Posts Tagged ‘law enforcement’
Friday, October 29th, 2010
In the eyes of the justice system, everyone is supposed to be treated equally by state laws. So when you are charged with breaking a law, guilt isn’t determined until evaluated by the court system.
Although it will require a little effort on your part, by understanding your legal rights it will greatly increase the chance you can beat a speeding ticket.
Lets start at the beginning of the process of how to beat a speeding ticket, when you’re pulled over. Known as the Miranda Rights, you are protected by law to not answer any question that might lead to self incrimination.
However, be cooperative enough to provide basic details such as your name and presenting your driver’s license. Be clear that this is not included in your rights of silence.
In order to beat a speeding ticket, you have to do things in a certain way. Being courteous and respectful to another human being can carry significant weight when an officer is still deciding to ticket you or not. Losing your temper or verbalizing insults toward an officer of the law will absolutely guarantee you will NOT get out of a traffic ticket. And if you push the issue too far it can lead to more charges, especially in court.
You are not actually guilty until a judge finds you so in traffic court. And the burden of proof has to be provided by the law enforcement official who actually wrote the traffic citation. So don’t be afraid to defend yourself in court and try to beat a speeding ticket.
The court gives equal chances to both parties, and the best way to maintain your not guilty plea is to remember the facts on what had transpired. Vague answers will definitely not help you to beat a speeding ticket filed against you.
A lawyer can be summoned, if need be, or you can also represent yourself for minor charges. The court can grant relevant requests for documentations such as the statement of the officer regarding their version of events, and the make and model of your car according to their recollection. If you show that you have more credible answers related to the event, then you have a greater chance to beat a speeding ticket.
You are also granted the right to a speedy trial as traffic courts realize there are time constraints such as personal life and work. If the officer is a no show you can point out the lack of evidence and simply ask to have your speeding ticket thrown out.
You are also free to request for alternatives aside from payment, such as attending traffic schools or doing community service. Beat a speeding ticket by checking out all the options that the law has provided all who are facing charges.
If you can beat a speeding ticket you will benefit greatly because violations are listed in your driving history, which can in turn affect additional charges or increase in your premium rates so you would want to avoid such inconveniences with a clear record.
Abuse and biases are not tolerated by the court, so expect it to be an ally when you try to beat a speeding ticket. This means you have as good a chance as anyone to have your speeding ticket dismissed when you go to traffic court.
But obviously you want to be cooperative with the officer. So don’t be afraid to defend yourself in court and try to beat a speeding ticket. Traffic Court Tips If you can beat a speeding ticket you will benefit greatly because violations are listed in your driving history.
Tags: auto insurance, automobile insurance, driving, Family, law, law enforcement, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010
The way cops hand out speeding tickets has its limits. A police officer can pull over only one car at a time. As far as the governments view this is too expensive and slow.
Now with technology growing at a rapid pace, new and alternative methods have been created.
The government decided in its wisdom that it wasnt generating enough revenue with the traditional method of the traffic cop.
There were just too many elements that was involved with an actual police officer pulling you over to hand out a citation. The first thing was having to hire the officer himself to pull you over. Next he had to pull you over with his police vehicle which is expensive in itself. And then what he let you off with just a warning?
And last, in the time it took the officer to pull you over and write a ticket, many more people go speeding by, so there was money lost from not pulling them over!
Introducing photo radar… the government’s latest scheme to generate more money, all in the name of safety. Within minutes, a photo radar machine can catch dozens of drivers on a single stretch of road. These radar cameras literally do the jobs of several cops.
There’s no longer the need to actually pull people over anymore. With traffic cameras, speeding tickets are mailed directly to the home of the offender. Talk about service!
Photo radar has been effective for municipalities. It has saved tremendous amounts of time and resources of police departments. It maximizes resources available for other enforcement, conviction rates went up, and also your insurance premiums.
There are little more than twenty states or so that use this method of photo radar to hand out speeding tickets, but its presence is on the rise.
