If you look at your speeding ticket, you might see “violation of VC or CVC” followed by a five-digit number, such as 22348, 22349, 22350, 22354, or 22356 or another. VC is short for vehicle code, and CVC is short for California Vehicle Code.
Speeding Ticket, CVC 22348
For example, CA Vehicle Code (CVC) 22348, Speed Laws, if you search on Google, Bing, Yahoo, or another internet search engine, it will give you several results.
When you select enter, several choices will appear on the Search Engine Results Page (SERP). The following is a Google SERP with some questions we felt compelled to answer. The blue arrow and red text are not part of the original page.
You want to select the Law Section on the SERP.
When you click on Law Section, the wording of that section of code will be displayed. CVC 22348 (b) states, “A person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction…” Therefore, in order for the State to find you guilty of this infraction, they must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” you were driving “…at a speed greater than 100…” 
It is the job of the defense attorney to raise a reasonable doubt. How did the law enforcement officer (LEO) determine you were going more than 100 mph? Radar and Lidar are the two most common methods of determining speed. There’s also pacing, a method of following a vehicle for a set distance and matching the speed of the LEO’s vehicle to that of the car being paced. While rarely used in 100 mph cases, some LEOs estimate or guess at your speed.
There is a mandatory court appearance by you or an attorney for a speeding ticket 100+ mph. Although speeding 100+ mph is an infraction, the fine, if convicted, can range from $900 to $2,500. The DMV assesses two Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) points, which when discovered by your auto insurance provider, usually at renewal, doubles or triples your insurance. And finally, the traffic court judge has the discretion to suspend your driver’s license 30 days automatically. Always consult a traffic attorney before you decide to represent yourself or hire a relative who isn’t a traffic attorney to represent you.
Speeding Ticket for CVC 22349
CVC 22349, Speed Laws, states, “…no person may drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 65 mph.” This violation is often referred to as “highway speeding” when the posted speed is 65 mph.
A Speeding Ticket “Too Fast for Conditions,” according to CVC 22350
CVC 22350, Speed Laws, warns drivers not to drive “…at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility…in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.” This is what is commonly known as “driving too fast for conditions.”
An experienced LEO with several years in the traffic division is often allowed by traffic court judges to estimate or guess how fast you were going when they cite you under this section of CA code. Many will claim they did not have a radar or lidar device with them and guessed that your speed was hazardous to other drivers and pedestrians, given the conditions, such as fog or heavy rain.
This speeding ticket is often easily disputed by an experienced traffic attorney. However, it is usually much easier to get a no-point reduction where you pay the fine in a plea deal with the court.
CVC 22354, Speed Laws, comes into play when a Caltrans or local survey determines that 65 mph is too fast for the area surveyed, and signs are posted to lower the speed limit there. This section is not often used to cite drivers for speeding.
CVC 22356, Speed Laws, is another section of code rarely used to cite drivers for speeding. It is, however, used to raise the speed limit to 70 mph in areas where Caltrans or the CHP have determined it is safe and efficient to allow a 70 mph speed limit.
Conclusion
Regardless of the CA traffic or vehicle code cited by the LEO who stopped you, your eligibility or ineligibility to attend Traffic Violators School, you should always consult a traffic ticket attorney. In Bakersfield, most drivers turn to Bigger & Harman for legal advice they can trust.
Bakersfield Traffic Attorneys Who Handle Any Speeding Ticket
Call Bigger & Harman, APC, (661) 349-9300, when you have a speeding ticket. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
Although we practice traffic law all over CA, Bakersfield is home. During traffic court hours, if we are not in traffic court, we are in the office writing requests for dismissal or requests for reduced no-point violations. By concentrating on traffic law, we know the traffic court judges who will decide our cases; we know many of the LEOs and other officers of the court so that we can give you the best possible result.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
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