How to Fight a Speeding Ticket

You may think that your only option once you have received a speeding ticket is to pay the fine, watch your insurance rates rise, and accept the addition of points from PennDOT. There is another choice—you can go to court and fight the ticket with the help of the best Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney.

The fallout from a speeding ticket can result in mounting complications.

Points will be added to your driving record by PennDOT for the alleged violation. Accumulating 6 or more points can cause your vehicle insurance rates to rise by hundreds or thousands of dollars. You might even find yourself with a suspended license, which can lead to the loss of your job or missing school. From there, it’s a short step to being unable to pay the bills and losing your home, or failing classes.

Keeping your driving record clean is worth the battle. Below are some ways you can fight your speeding ticket:

• Hire a defense lawyer who has experience as a Pittsburgh Speeding Ticket Lawyer. Traffic charges can often be reduced or dismissed. Retaining a lawyer is a good investment, because you might be able to save money on your insurance costs over the course of years.
• Examine the ticket closely, as the traffic ticket you are given will offer clues regarding how the ticket might be fought. Look carefully for any inaccurate information.

If the ticket indicates that a VASCAR device was used to measure your speed, the ticket can be challenged in court. VASCAR devices are like stopwatches and have been shown to be prone to errors, especially when your speed is tracked over short distances.

• Police error in the calculation of speed is possible. A cop who follows your car to measure your speed might have gotten distracted or failed to follow you long enough to get an accurate measurement. Specific factors such as the darkness of the night or curves in the road can cause questions about the accuracy of the officer’s ability to track your vehicle consistently.
• If you were not speeding, the cop has mistakenly ticketed you. A Pittsburgh speeding ticket attorney can help you get this ticket removed. For instance, if your car was being tracked from the air during rush hour, and the officer looked away from your vehicle for some reason, he or she might have confused your car with someone else’s of a similar style and color, or even have lost sight of you altogether.
• Improper calibration of the speed calculating device, especially VASCAR devices, may cause speeding charges to be dismissed. Pittsburgh’s VASCAR speed-tracking automation devices should be calibrated once at least every 2 months, radar guns once every year, and police car speedometers, used for following cars to track their speed, also must be calibrated once a year. If the automation does not get calibrated within the stipulated time period, or if it was improperly calibrated, it can cause errors that can’t stand up in court.
• You have to be proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. A speeding ticket lawyer at our Pittsburgh firm will examine in detail every part of the evidence against you to find where reasonable doubt exists. He or she will then attempt to prove it to the judge.

If you receive a traffic ticket, you need a speeding ticket attorney in Pittsburgh who will advocate for you through the entire process, work diligently to discredit evidence, and help you decide the best plan of action.

The criminal defense attorneys at Logue Law Group are here to help, starting with a free initial consultation. They can be reached 24/7 at 844.PITT.DUI or 844.PITT.DUI. You can also reach them online.

For more information about Pennsylvania Traffic Violation Law, including descriptions and definitions of traffic violations, you will find it in the Pennsylvania Code under Title 75.