Speeding Ticket!

[Moparkidd]

OK. I got my first speeding ticket, 56 in a 40. I just moved to Memphis, TN and i dont know alot of my way around here. The way i go home, i use a little cut through road, and i've never seen a speed limit sign. I got pulled over and got the ticket, he told me i was doing 56 in a 40. I said this is a 40? he laughed and said yeah read the speed limit signs!

It's a short road, so i go looking for speed limit signs, i cant find any. so i go back again, and at the very beginning of the road, there is 1 sign but is completely covered by trees, But where i turn onto the road, i never see that sign anyways. I know i broke the law, but i've never seen the signs! if i wouldve seen the signs i wouldnt have been going that fast.

I dont ever drive fast, and thats why i havent ever been pulled over before. Should i fight this or just suck it up and pay it?

 

[Taylor_SVT]

pay it. you were going well over what you should have been judging by the distance that you pulled onto the street and then got pulled over. get a radar detector and save yourself from that next time.

 

[NEp8ntballer]

in his defense it is a two lane road in what looks like a non urban area. it could have easily been a 50 or 55 zone. grab a TN drivers manual and that will state the normal speed limit for different types of roads. also that's about a 2000 feet from pulling onto the road to getting pulled over so a shade under half a mile. plenty of distance to get up to 56 mph...

I'm not saying you have a good defense/any defense though.

 

[Moparkidd]

Well, the arrows for the Speed limit sign and the road to where i cut through are exact, i just guessed on the spot for where i was pulled over, so it could be further down the road. it was at least a mile from where i pull out.

 

[CNTLOSE]

Ignorance of the law is not a defense. If you are in a city most speed limits are 35mph unless posted otherwise. So even if you are in what seems to be "country", if it is in a city good chance the speed limit is slower than you think.

Also don't waste money on a radar or laser detector...just say at no more than 9 over and you should be fine.

 

[Moparkidd]

Ignorance of the law is not a defense. If you are in a city most speed limits are 35mph unless posted otherwise. So even if you are in what seems to be "country", if it is in a city good chance the speed limit is slower than you think.

Also don't waste money on a radar or laser detector...just say at no more than 9 over and you should be fine.

I usually dont go maybe 5 over, just had to idea about that it was a 40! i thought it was a 50. you are correct though, ignorance is not an excuse.

 

[svtcop]

Can't hurt to go to court and tell your story.

If the area is rural and there only one obstructed speed limit sign you may have a chance at getting it tossed or reduced.

Like others have said, check the driving manual for common speed limits on types of roads.

Good luck

 

[RDJ]

Can't hurt to go to court and tell your story.

If the area is rural and there only one obstructed speed limit sign you may have a chance at getting it tossed or reduced.

Like others have said, check the driving manual for common speed limits on types of roads.

Good luck

THIS and take pictures of the sign from the vantage point of the drivers seat. DO NOT skew the pic, or try to make it look worse than it is. also drive the road again and make sure that is the only sign and you didn't miss another one. Then check the state law as to the speed limit on unmarked roads. Most states have a default speed limit. Then frame your arguement around the sign not being visible, there being no other signs between where you entered the road and where you got stopped.

the purpose of knowing what the default speed limit is on unmarked roads is so you will know if you can raise that as mitigation in your favor, i.e. that since you hadn't seen a sign and state law default spped for a road in those circumstances i.e. non residential road is 50 or 55 then you assuned that was the speed. but do NOT make this part of your defense unless you have a solid understanding of what that road is considered and how it would fall under the default.

 

[fire_4_effect]

pay the ticket - then deduct it from your goodie fund... always works for me.

 

[jrd699]

Just explain to d.a. And above all BE HUMBLE!! they usually reduce, but you are not gonna get out of paying a fine

 

[Njc0las]

Same thing happened to me. They didn't care at all and then a few weeks later they put a speed limit sign up right where I got pulled over.

 

[lowflyn]

Welcome to memphis. They've been on a speeding ticket kick here lately.

I don't recommend it but you could do like everyone else and just not pay it. After 5 years they let you pay half, signs all over town that say that so it must be a problem...

Just pay it and move on, take it as a lesson learned.

 

[46-062]

Ignorance of the law is not a defense.....

Also don't waste money on a radar or laser detector...just say at no more than 9 over and you should be fine.

I've witnessed judges cut ignoramuses breaks several times.

Radar detectors and an sometimes a police scanner have saved me at least a dozen times from 100MPH+ tickets over the past 30+ years. Anybody who says they are worthless hasn't bothered to put in the time to learn how to use them.

I never get behind the wheel without my Escort Redline. Not even if I'm driving 1 1/2 miles to Walmart.

If you fight a ticket on the basis of where a speed limit sign is located, the first step is to find out if your state has adopted the Federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/. This dictates where signs are to be erected, their size, shape, etc.

I used this when i lived in California to defeat an illegal U-turn ticket where the sign was posted in the wrong location per the MUTCD.

 

[NyteByte]

Like it's been said, take pictures of the obstructed sign and show the judge.
I had this same thing happen to me years ago. The speed limit sign was positioned incorrectly so it couldn't be seen from the road. I took pictures, showed the judge and the ticket was dismissed.

Funny thing was, it took them 8 years to finally reposition the sign.

 

[Moparkidd]

Thanks guys!! I will post pictures later, of the obstructed sign, and see what you guys think a judge will think of it in court.

 

[46-062]

It's amazing how many cities and counties have improperly located traffic control devices. I'm not referring to trees or obstructions but signs placed in the wrong places to enhance revenue. Unfortunately, most people don't know enough to check the laws and it goes on and on.

The U-turn ticket I mentioned was issued in El Segundo, CA. I filed a public information request to find out the locations of a U-turn signs in the city and what authority was used for their placement. It was the El Segundo Traffic Manual from 1955!

I obtained a letter from The California Department of Transportation confirming the State's adoption of the MUTCD on May 1, 2004, showed it to the judge along with the pages of the MUTCD detailing U-turn sign placement along with the city's statement about using their own Traffic Manual.

The judge wasn't too happy with the city.

 

[wieduwilt]

Just pay it. Mine for 76 in a 55 is only $50 bucks. I'd just pay it and be done with it.


C.Wied

 

[Bouttime09]

pay it. you were going well over what you should have been judging by the distance that you pulled onto the street and then got pulled over. get a radar detector and save yourself from that next time.

Explain what good a radar detector is going to be, if you don't know the speedlimit... :nonono:

 

[Moparkidd]

Looks like the speed limit on an unmarked country road is 30 mph. So looks like im out either way! Can anyone else find for sure what the speed is on an unmarked road in the state of TN?

 

[RDJ]

Looks like the speed limit on an unmarked country road is 30 mph. So looks like im out either way! Can anyone else find for sure what the speed is on an unmarked road in the state of TN?

well that part of your arguement is out. you still have a chance with the obstructed sign. get out there and take the picture before the city goes out and trims the trees