According to Bakersfield.com, Letters to the Editor warning the city of motorists speeding, ignoring signs and signal lights have been mostly ignored during the last five years. One letter stated, “The city may be liable for deaths or injuries as a result.” —Paul Gipe, Bakersfield.
Obey Traffic Lights & Speed Limits to Avoid Speeding & Red-Light Tickets
These incidents can be particularly frustrating for drivers within city limits. Sure, when you get out there in the Mojave, on #99 or the 5 and you want to open it up a little when the weather and traffic conditions are favorable, that is one thing, but when you speed within the city where other people are present, that entirely different.
Were you aware that there are 13 camera-enforced red lights in Bakersfield, CA? When you try speeding through a yellow light and get your picture taken, it could cost you nearly $600 for the fine and traffic violator’s school (TVS) if you are eligible and choose that route.
If you’re not eligible for TVS, it could cost you nearly $2,000. Yes, a bit shocking, isn’t it. You’re late for work and try to beat a yellow light. Two weeks later, you get a picture of yourself and your license plate in the mail with a request to resolve your red-light ticket for $490. It might not even be you driving. You’re not obligated to tell the court who was driving. It is incumbent on the state to prove you “willfully” drove through a camera-enforced intersection. Get a traffic attorney and dispute their claim. It could save you a lot of money.
“Beyond a Reasonable Doubt” Is the Standard of Proof Even in Traffic Court
So, anyway, as far as speeding on Panorama Drive—that can be disputed too. CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 22350, Speed Laws states, “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”
The way that section of traffic code was written leaves room for interpretation. What is “reasonable and prudent” to one traffic court judge might be stricter than what another judge considers “reasonable or prudent.” A traffic lawyer who devotes most of their time to traffic court every week knows many of the law enforcement officers (LEOs), and whether they attend traffic court regularly. They also know the judge and how they typically rule on speeding tickets, and what they consider “reasonable doubt,” which is the standard to establish guilt even in traffic court.
There are also road and weather conditions to consider. If you were doing ten mph over the speed limit on a clear day with light traffic that does not “endanger the safety of persons or property,” what was the harm? That’s why they call CVC 22350, the CA “Basic Speed Law.”
There Is a Judicial Review for Judges
If you think you do not have a chance to dispute a speeding ticket because a traffic court judge will believe the word of a LEO over your word, could be missing the mark. Their conduct is monitored by the Commission on Judicial Performance, an independent state agency. They must provide you a fair and impartial trial or risk censure. But there is the tendency to believe the officer they see every week in court over someone who just appeared once.
Call Bigger & Harman, APC, the Traffic Ticket Team When You Have a Speeding Ticket
Call Bigger & Harman, APC at (661) 349-9300 in Kern County, CA, when you get a speeding ticket on Panorama Drive in Bakersfield, CA.
We specialize in traffic ticket defense to offer our clients the best possible result based on our nearly 18 years of experience and knowledge gained in traffic courts across Central & Owens Valley, CA.
Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2021 CA Driver Handbook English y Español
CVC Section 22350, Speed Laws