The photo radar is such a money maker that its popularity is growing fast.
More and more cities across the nation are beginning to catch on to the money making potential that photo radar has. Its relative simplicity and monetary benefits makes photo radar a good choice for many cities.
Photo radar can give a financially troubled city an almost immediate injection of revenue.
Just think about it, within a short time a photo radar can take pictures of many speeding motorists, what it would take many officers to accomplish traditionally.
How does it work? Photo radar, as the name suggests, is a combination of a camera coupled with a radar gun. The two work together. The radar gun is preprogrammed to function at a particular speed.
For instance say the speed limit of a particular road is set at 45 mph, the photo radar can be set to activate if it detects a speed over 50 mph.
When this happens, the radar gun will instantly trigger the camera to take a picture of the entire vehicle (sometimes it’s just the back, other times its the back and front of the vehicle) to get the license plate information. The picture is electronically filed away and the process is carried on throughout the day and night. Hundreds of individuals will have their picture taken – courtesy of Big Brother.
When the database of the photo radar is accessed at a later time, they photos will be examined inaccurancies.
The clarity of the license plate will be examined to see if it is readable. If it cant be it will be discarded.
Once a legible license plate is found, the examiner will then look up the license plate number with the bureau of motor vehicles. The BMV will send back the name and address of the person the car is registered to. If the name comes back as a male, the examiner will then look to see if a male is sitting behind the wheel of the car. If there is, BINGO! The examiner will then send the registered owner of the car a speeding ticket in the mail.
This process is repeated until all the pictures from the photo radar have been gone through, until the next batch arrives. Please let this article be a warning for you to look out for photo radar enforcement!
Common Sense Ways People Can Get Out Of Parking Citations Its called the fast lane for a reason. traffic offense This isn’t possible for the majority of us though since most work for a living.
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
There have been, over the years, some pretty pathetic defense strategies when it came to fighting a traffic ticket. Someone would read some information somewhere or use some advice from a relative or friend.
Below I have listed the top five mistakes you can make when fighting your traffic ticket. I hope you too will see the futility in them and refrain from using these worthless defenses.
Mistake #1- Delaying the traffic court date
Almost every other book I’ve read on traffic tickets advises you to postpone the trial by asking for a continuance. They claim the longer your traffic court trial is from the original infraction, the greater the chance the officer will fail to show up to court on your traffic ticket.
Do not try to delay your date with the traffic court. You will not increase the likelihood the officer wont be there and thus having your traffic ticket thrown out.
The question I’ve always had was if you do put off your court date, what do you do when he still shows up?
Traffic officers get paid overtime to be in traffic court. They don’t bring them off their patrols to be there.
Mistake #2- Request the Prosecution’s Evidence Before Trial.
You have the right by law to see any information the court plans on using to convict you. The process is called discovery. And it would be useful if you were charged with murder, but this is traffic court. Don’t do this, it can hurt your chances of successfully getting your traffic ticket dismissed.
If you file a motion for discovery this tells the prosecution that you intend to plan a defense. In almost every case the prosecutor will make sure his case is airtight so you have virtually no chance of winning.
Don’t give the prosecution a heads up that you know anything about traffic court proceedings. Do not contact them prior to your traffic court date.
Mistake #3- Doing a lot of needless research
How many of you like to spend your free time at your local courthouse researching piles upon piles of law books? There’s absolutely no need to do this research. It’s time consuming and not to mention boring.
Only rarely would it be prudent to look up a law so you know how it may be worded, other than that it is needless to do this with most traffic tickets.
Mistake #4- Attacking the officer’s credibility
Going to traffic court with the sole purpose of making the police officer look like an idiot will backfire on you and any plan you had of getting your traffic ticket thrown out. Claiming things like, “the radar gun was faulty”, or “the officer clocked the wrong vehicle”, or “the officer singled you out”, or “the officer hasn’t had adequate training with the radar/laser gun” are all useless defenses.
