So I got a photo radar ticket a few months ago and I decided to fight the ticket primarily on principle. I was traveling west across the burnside bridge. The photo below shows the grade of the road. However, it wasn't a construction zone when I got zapped going 40 in a 25. Here's my main complaint -- the speed zone up ahead says 35 mph and this is a pretty steep hill to get up across the bridge. They stationed the photo radar just in front of the sign. This is a freaking bridge, not a residential street. I remember that the radar van looked like a strobe light as it was literally tagging every vehicle that passed it. 25 mph is just not a reasonable speed limit for the area and it is deceptive as the 35 mph sign is right up ahead. There aren't any crosswalks for pedestrians, etc. I had always thought it was 35 there, but technically there is a 25 mph speed limit sign about a half mile back. Photo Now I see the photo radar van parked there frequently. It is just a giant speed trap, and it pisses me off so I am going to make them go through the steps to convict me. I don't imagine I will win, but I am going to try to argue that the speed limit is 35 and see what the judge does. Anyway, if you have fought a ticket before in Multnomah County, let me know what I should expect.
I got a ticket one in a forest preserve outside Chicago. I rode my motorcycle there and parked it on the grass next to a picnic table. A cop drives by, gets out, and tells me "get that motorcycle off the grass." So I hopped on it, started it up, and rode it 15 feet or so off the grass onto the pavement. He gave me a ticket for riding on the grass. I went to court. The DA and the judge talked about a mile a minute. Then the judge started asking the cop questions. When the cop told him he said to "get the bike off the grass" the judge asked him if he told me not to ride it off the grass or just told me to get it off the grass. "Get it off the grass," he said. Judge said "case dismissed." LOL The moral of the story is, you never know what will happen, though the system is really set up to convict you.
Good story. My mother in law one time got a speeding ticket, but the cop wrote the wrong code. Instead of speeding it was for carrying a heavy load over railroad tracks. The judge dismissed it.
Regardless, your ticket will be reduced if you show up in court Either you'll come out victorious or you'll pay less than what the ticket says you owe. I've had many battles for speeding tickets in court, most got dismissed. The ones that didn't were discounted and had an opportunity to make my record clean.
i didn't have such good luck on my two speeding tickets, both didn't get touched and i paid the full amount. my dad did get pulled over by a bike cop once, not a motorcycle cop but a bicycle cop. he was going into lewisville park and going over a speed bump. the cop rode up next to him and told him to roll down the window. my dad thought he was joking and kind of laughed but the cop kept pointing. so he pulled over and the cop said he was going 10 mph in a 5 mph zone. my dad couldn't believe it and of course fought it. went to court and the judge said he'd heard multiple cases that day from that cop doing the exact same thing but that he couldn't throw it out because he was speeding. reduced it as much as possible but it stayed on the record.
Dude, don't waste you time trying to fight it. You have zero chance of winning. Pay your ticket and you'll get a reduced fine as long as it's your first time.
A successful court appearance depends on how acceptable you appear visually, how well you state your case, how well the officer states his/hers, how well you avoid making lame excuses or straying off point, which judge you get, the case preceeding yours, the weather, and of course whether you are guilty or innocent. It appears you are guilty with no real excuse. I'd mail the check in and get on with my life if I were you. Given the location, just be glad you didn't mow down a bum.
I got a photo radar ticket a few years ago and when I went to court, the cop in charge of the photo radar didnt show up. Case dismissed. I didnt even have to say anything. My wife recently got a photo radar ticket and her cop did show up but they still reduced the ticket by about $100. I've heard that most of the time the photo radar cops dont go to court because they assume most people will just pay via mail.
i actually just got a speeding ticket and its gonna cost $180 and 4 points. if i do fight it and go to court what should i say or do? never really ben in this situation before and i was obviously speeding haha
Epilogue: I went to court. Cop showed. I talked to cop and he reduced the charges (which only reduced the fine $50), but I think will count as less points for insurance purposes. About a third of the cops didn't show and the people walked. I probably should have listened to Rodolfo.
I have gotten out of about 4-5 tickets over the years using this method: Plead not guilty. When you get your court date, ask for a continuance (work, will be out of town, etc.) if you can do it a second time, even better. Then show up on your new trial date and often, not always though, the cop won't show. Case dismissed. I think the cop usually forgets to reschedule the trial date.
I've never gotten a ticket... but when/if I do... I will just pay it instead of wasting people's time over my mistake. We pay the salary for all those people.
