[Trust but Verify]

Any advice for my husband who recently received a speeding ticket from a rent-a-cop in the Town of Ripon in Fond du lac County?

He was on his way out of town and apparently started his acceleration to the highway speed before he completely cleared town. Was clocked at 49 in a 35.

Pertinent facts:
1) Driving a rental car.
2) Rental car with Illinois plates.
3)Unfamiliar with the area, he was on his way home from calling on a customer in Green Lake.

His court date is this Thursday. I want him to try to get it changed to a non moving violation of some kind or at least get the miles over speed limit reduced, he just wants to pay it and be done with it. He's very embarrassed. Been driving 25+ years with no traffic violations.

To top it all off, our insurance premiums are already sky-high because we have 2 teeneged drivers!!

[mvpel]

The website where I describe my ticket-fighting experiences is http://www.aidoann.com/

As for your husband's situation, take a look at the laws regarding the setting and posting of speed limits, the 35mph limit at that point might not be legal.

[mvpel]

Also, the fact that he was driving a rental car with Illinois plates are not pertinent to the issuance of the ticket. That he was unfamiliar with the area is something to say to the judge to try to get him to go easy on you. The fact that he's got a 25-year clean record would also be a pretty large mark in his favor in front of most judges.

Given that, I think he'd have a pretty good shot at getting it kicked down or out, unless the town in question is running a ticket mill. Where is Ripton anyway?

[Catspaw]

He wasn't ticketed in Rosendale? That's a shock. Rosendale is the #1 speed trap on our side of the state. Ripon must be taking lessons from them.

You can take it to court, but make sure you've got your evidence--did this happen where the speed is reduced from 55 to 45 or 35 in too short a distance (that's Rosendale's trick)? If so, what is the distance between the two signs? Is the officer's radar gun working correctly?

I can come up with more, but if the officer doesn't show up for court, have your hubby ask for a dismissal.

[taxcontrol]

Agree with #8.

Also, read VERY CLOSELY into the State's, counties and City's traffic laws. I have beaten a ticket for exceeding the recommended speed limit during incement weather ( I was doing 40 in a 55 but hit water and hydroplaned) - because the officer did not write on the ticket his recommended speed limit as required by State law.

[steveegg]

Considering that it's 14 over, I doubt that the "deal of the day" that some courts do for those that just show up will completely wipe it off the record. Even if the court does offer it, it will usually simply be changing the citation to something that offers less points but still offers the same fine. Example, more than 10 years ago, I was pulled over for doing 16 over. The "deal of the day" in my case was to reduce my 4-point 16 over ticket to a 2-point defective speedometer, but the fine remained unchanged.

As for actually fighting it, the only circumstance that MAY be considered is the fact that it was a rental he was driving. Even then, it's likely that the most that would be done is to reduce the ticket to a defective speedometer. That would require a testing of the speedometer, not an easy task with a rental.

[longtermmemmory]

What state?

BTW only change a plea to "no contest" NEVEr "guilty"

[Who dat?]

To top it all off, our insurance premiums are already sky-high because we have 2 teeneged drivers!!

I wouldn’t expect your husbands ticket to have much impact then.

It would usually depend on whether you have more drivers than vehicles, believe it or not. Most people don’t realize it but it’s nearly universal that auto insurance companies assign the highest-rated driver to the highest-rated vehicle.

So if dad has a new Lexus and mom has a new Lincoln and the two kids share an ’88 Supra, the way the insurance company will typically determine the rates is to assign kid #1 to the Lexus, kid #2 to the Lincoln, and dad to the Supra. It’s nearly universal. It doesn’t matter that the kids primarily drive the Supra.

Some preferred carriers don’t do it that way. Some companies will assign you to your “primary vehicle.” Some will even let you specifically exclude junior from being assigned to dad’s car – but they generally require you to sign a waiver.

In essence, with a single violation he’s not going to be rated higher than a teen. So even though he’d now be rated higher than he was, he’ll (~97% of the time) be assigned to one of the lower rated vehicles. That assumes he’s assigned to one at all.

It also assumes his higher rating doesn’t bump everyone into a different tier or something. That was all the rage a few years back – designing a ton of different tiers.

But by all means, fight it if you want. Sounds like a lot of work to me though. Ha.

[lorrainer]

If you're going to get stopped for speeding, do it in Oconomowoc. My nephew got pulled over there a couple of years back. He was unfailingly polite, and they lowered it to "disorderly conduct," not speeding. A money-generator for sure, but nothing on his points.

Apparently that's how they do it in Oconomowoc in order to avoid the Rosendale speed-trap reputation.

[Old Professer]

If the speed limit sign indicating the legal speed was above 49 MPH was visible from the point where he was ticketed and he can show this in court, then he stands a good chance for a dismissal; one other little trick is to simply ask the judge or the officer while you are in the docket to place into the record the date of the last official traffic survey for that section of road or highway where the ticket was issued; if it is way out of date, old, then the court is required to consider your speed relative to the road conditions and you may get a dismissal based simply on the failure of the state to keep up to date surveys to justify lower than legal highway limits.

[Ronaldus Magnus]

Any advice for my husband who recently received a speeding ticket from a rent-a-cop

Sorry about the barrage of questions but may I ask what a "rent-a-cop" is? Are they deputized (and therefore "real" cops)? Do you they have the power to arrest? Do you have to stop for them?