Never go into a courtroom with the intent to challenge the officer’s training of the radar/laser gun. This type of defense is always attacked by the judge. He will accept the officer’s testimony as to his training and will tell you to ask your next question.
Its just understood that the officer has the proper training on the speed detecting equipment he or she used to give you a traffic ticket. There’s no question about it. Say you do try this defense, where are you going to get the evidence the judge will ask for to support your claim?
Mistake #5- Showing up to traffic court unprepared.
Probably the mistake most people make is thinking they did a good job doing their homework prior to their day in traffic court, and actually didn’t have a clue as to what they were doing to get prepared. So they lose their case and end up being convicted of the traffic ticket.
Those who did no research go to traffic court with the notion that they can just tell their side of the story and the judge will see things their way and dismiss their traffic ticket. Yeah right!
Its understandable that it can be nerve wracking showing up to traffic court. Just remember you aren’t on trial for your life, its just a traffic ticket. Traffic court is designed to be user friendly because of the volume of people going through there daily.
If you avoid these 5 mistakes you will have a better chance of winning your case in traffic court, and hopefully getting that traffic ticket thrown out.
Common Sense Ways To Prevent Non Moving Violation Tickets Beware of speed traps. Speed traps occur in virtually every part of the country. careless driving Common Sense Alternatives Drivers Can Prevent Moving Violation Infractions
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
More than 100,000 speeding tickets are issued daily. That comes to more than 36,500,000 traffic tickets yearly.
One in every six drivers will be ticketed for speeding this year.
Average speeding tickets cost $150.
36,500,000 x 150.00 = $5,475,000,000 That’s almost 5 and a half BILLION dollars per year in speeding ticket fines alone.
$900 is the average increase a speeding ticket will cause your auto insurance premiums to increase over three years.
Take 36,500,000 and multiply by $900 and you get 3.28 BILLION ($3,285,000,000) in extra money made by insurance companies from increased auto insurance premiums.
More than 95% of drivers who get speeding tickets will simply pay the fine and not fight it in traffic court.
The other 5% who make an effort to fight their ticket usually have their case dismissed or receive reduced charges that don’t get reported on their driving record.
In the US there are almost 200 million licensed drivers.
Immediate grounds for dismissal of a traffic ticket is the officer not showing up to traffic court. This happens 40% of the time.
The first city in the US to use the photo radar was Paradise Valley, AZ in 1987.
Brooklyn, Ohio became the first city to mandate seat belts while driving back in 1966.
The demographic that receives more speeding tickets are the 17 to 24 year drivers.
More men than women receive speeding tickets.
More women fight their speeding tickets than men.
17 year olds cause more traffic accidents than any other age.
In 1879 two men in Seattle Washington were ticketed for speeding horses.
The first automobile made by Henry Ford in 1894 only went forward.
Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, a lantern with red and green signals was used at a London intersection to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.
Photo radar cameras in Washington D.C. since 1999 have issued almost 3 million tickets worth almost $200 million.
The first known speeding ticket was given to the wife of Canada’s Prime Minister in 1910. She was doing 10 miles an hour over the limit.
Out of all professions, doctors get the most speeding tickets.
In salary and benefits an average police officer will cost a city around $75,000 a year. He will also make the town an average of $150,000 in that same year. Cops are good investments.
The top 10 states for giving out speeding tickets are:
1. Ohio 2. Pennsylvania 3. New York 4. California 5. Texas 6. Georgia 7. Virginia 8. North Carolina 9. Massachusetts 10. Connecticut
You never know what (or who) may be waiting for you on the other side to give you a speeding ticket! Common Sense Alternatives You Can Prevent Traffic Tickets You can easily identify a potential speeding ticket situation ahead of you by looking for cars’ brake lights. traffic fines
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
One thing all of the 50 United States have in common is speed traps. These are places where law enforcement have made a reputation for handing out an unusually large number of traffic tickets.
There are common areas for speed traps. They can be in areas where there are bends in the road, stretches of road where the speed limit changes often, or where it might be difficult to see the posted speed limit.
