Mixedfruits

Well recently my friend got a ticket for:
Reckless Driving

Speeding in a school zone e.g 25mph while children are present 35 when not, he was going 40

and taking minors

Is there a way to argue this?
For reckless driving he said since his car is a suv with crap tires it screeches during turns is this enough of an arguement?

any help would be greatly appreciated

Richie999

With all due respect....fry your friend for speeding in a school zone. WTF?

wnunez89

not really, laws are really strict when it comes to school/construction zones, your best be would be getting a traffic lawyer to fight the case for you. then you would avoid the points and insurance increases, but have to pay court cost

Mixedfruits

well school just got out and there wasnt really much traffic the street is a 35mph zone and 25 when children are present people are just used to the 35 mph zone

AskDrTodd

have your friend do some burnouts screaming "motha fu*k tha police!!!" (in a school zone at 3:01) and shooting a pistol into the air, it'll take everyone's mind off the whole speeding ticket thing.

ZeroSeVen

Reckless driving in California is a misdemeanor and the citing officer has the right to either issue a ticket to the offender or take them into custody. Reckless driving has at least 5 days in jail, sometimes up to 90 days, and or fines somewhere between $500 and $5000 or both.

He was caught driving 15 mph over the required speed limit so there's no point of arguing his case. Your friend broke the law and blaming his tires for producing the screeching sound while he was driving is a lame excuse. Pay the fines and learn from this incident.

Sportstick

Argue what? By your own words (and apparently, his), he did it. If he's adult enough to drive a car and even be entrusted to carry children, he should man up, pay the ticket, and learn a lesson. Children try to get out of getting caught. Adults take responsibility.

Mixedfruits

now this is some great advice haha

Mka77

Lawyer up, and good. And even then the cost are going to be really steep. He broke the law and should be responsible for his actions. Chances are not favorable for a happy outcome.

Mixedfruits

yeah well idk what the "reckless driving was for" he said screeching during a turn, but the 15mph does make sense lol

Mixedfruits

damn pooper haha was worth a try im just telling him to try to argue to make him a bit more confident hes gona get a spanking from his mommy

Doanster

Now THAT'S funny! I literally started laughing out loud at your NWA quote. Reminds me of a Chris Rock skit.

MixedFruits, sorry, but reckless driving is right up there with "exhibition of speed". It all boils down to the officer's judgment so there's no real recourse other than begging the judge for leniency. Does your buddy have a clean record or does he already have recent tickets? That'll dictate a lot.

Mixedfruits

not a clean record ... he was caught speeding alot on his permit and accually lost his license before I think

RLE

You didn't mention the cell phone.

Mixedfruits

what cell phone 0.o I said he called me 20 min after the incident lol

Mka77

Even with a really good lawyer, his prior record may have already doomed him for the full penalty.

alexlev

snarlingchicken

Yeah...he's screwed. Lol.

krewcial

Getting a lawyer is not worth the costs. Like others have said, pay the ticket and take it in as a wake up call, like driving more responsibly. There are times when it's fun to gun it or go over the speed limits, but at a 25mph zone with kids is not one of them.

Doanster

Put a fork in 'em... he's done. I know everyone's preaching to you (your buddy), but in this case, it's absolutely deserved. If he had a clean record, the reckless driving would've almost certainly been dropped in lieu of heavy fines for the school zone infraction. As it stands, claiming "My SUV tires suck!" will probably make it worse for him because it'll just reinforce that he's still showing blatant disregard for his actions.

And no... I'm not some goody goody. I speed all the time... as the conditions allow. No red-light racing, no weaving in and out just to get one car length ahead. Last ticket I got was over four years ago... 77 in a 55 (freeway). Not another car in sight, but alas, I was picked like a booger. Went to court, got 50% off, paid, went home.

C300CA

Years ago I heard just because tire screech, it is enough for police to write the driver a ticket: unsafe driving.

jctevere

Oh come on, everyone on here with the, you broke the law, bend over attitude. You mean to tell me that you have stopped completely at every stop sign, waited 3 seconds at a red light before turning right, and never gone over the speed limit? I drive 5-10mph over the speed limit most of the time too, and he was only going over the speed limit by 5mph. However, what does sound fishy is the "reckless driving" citation. Come on man, officers don't just give it out to people because they are having a bad day.

My guess, your friend floored it around a turn, screeching his tires and got to 40mph in like 2 seconds, saw the cop, pulled off, but the cop already got him on laser. Even if thats not what he told you, that is almost certainly what probably happened. We all make mistakes. If he has a clean record have him argue, they will probably drop the reckless driving and turn it into some hefty fine for a minor infraction.

You can try your luck with a lawyer, but I never used one. Tell him to look around for lawyers that are free unless they get it reduced, they mostly give free consultations and what they possibly can do for you, or they will tell you that you are effed and to run along...

Mixedfruits

yeah no lasar or radar used I looked at his ticket when he was ... crying haha

Doanster

Did you not read the posts above? No one is claiming to never speed, perform rolling stops, or run yellow/red lights. What people are saying is that if you get caught, pay the friggin' Piper.
And you're probably absolutely right about his rate of acceleration/deceleration, regardless of the actual speed that was caught on the radar gun. No officer in his right mind would give a reckless driving ticket for such a small overage amt. I'm sure they get slapped by the judges just as much as offenders do for being overzealous.
This reminds me of a friend of mine 20+ yrs ago who got a ticket in his Scirocco for 80mph in a 55. Not too bad, right? So why did he get the book thrown at him? This was what was written on the ticket: "I clocked Mr. Jones at 80mph... with all four wheels locked and much smoke coming from the tires."

jctevere

Yes, I did read your post. But you were the only level headed person, so my post was directed more towards everyone else. Pretty funny bit about your friend. I got caught doing 78 in a 55 once, luckily because it was my first offense the courts dropped it to a failure to yield to emergency vehicles with a hefty $395 fine and a $85 court surcharge!