It’s one thing to get a speeding ticket, it’s another thing to get the ticket dismissed. There are various reasons why a speeding ticket can be dismissed but those reasons can only work if you did not cause an accident while speeding. Therefore, in this article, we will be explaining the reasons a speeding ticket can be dismissed.
Reasons a Speeding Ticket Can be Dismissed
Reasons why a speeding ticket can be dismissed are:
1. Defensive Driving
If the reason why you were speeding was because of defensive driving, the judge may dismiss the ticket. There are types of defensive driving a judge may consider to get a ticket dismissed.
For example, if the cause of your speeding was because you were running from armed men who either wanted to kill, kidnap, or hijack your car, a judge may consider the cause of the incident and have the ticket dismissed provided you have enough proof to back up your claims. For a judge to believe such a claim, you must provide visible evidence.
2. Emergency
Another reason why a speeding ticket can be dismissed is emergency.
If the reason for going over the speed limit was because of an emergency, then a judge may consider it and have the ticket dismissed.
However, such an emergency should be better worth the trials. You can’t tell the judge you went over the speed limit simply because you were rushing to catch your flight. The judge may not consider it a justifiable reason considering that you could have left the house on time.
Nonetheless, if the emergency is healthwise. Let’s say you have a pregnant woman in the back seat who is seriously in labor or a sick child who needs immediate medical attention, a judge can consider such a ticket and have it dismissed.
3. You Appeard Humble and Well-Reserved
There are too many testimonies of people who said that their tickets were dismissed because they appeared humble in court and interacted in a good manner with the judge.
When you are in court, your appearance matters a lot such as your dress and your body language. Don’t go to court and play smart with the judge as if he doesn’t the law.
When you don’t sound insulting, controlling, and overbearing, the judge may consider your action and let you off with a warning.
4. Wrong Information on the Ticket
A judge can see reasons to get a speeding ticket dismissed if there is wrong information on the ticket issued by the police officer. The type of wrong information that can get a speeding ticket dismissed are:
- Wrong License Plate Number: If the police made a mistake while writing your license plate number, the judge can get the ticket dismissed provided your speeding did not end up in a crash.
- Wrong Car Model: A police officer is supposed to impute your car model in the ticket. If while doing this, he made a mistake, a judge may dismiss the ticket. If for example, you drive a Lexus and the police officer wrote Nissan. You can contest the ticket and have it dismissed.
- Wrong Car Model: The same goes for the wrong car model. If a police officer makes a mistake on this, a judge can dismiss the ticket judging the right mind of the officer.
Car Color: The officer is not supposed to make a mistake on the color of your car. If you drive a red Lexus IS350 and the officer wrote a white Lexus RX350. It’s a red flag and a judge will consider such a mistake. - Mistakes in your Name: The officer is not supposed to make a mistake in your name. If he does, it’s a red flag. If for example, your name is Nancy Clinton and the officer wrote Precious Hillary. This is nowhere close to your name and a judge will consider such a mistake in his judgment.
5. Incomplete Information on the Ticket
Sometimes, a law enforcement agency can be in a hurry to attend to other issues and miss some spaces that need to be filled in the ticket. If the space missed by the police officer is crucial to the case, the judge may get the ticket dismissed.
If you hire a lawyer or seek legal advice, the lawyer should be able to tell you if the missing information is able to get the ticket dismissed or not. If it’s not something that can get the ticket dismissed, then there’s no need for the argument.
6. Failure of the Officer to Appear in Court
Most times, speeding tickets are dismissed if the police officer who issued the ticket fails to appear in court. However, it is rare for such to happen except the officer is busy with other things and cannot appear in court.
7. First Speeding Ticket
A judge can get a speeding ticket dismissed if it’s your first speeding ticket. The possibility of this depends on the judge and his personality. He can decide to let you off with a warning.
For example, if you are just getting your first speeding ticket in your 25 years of driving, a judge may be impressed by that and have the ticket dismissed provided you did not run a red light while speeding or harm anyone.
8. Faulty Speeding Detector
A speeding ticket can be dismissed if the equipment used to determine the violation is faulty or not properly maintained. There are lots of factors that can affect the equipment used by the law enforcement agency to determine speed violations.
Factors like the weather, wind, winter storm, etc. They can alter the precision of the shutter speed on traffic cameras. It can also affect the way the police officers handle the radar equipment.
However, for a judge to dismiss a speeding ticket based on faulty equipment, you have to prove that the device is indeed faulty. If you are certain that you were not going over the speed limit before you were pulled over and issued the ticket, then you should request to have the device checked.
9. No Speed Limit Signage
A judge can dismiss a speeding ticket if the reason for speeding is because there was no speed limit signage installed on the road.
There is no way to know all the speed limits on all the roads in your state of residence especially if you are new in the state, the signs are there to remind you. If there is no speed limit sign on the road where the violation occurred, you can use it to get the ticket dismissed.
Be that as it may, for any of the above reasons to get a ticket dismissed, your speeding has to be justified. By justified I mean not causing any other problems.
You can’t expect a judge to dismiss a speeding ticket that claimed someone’s life just because it’s your first time getting the ticket.
The same goes for when you drive under the influence, a judge will not dismiss the ticket because he/she knows that your driving skill and judgment were affected by the alcohol.
Conclusion
The reasons speeding tickets can be dismissed are defensive driving, speeding because of an emergency, wrong information on the ticket, faulty speed detector device, police failure to appear in court, incomplete information on the ticket, and your first ticket, etc. Also, a judge can get a ticket dismissed if you appear humble in court.