They also exist in small cities or towns near major highways or interstates, where road travelers are not likely to return if they get a traffic ticket. Law enforcement can also render radar detectors useless by setting up on long stretches of road where they can time a car between points with a stop watch to determine the rate of speed. This way drivers cant be alerted by a radar signal.
The way they do this is by knowing how long it takes to drive the distance between the two points they have chosen doing the posted speed limit. Once they have that information its a simple mathematical formula to gauge your speed. If you were speeding they will radio the speed, make, model and color of your car to an officer waiting down the road. That officer will pull you over and serve the citation.
Whether this is legal or not has been debated for many years. Increasing the numbers of drivers ticketed has always been supported by law enforcement and politicians alike. Their argument has always been that it is done in the name of safety. Even though everyone knows its to increase revenue.
The bottom line is that these deceptive methods of giving out tickets is unethical and illegal. Using speed traps is literally a billion dollar industry in America.
Next time you go on a long trip, do a little research ahead of time to find out where likely speed traps might be along your route. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth many hundreds of dollars in cure by avoiding speeding tickets.
The next time you get a chance, take a walk around your car and make sure everything is in working order. nys traffic tickets Common Sense Alternatives You Can Prevent Moving Violation Tickets A police officer can be anywhere – not only in front of you.
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
There are differences between traffic tickets. Determining the type of ticket you have is important when evaluating your situation.
Sometimes if your ticket is not a serious one that gets reported to your auto insurance company, you may be better off just paying the fine and not challenging it in court.
Traffic violations come under two main headings. They can either be moving violations or non moving violations. They usually involve smaller fines and can be something as simple as a parking or headlight ticket.
These can be a nuisance but at least they wont go on your driving history or be reported to your auto insurance.
Non moving violations can be things such as not wearing your seatbelt, a broken headlight or improperly parking your vehicle.
These types of violations are usually better dealt with by just paying the fine. Taking the matter to court is more of a hassle on your part because the fine being imposed is normally not more than $50. The amount of time, energy and cost involved in contesting the charged violation is not worth it. Besides, these types of tickets are very hard to beat in court. I mean, either you parked illegally or you didn’t.
However, if you feel you were unjustly ticketed for any reason, you should always make an attempt to try and resolve the matter in some way. For instance, a broken tail light ticket can usually be beat by showing a recent receipt that you have fixed the tail light.
A moving violation on the other hand, is any violation of the law, committed by the driver of a vehicle, while it is in motion. The term “motion” distinguishes it from ‘non-moving’ violations. While parking tickets are charged against a vehicle (which will be towed if violations go unpaid or are frequent), moving violations are charged against the person driving. Moving violations are usually classified as infractions or misdemeanors, but serious violations can be considered felonies.
Moving violations normally involve the payment of fines, and also having points assessed against the driving record of the driver. As points are accumulated more severe punishment can be ordered such as having to take defensive driving courses up to having your drivers license suspended.
In the US fines are in set amounts that can vary from $50 or so, up to and even surpassing $750 in some instances. In other countries traffic violation fines can be set proportional to the individuals income, and judgments of $100,000 or more aren’t unheard of!
Some of the more common moving violations include speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign or red light, failure to yield, crossing the median, violating HOV lanes or driving too slow for current road conditions.
Some examples of serious moving violations are drunk driving, racing on a public road, road rage and vehicular homicide.
Also, traffic violations can either be criminal or civil. They both come with fines and points on your record, but a criminal violation is the only one that can get you jail time.
Sentences imposed in criminal cases are obligations owed to the state for violation of their laws. The term state can be applied to cities, towns, state or federal governments or any other kind of municipality. Obviously these are the moving violations you need to avoid at all costs.
