How To Defend A Speeding Ticket In New York

When you get a speeding ticket, what do you do? Do you pay up or fight the ticket? You can defend a speeding ticket in New York to get it dismissed or lowered. A New York traffic attorney can help you fight most speeding tickets.

When should you fight a speeding ticket in New York?

In some cases, the context of your speeding ticket may give you legitimate reasons to fight it. These are some of the reasons you may want to fight a speeding ticket:

• There are mistakes on the ticket.
• An obstruction prevented you from seeing a speed limit sign.
• You think the police officer who handed you the ticket was mistaken.
• You have evidence that you didn’t exceed speed limits.
• Your license already has enough points that an additional violation exposes you to a suspended license.

Common speeding ticket defenses used in New York

Suppose you’ve determined that you have legitimate reasons to fight a speeding ticket. In that case, there are several common strategies a traffic ticket lawyer can use to fight it.

They essentially all come down to poking holes in the police officer’s arguments for giving you the ticket in the first place. These are the most common and effective.

1. The officer didn’t calibrate the speed-measuring device correctly

Speed-measuring devices or radars measure to speed up to 1,000 feet away, most of the time. Regulations require police officers to calibrate their radar with a tuning fork before every shift.

Additionally, officers must calibrate it before and after every speeding ticket they issue. If the police officer who issued your ticket doesn’t testify to having calibrated the device during their shift, you may be able to have the ticket dropped.

2. Faulty readings due to surrounding factors

Radars can provide faulty readings due to factors like a bend in the road or nearby buildings. Other sources of interference that can cause inaccurate readings include power plants, generator substations, transformer substations, transmission lines, and pole transformers. 

You may be able to cast doubt on the officer’s arguments if you can prove there were nearby sources of interference.

3. The identifying information on the ticket is wrong or incomplete

If the officer lists inaccurate information about your vehicle, you may be able to have the ticket dismissed. Identifying information includes your vehicle's make, model, and license plate number. You’d have to prove that the information on the ticket is incorrect for this to be a viable defense.

Another possibility is that the ticket is missing crucial information. If the officer was in a hurry and didn’t fill in all the information fields, you may be able to have the ticket dismissed.

4. The officer can’t remember much from the incident or didn’t show up

If the officer can’t recollect crucial information from the case to the point that arguments start to conflict, you may use this to your advantage.

Another possibility is that the officer simply doesn't show up for the citation. If that happens, the judge will almost certainly dismiss the ticket and let you go without paying the fine.

5. Elements of the traffic offense are missing

An “element” of a traffic offense (or any other statute) are the components of the statute that the state must prove you committed to convict you. If you believe that elements are missing from the statute(s) that you are accused of violating, you may be able to have the ticket dismissed and found not guilty.

The importance of working with experienced traffic ticket lawyers in New York

Hiring a traffic ticket lawyer has multiple benefits:

• Attorneys know how to present mitigating circumstances in the best possible light.
• Successfully fighting tickets may be cheaper in the long run, considering the price of tickets, fines, and increased insurance fees.
• They can represent you in court, saving you time.
• They know your rights and fight for them even when you don’t.
• Even if you’re guilty, lawyers can help you reduce penalties.

A traffic ticket lawyer can defend your rights at a hearing. They can help bring the charges down and even dismiss the traffic ticket altogether. Working with an experienced traffic ticket lawyer means they’ll handle all the processes to help you save time and money in and out of court.