Speeding Tickets and Traffic Attorneys

Speeding tickets are currently on the rise during the COVID-19 lockdown in California. Because of this uptick in speeding, an experienced traffic ticket attorney may be necessary to help you gather and preserve evidence to dispute the allegations against you. 

The Governor of California issued a lockdown in March that encouraged people to stay at home to protect themselves and others from the coronavirus. Any travel outside the home must be deemed for “essential purposes” until further notice.

Even though many counties are suspending traffic court sessions, it is imperative that you speak with a traffic attorney right away, so the facts do not get lost or forgotten. An experienced traffic attorney will ensure you are treated fairly and deal with the court about your speeding ticket after the lockdown is over.

Speeding and Traffic Law

CA Vehicle Code (CVC) 22350, Speed Laws warns drivers, “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent…” Their speed should consider highway conditions that might be diminished by fog, rain, snow (yes, many areas of CA get snow, notably higher elevations), and others. That speed should never endanger the safety of other motorists, pedestrians, or public and private property.

Law enforcement officers often use Doppler radar to determine if you are speeding. Radar uses radio waves that are transmitted at your vehicle and bounce back to the radar gun to show your speed. However, when these devices are not calibrated frequently, or the LEO has not been trained correctly on the equipment, errors occur.

Likewise, LEO is using Lidar, a laser device to track your speed, along with pacing techniques. In pacing, the LEO uses their own vehicle’s speed in an attempt to match your speed. Some LEOs even guess your speed in stormy conditions. 

Consider the LEO who estimates your speed to be 65 mph and also guesses that the safe speed should have been 40 mph. That’s a 25 mph difference, and if convicted or you make their job easy and pay the fine without contesting it, you will pay close to $500 for the speeding ticket. 

Plus, you must get a traffic court judge to approve your traffic violator’s school (TVS) for 25 or more mph over. Therefore, if the judge agrees, you must plead guilty to attend; however, if the judge doesn’t allow it, your insurance premium at renewal will likely spike $692 per year for the average CA driver, and much more for 18 to 25-year-old drivers. 

Speeding Ticket Convictions & Auto Insurance Premiums

First, they’ll take your “good driver’s discount” because of the speeding ticket conviction, then they will put you in a higher risk category. Paying the fine will result in a conviction, which means your insurance premiums will rise, and the guilty verdict will stay on your driving record for three years. You will not be able to get the good driver’s discount, nor the lower risk designation with a clean record for those three years.   

Although CHP officers and other LEOs use these devices to issue citations daily, there are legal technicalities, which make disputing your speeding ticket in court worthwhile. 

As speeding violations continue to rise in CA during the coronavirus crisis, it is necessary to consult with and hire an experienced and reliable traffic attorney. Law enforcement agencies are monitoring speed through a variety of methods, but there are always occurrences of human and machine error. An experienced attorney will often subpoena calibration and training records for the device, and the LEO involved.  

Speeding Ticket Attorneys Who Practice in Hanford Traffic Court in Kings County  

Contact Bigger & Harman, APC, (661) 349-9300, in Bakersfield to assist you in gathering and preserving evidence during the lockdown. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.

When we come out on the other side of this crisis and you are scheduled in Hanford Traffic Court, you will need evidence that will put “reasonable doubt” in the mind of the judge, which could lead to a dismissal or reduced charge.  

Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com. 

References:

The 2020 CA Driver Handbook.pdf

CVC 22350, Speed Laws