Brake lights. This is a sure fire way to know if trouble is lurking up ahead. These are very prevalent everywhere, to find out the places in your area that police hand out a lot of speeding tickets. Like innocent little fish swimming past the jaws of a lurking shark. pay parking tickets
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Monday, October 25th, 2010
This article should give some hope to people who have received speeding tickets because there are ways to fight speeding tickets.
One thing you could do is file a discovery request with the prosecutor to acquire any documents relating to your case. These documents could include things such as the calibration records of the radar or speedometer of the car that clocked your speed. You would want to do this in advance of your traffic court date so you would have time to go through them for inaccuracies. But the possible downside of this is reminding the officer who gave you the ticket to show up in traffic court.
Beat the beam: When you fight speeding tickets, note that speed-measuring devices such as radar and laser (a.k.a. LIDAR, or Light Detecting and Ranging) are subject to human error. In some instances, officers have failed to give sufficient proof of proper LIDAR positioning, and subsequently the cases were dismissed.
Go for technicalities: In order to fight speeding tickets, keep in mind that if certain elements of a ticket are missing, the case can be thrown out. For instance, if the officer’s name and signature are illegible and if the badge number is illegible as well, then it should be dismissed.
Be Brief: When fighting speeding tickets, keep in mind that judges don’t have a lot of time. Give a brief report. Additionally, use of visual evidence, such as a photo of a road sign obscured by foliage may help your case.
Win by default: When fighting speeding tickets, if the officer doesn’t show up, and the court asks for a continuance (postponement to another day), then your response should be, “I object.” The case should be dismissed if the officer doesn’t have a good reason to be absent from court.
Car insurance rates can be raised for a long time after having speeding ticket points go against your driving record. Obviously the best way to avoid having to fight speeding tickets in the first place is to not get one at all. But eventually there might come a day when you need to face traffic court head on. Do your research and come out a winner.
Common Sense Ways Drivers Can Get Out Of Moving Violation Infractions This lane is known as the ‘fast lane’ and motorists usually do more speeding in this lane than the other lanes. pay parking tickets It may seem like there isn’t a cop for miles.
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Sunday, October 24th, 2010
It’s possible if not likely that the rate you are presently paying for your car insurance coverage is no longer the same as the going rate for that insurance policy. Insurance companies change insurance prices without ever contacting their customers to inform them that the price is either higher or lower.
Your same car insurance coverage might be found for a lower price at another auto insurance provider, or even with your current insurer. You can now find car insurance coverage quotes from many online resources free of charge.
Fact: Cheap car insurance coverage for teens is available for many that qualify.
The way people get car insurance coverage has changed because of the internet. Websites come along all the time that either offer competitive auto insurance rates, or can compare quotes for you.
Fact: A cheap car insurance coverage comparison is the easiest way to find out how much you are over paying. These websites are also a great place to go when you are curious about whether or not you are paying the lowest rate possible for the coverage you have.
One of the great things is that auto insurance websites allow you to get car insurance coverage without even having to talk to an insurance agent. Literally a few minutes on the internet can save you hours of calling around to different insurers and maybe even hundreds of dollars a year in premiums.
You can do a quick search to see if you can get cheaper car insurance coverage with a different company, or the auto insurer your currently with. And you can do this anytime of day or night.
The search is free and there is no obligation to buy anything or change your insurance company.
The recession has made shopping for car insurance coverage a buyers market in a lot of respects, so why not take a few minutes and see what you can save?
Isn’t it time to take advantage of the recession?
Don’t draw too much attention. Fix small issues like cracked windows and use some touch up paint if your car needs it. reckless driving Sit up in your seat so you have better visibility.
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
In the eyes of the justice system, everyone is supposed to be treated equally by state laws. So when you are charged with breaking a law, guilt isn’t determined until evaluated by the court system.
By knowing your legal rights, you can have a better chance to beat a speeding ticket. This will require some effort though.
So to beat a speeding ticket, lets start with the scene of the flagging down, you have the right to limit your answers to a polite “no, officer” and “yes officer.” Known as the Miranda Rights, you are free not to admit your guilt or answer questions that can possibly lead to self-incrimination, especially without the presence of a lawyer.
