer. He simply asked me if I just now put my seatbelt on and I told him that I wear my seatbelt whenever getting into a car and especially on the highway. The officer walked away and went back to his vehicle. About 15 minutes later, the officer came back to the passenger side of the vehicle. He handed me a clipboard and a ticket and told me that I needed to sign the ticket to verify that I received the ticket. I asked the officer why he had pulled me over. He told me he had clocked me and that I had been speeding going 76 mph in a 55mph marked construction zone. This statement contradicts with the first statement the officer had told me (He said I was going 67mph in a 55mph zone). I told the officer that this is ridiculous. At no point during the time that I was driving on the highway on this day did I speed. I told the officer that I will be contesting the traffic ticket because I believe the officer had written up a false report. The officer then told me that this traffic stop and the conversation had been audio and video recorded. He told me to have a good day and to drive carefully. I said thank you, you too. The duration of the traffic stop was about 15 minutes.
I have been cited for speeding before and I have never pleaded not guilty to a charge I knew I was guilty of. I left my house 15 minutes earlier than usual because I knew there would be traffic on the highway and I wanted to get to my last final early. I must say I am extremely disappointed that I was pulled over. Yes, I was in the left lane when there were signs posted saying the left lane will end ½ ahead, but, correct me if I am wrong, this means I still have a half mile before I need to get into the right hand lane. Of course, I was planning on getting into the right hand lane before the ½ mile was up. And I say again, at no point in time do I recall going 5 or even 21 miles over the speed limit. I don't know how this officer came to the conclusion that I was speeding. He said he clocked me with his radar gun, but right when I saw the flashing police lights ahead, the officer was out of his vehicle with nothing in his hands. I learned my lesson from previous citations. I was not in a rush to go anywhere. I ended up being 15 minutes late to my final. I have never before disputed a traffic violation and I do not plan to dispute any citations in the future unless the police officer giving the citation is at fault or I disagree to the reason as to why I am receiving the ticket. I know that in a construction zone, my fine can be doubled and in the state of Pa. going 20+ miles over the speed limit can make you lose your license. I almost wanna say that instead of proving that i was not speeding, because that is nearly impossible, i want to prove that the officer did not take proper actions in regards using the traffic control device that he claimed he used.