Speeding tickets are among the most common traffic citations issued in New York. Many drivers habitually violate speed limits, and quite a few motorists think nothing of paying a speeding ticket citation.
They don’t stop to consider the impact the offense could have on their career, their driver’s license and their insurance costs. Anyone who has recently received a traffic citation theoretically has the option of fighting the ticket by going to court. There are a number of different defense strategies that can work for those accused of a traffic offense such as speeding.
In some cases, issues with a vehicle may contribute to a successful citation defense strategy.
Speedometers can malfunction
Generally speaking, drivers have an obligation to keep their vehicles in safe condition. That means addressing any known issues with the vehicle that could affect its safe operation. Inaccurate speedometer readings are certainly a safety concern.
Drivers who do not know their speed when they drive may reach unsafe speeds in traffic. They could then have difficulty controlling their vehicles and might endanger others. If a driver immediately reacts to a police officer’s question about their speed by acknowledging that a speedometer is broken, the officer is likely to take issue with their failure to maintain the vehicle.
However, many drivers only realize that their speedometer has begun malfunctioning after a police officer pulls them over. The officer asks them what their speed was, and they provide the information that they could see on their dashboard. If the officer counters them with a much higher speed, that means one of two things happened.
Either there was an issue with the system used to calculate the driver’s speed by the officer or the vehicle gave the driver inaccurate information. Taking the vehicle to a mechanic after receiving a ticket can quickly establish if the speedometer was not functioning properly. At that point, the documentation provided by the mechanic could potentially help with their defense. There are a number of other potential defense strategies that motorists can use when they face tickets for exceeding the speed limit.
Reviewing what happened before and during a traffic stop can help a driver explore their options for fighting a pending speeding ticket. With the right assistance, many motorists may be able to avoid citations and the complications they create.