But, you DO want to be cooperative by providing your basic details such as drivers license, proof of auto insurance, and other things such as your name. Your right to be silent does not pertain to these.
To beat a speeding ticket, doing it in a civil manner is guaranteed to give the best results. Having a temper tantrum or insulting your officer can add to your charges, especially while in court. Respect and courtesy are heavily valued, which are also stated in the rights of others. Also, the road is not the best venue to air out your side.
Your innocence is protected and maintained all through out, so do not be afraid of courts and to beat a speeding ticket. You are not judged unless there is sufficient evidence which is provided by the officer, who is obligated to present the burden of proof, and what you have to do is defend yourself.
Try to remember specific facts about what happened before and while you were pulled over. Being vague wont help. Its easier than most think to beat a speeding ticket, the court gives both sides equal opportunity to present their side.
A lawyer can be summoned, if need be, or you can also represent yourself for minor charges. The court can grant relevant requests for documentations such as the statement of the officer regarding their version of events, and the make and model of your car according to their recollection. If you show that you have more credible answers related to the event, then you have a greater chance to beat a speeding ticket.
Not only does everyone have the right to a speedy trial, but if the police officer does not show up in court you can point out the lack of evidence and ask to have your ticket dismissed.
The law can provide alternatives such as community service or going to traffic school in lue of payment. To beat a speeding requires you check out all options available to you before going to traffic court.
If you are able to beat a speeding ticket, the benefits can be many. Keeping your driving record clean will in turn keep you auto insurance lower, and can also affect the outcome of a ticket you may receive in the future.
Abuse and biases are not tolerated by the court, so expect it to be an ally when you try to beat a speeding ticket. This means you have as good a chance as anyone to have your speeding ticket dismissed when you go to traffic court.
These aren’t covered in your right to be silent. Beat A Speeding Ticket: Simple Steps To Take To Make Your Chances Better You can benefit greatly if you can beat a speeding ticket. Avoiding Speeding Tickets
Tags: auto insurance, automobile insurance, driving, Family, law, law enforcement, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
Saturday, October 23rd, 2010
A Georgia speeding ticket will set you back a lot of money, sometimes as much as $1000. New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, and Illinois join Georgia as states that have steep fines associated with speeding tickets.
How many points you have on your driving record, and how many miles an hour over the speed limit can also influence how much you pay in fines on a Georgia speeding ticket. Throw in speeding in a school zone, or while highway workers are present, and you can even have your license suspended, or you can be thrown in jail.
Believe it or not “driver responsibility” laws can tack on an additional fine up to $1000 up to a year after the speeding conviction. Virginia repealed their driver responsibility laws after public outcry in 2009.
But Georgia is just getting warmed up. They recently added $200 to current fines for what they call “super speeders.” These are individuals who exceed more than 10 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. That puts a Georgia speeding ticket in line with Missouri, Oregon and Maryland who have fines up to $500, before court fees.
The super speeder act, passed in May 2010, also tacks on $200 to those exceeding 75 mph on a two lane, or 85 mph on highways. And depending on the county you are caught speeding in more a thousand bucks is already added on for municipal fines.
According to Bob Dallas in the Office of Highway Safety, the increased fines are justified in order to deter speeders. He stated the additional speeding fines will go to Georgia’s hospital trauma centers.
Currently he is organizing a public-awareness campaign around the fines using TV, web and radio ads, electronic roadway signs, and fliers at truck stops and filling stations. So if you don’t want to be out a lot of dough, don’t speed and get a Georgia speeding ticket!
Common Sense Ways You Can Get Out Of Traffic Tickets They will usually be the same model of cars as the marked police cruisers, just painted like the civilian version. reckless driving Beware of speed traps. Speed traps occur in virtually every part of the country.
Tags: advice, auto insurance, Automotive, Family, Insurance, law, law enforcement, legal, speeding tickets Posted in auto insurance | No Comments »
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