Getting out of Photo Speeding Ticket?

I received a speeding ticket in the mail today courtesy of Scottsdale, AZ police. I can't argue that it wasn't me because it shows a picture from the front of the car (and it's obviously me driving) and another of the back license plate.

They claim I was doing 52 in a 40 (which is a $157 fine--ouch!). So i did a little research and saw that the state of Arizona has an 11 mph buffer for speeding. So, that would have allowed me up to 51 mph without a fine. A little more research on the equipment used to guage my speed showed me that the machine they used has -/+ 1 room for error. So, if I take that 1 point into account, I'm within the allowed Arizona 11mph buffer... meaning no fine or ticket.

So here's my question.. Has anyone reading this succeeded in getting out of a ticket like this (caught on photo as you drove by)? Does it seem like I might be able to get out of this if I go to court and use this argument as my defense? Or would I just be wasting my time?

Advice? Suggestions?

fight it! fight it to the death!
or just until you get out of the fine. bring along documentation of the 11 mph buffer, as well as your research showing the margin of error on the machines. it's better than paying the fine.

I'd say fight it... but I amnot sure how well it'll go over.

±1%, or ±1 mph?

A friend of a friend sent them a photo of the money, so they sent back a photo of handcuffs, which led to actual money being sent.

±1 mph!!

i got the info on the machine differences AND the 11mph speed buffer on the scottsdale photo enforcement website.

[Edited on Mar 29, 2006 by NoParadise]

I seriously doubt that there is an on-the-books law about giving drivers an eleven mph buffer. Maybe the general rule of thumb is that cops use their discretion and don't particularly write tickets for less than 10 or 11 mph over the speed limit.

Think of it for a second...if the posted speed limit is 40 mph....but there is a law in effect that forbids them writing tickets for less than 11 mph over the speed limit...then the speed limit is 51...not 40.

My advice & suggestion is to pay the ticket and slow down in that part of town. You'll spend more fighting a perceived technicality that you will just paying the fine.

You only other possible option is to see if the prosecutor will accept a plea to a lesser offense.

Stop speeding.

That really sounds like a courtesy as opposed to a hard, fast law. If it's regular practice in AZ...maybe you just got a cop in a bad mood.

not even a cop.. one of those vans they set up on the side of the road that takes your pik as you speed by (obviously, i didn't notice it until after the flash went off and it took my picture)

aside from the obvious

11 mph?! That's huge. Ours is only like 6 mph and that's only because speedometers and radar detectors are always 100% on the dot.

I know if you fight a ticket handed to you the officer has to show up. If they don't show up it's automatically dimissed and usually about 65% won't show up. In the case of a photo ticket... I don't know. I'd probably pay it and count my losses or contact the courts and see if you can't get them to allow you to take one of those "driving safety" course things so that your fine is either knocked down, knocked out or at least so you don't get the points on your license.

The points & raised insurance premium are exactly what I am wanting to avoid (along with the $157 fine).

Do I need to do anything before I request a differment (paperwork, get an attorney) or is that something I can go in and ask for myself on the court date and have it seriously considered?

I'm trying to avoid spending more $ I don't have.. hence my wanting to argue the ticket in the first place.

I never said to plead not guilty. I did in fact say to admit guilt and see if they will knock the penalties down.

The buffer just means that they might not ticket you for going over the limit, not that they can't ticket you. If you go in there and say "i was only going 11mph over the limit" you'll be fined.

[Edited on Mar 29, 2006 by PointBlank]

i got a $270 running a red light ticket (actually, my wife was driving, but i was right there laughing in the passenger seat). they sent us the photos of us streaking through the light at about 20mph or so...with about four cars in the intersection behind us as well. the documentation told us we were at the line when the light turned red, which was total bullshit. if an actual cop had been there, he wouldn't have ticketed us...these are tough to fight, but i say fight it anyway. i mean, we as american citizens were never actually consulted on these things, were we? and lockheed martin, the company that built them, gets a percentage of each fine. seems pretty shitty to me.

they do offer driving courses here but you have to physically go to them (unlike ca where you can just take it online -- hrmph!)

my issue with the course is it costs almost as much as my ticket. i was hoping to find a way to get the ticket thrown out to avoid any costs or even anything on my record.

I know that in CA they cannot setup speed traps like that, so I am not sure how you could defend this. If it were here in CA and it were a person not a machine I would go to trial and request the officer's ticketbook from that day. You might then prove that he was running a speedtrap where he only pulled people over that were exceeding the speed limit by X mph. Thus you could get out most likely get out of the ticket.

So, to extrapolate that idea, see if you can access the tickets issued by that machine on that day. If the machine was only taking pictures of cars exceeding the speed limit by more than 11mph, your case for the 1mph deviation would become much stronger because you wouldn't have gotten the ticket if it weren't for the deviation. You might look into speedtrap laws out there too. *shrug* A lot of times technology is implemented quicker than the laws to keep up with it, and people aren't willing to fight tickets. A lot of people out here got out of redlight cameras because the film is evidence and it was being handled by a third party company that had a vested interest in the film being developed.

Anyhow, I know nothing about Arizona vehicle codes, but hopefully some of this might lead you in a good direction.

Actually, it seems like you can do it online
Arizona Traffic School

Oh, and for future reference...

Article... for PhotoBlocker.

blow it off and move to a different state. Then claim that you are a citiczen of K-Pax and don't recognize the laws of Scottsdale.

yea, i saw that when i first started researching my options for this ticket. but after calling the scottsdale court i found out they are only in association with 2 driving schools and they both require you to be there in person. i could take that online course but it wouldn't do me any good with this ticket and would be a waste of my time... which sucks!

i'm definately going to look into the speed traps here and see if i can find out what speed was causing the van to take the photos. very helpful, thanks!

That blows. A friend of mine in FL was able to take a home course which included renting a movie from the courts and watching it then answering questions...

He returned it late after all of that too.. the retard

Oh....right. I apologize.