Speeding Tickets
In New Jersey speeding tickets are given out like there is no tomorrow. There are two reasons why speeding tickets are given. The first reason is to slow down all of the road rage and the aggressive drivers. It is common knowledge that the time pressures of life, and the tremendous stresses of everyday living makes people drive too aggressively and fast. The second reason is that speeding tickets generate a tremendous amount of revenue for the local municipalities.
A speeding ticket of 1 to 14 miles over the limit is a 2 offense. A speeding ticket of 15 to 29 is a 4-point offense. Finally, a speeding ticket of 30 or more over the limit is a 5-point offense.
In areas that are designated as a “Safe Corridor” or a “Safe Corridor Area” then the fines are doubled. In my opinion these designations have nothing to do with making the roads safer. These designations are simply used to raise more money for the State. Finally, many times traffic fines are doubled if the speeding occurred on the Turnpike. Some Municipal Courts do not enforce the doubling of the fines if the speeding occurred on the New Jersey Turnpike. Finally, fines are also doubled if the speeding occurred in a construction zone.
There is a strong trend to designate more and more roads or highways a special type of zone. In the future, there will probably be more zones called the Safe School Way Zone, the Safe Neighborhood Zone, the Safe Park Road Zone, the list could go on and on. Moreover, expect more and more highways to be classified as special zones in the near future.
It is very difficult to beat a speeding ticket in court. The plain truth is that there are only a few ways a person can beat a laser or a radar ticket. First, the police officer’s paperwork may be wrong. Sometimes, the police officer’s training certifications may have lapsed. Alternatively, sometimes the radar or the laser machines may have malfunctioned, or they may not have been tested properly. If a person wants to beat a speeding ticket at trial, then many judges require that you produce a radar or laser expert at the trial. This is too expensive, and in my many years of Municipal Court practice I have never seen it done.
A person can beat a pace ticket though. “Pace” basically means that the cops follow the driver, and they make an estimate as to how fast he or she was going. This estimate requires more of a judgment call, and not on the scientific analysis of a radar or of laser reading(s). Sometimes, the police officers will fail to provide proof that their speedometer was properly tested and calibrated. Sometimes, a person can argue that their was a lot of traffic on the road on that occasion, and the cop actually paced the wrong vehicle.
The key factor in working out a speeding ticket depends on the municipality or city that the driver was stopped in. Moreover, hiring a lawyer will always enable a driver to get a few additional points dropped. Some municipalities are very liberal, and they have no problem giving lawyers plea deals on speeding tickets, that drop four pointer to a zero point charge. However, in some municipalities they are very strict, and they will not drop a four pointer to a zero point charge. Finally, there are some municipalities that will not drop any speed off a 5-point violation. The judge will also suspend the driver’s license for 30 days if he or she speeds 30 mph or more over the limit.
A person will receive two points on their New Jersey driving record if they obtain a speeding ticket in any of the other states. Even if the person was going 120 mph hour in the other state, he or she still will only receive two points on their New Jersey driving record.
In summary, only experienced traffic court lawyers can advise you as to the particular “culture” of the municipality where your speeding ticket was issued. Speeding tickets can pile up in a hurry. Therefore, it is always advisable to hire an experienced traffic lawyer to fight each and every speeding ticket.
