Today, an expert attorney will tell you how to get a judge to dismiss a speeding ticket in Virginia, especially in Northern.
You’ll get tips about the most common and effective speeding ticket defenses for your reference. Anyway, some are good, some are bad defenses, and some depend on how you use them.
How To Get The Judge To Dismiss Your Speeding Ticket in VA
In court, you may watch people stand up, try to defend themselves, and pitch all sorts of exciting and excellent defenses.
Also, we will review the pros and cons and how to use these defenses.
1. Continuing Your Case and Hoping the Officer Doesn’t Show Up
When you use this defense, it may work in other jurisdictions but not in Virginia.
There is a reason why each officer is given a month of core data for all the tickets they write for that month.
If the officer doesn’t show up, it’s not only your case done, and it’s a month’s worth of work they lost.
Officers can get into big trouble with their supervisors.
It can affect officers’ careers, and even be considered contempt of court if they don’t show up.
Less than one out of a hundred cases in Virginia are dismissed because the officer does not show up.
So most officers always show up in Virginia. If they don’t show up, it’s often because of a family emergency or law enforcement, or they’re sick.
Thus, they can call the court in that case, and if it is a critical personal emergency, the court will proceed with all cases the next day.
Police officers and lawyers in Virginia can go to jail for not showing up to court.
So there’s rarely a situation where an officer doesn’t show up in Virginia. If that happens, then it doesn’t have a good reason. Usually, it’s just when they also leave the police force.
2. Going With The Flow Of Traffic
One of the most common reasons for speeding is that you go with the traffic flow.
This is usually not a very effective defense because the judge is always in the room and isn’t much help.
But what’s most effective is getting a copy of the police car dashcam video.
While the video won’t show any speed readings there, it will usually indicate whether or not you’re going with the traffic flow.
So you can insert a dashcam video that will show the traffic flow.
After that, you can ask the officer how fast the traffic moves. The officer usually says 5-10 miles over the speed limit.
So it shows you are not exceeding 5-10 miles per hour over the speed limit. So if the video shows you moving with the traffic flow and the officer says the traffic is 5-10 above the speed limit that you can’t do, you know, 15-20 to speed up.
So that’s a more effective way for you to use when arguing.
3. Your Speedometer Is Broken
If your speedometer is broken, it can help, but you have to understand how to use this reason.
A broken speedometer is no defense for speeding in the state of Virginia.
It doesn’t get you out of trouble entirely.
So, this is mitigating evidence, which means proof that you’re not too objectionable and shouldn’t be punished so severely.
Still, that doesn’t prove that you are innocent.
So all you do is go out and get a speedometer calibration.
You want to take your car to a mechanic.
You usually put the car in a device called the denominator that spins the wheel.
Then you can compare the speed in the denominator or the rate on the speedometer, and the mechanic will write a calibration certificate.
Next, you take it to court and show the judge a certificate to prove that your speedometer is accurate.
Usually, if your speedometer is low, your speedometer reading is lower than your actual speed.
You can use that as mitigating evidence to convince a judge.
4. Calibration of the Police Officer’s Speed Measuring Device
This is probably one of the most effective ways to win the speed case instantly.
But it is also one of the most technical and challenging ways to do this.
So basically, what’s happening is that the Virginia log says that an officer needs a calibration certificate if they’re going to try to introduce some speed measurement.
So whether it’s a speed laser box or a radar box, there are some appropriate calibrations to be associated with that speed measurement, and it’s also worth taking that calibration ticket to court.
There are laws governing how you can include proof calibration certificates, which are very technical.
You can issue a certificate if the officer does not follow all the technical requirements that allow the certificate to be evidence.
If you issue a certificate, the clerk can’t testify about what the device is tuned to.
So, this is a very effective method to beat the speed case and a very technical and complicated way to win the speed case.
Even lawyers who are inexperienced in doing speed enforcement cases struggle with this sort of thing. So doing it yourself is pretty tricky.
5. You Need to Go to the bathroom
Needing to use the bathroom is one of the most common reasons for speeding.
The problem with this reasoning is that most people who use it don’t have an accident when they get pulled over.
So here’s the thing, if you speed up to go to the bathroom and get a ticket from the cop who writes you a speeding ticket, it takes more time to get to the toilet than if you obey the speed limit.
So if you can get to the bathroom without an accident, you can cross the speed limit and be fine.
So if you’re thinking, “I really have to go,” and you’re speeding down the road if you get into an accident, that’s a valid reason.
It sounds like, you know, it’s still not a defense, but good, that’s a very sympathetic reason.
You’re speeding because you need to go to the bathroom, and you don’t have an accident despite being pulled over by the police.
At least you admitted to the judge and said that you weren’t sure then and that, in retrospect, you should slow down and cross the speed limit.
6. You Have an Emergency Situation
In traffic court, many people try to justify their speed because of their emergency, like their wife has a baby, they get a call that someone is in the hospital, or they are trying to catch a flight, or they have a work order, and if it doesn’t work, they will be fired.
That is something huge that can happen to justify the speed of their vehicles. So if you’re going this route, make sure that your reasons justify the behavior.
The higher the speed you need, the better reason to be. But, in addition, you must explain why there is no safer, law-abiding way to achieve what needs to be completed.
You know why you didn’t call an ambulance, or you’d miss your flight. You know things like that, you should know too.
If your reasons don’t justify speed, admit it to the judge, telling them, “At a time when I felt this was really important, I was too focused on getting work done on time and catching my flight. I knew speeding was dangerous. I should have slowed down. I should have left the house earlier and this is not how I will handle this emergency in the future.”
It’s essential to tell the judge you are justified in what you did. But don’t do the same thing, and it’s like telling him I’d do it again if I could because the judges don’t like that.
The judge doesn’t want to hear that you’ll keep speeding when you think there’s nothing wrong with what you’ve done and you don’t need to change it.
So if your reasons are not good, explain them clearly. Even if you feel like it’s a big problem, you won’t be doing this again in the future.
7. Police Officer Made a Mistake
Sometimes you have no excuse because you know you are right and the officer is wrong. So, if you are in that situation, don’t be intimidated; this is a legitimate defense. But you should know what you have to do, such as the following:
- Show a calibration certificate that shows your speedometer is accurate. So you can stand up and testify and say, “I looked at my speedometer, I did 55 miles per hour and here’s a calibration certificate that shows if it’s accurate”.
- Write down everything that happened, everything you said to the officer, and what he said. You will keep it detailed and record everything that happens in the case. You add details like the weather and traffic and draw a diagram of where you are relative to other cars. You need to write this all down and take care of it. So that when you take a stand, you have notes that you can refer to refresh your memory.
- It would be best if you talked to a lawyer. Almost every lawyer provides a free consultation and can give much free advice. You never know that you might get service.
- Try to get a dashcam video. Many police cruisers have dashboard cameras. You can use them to see what you are doing relative to our other cars, and they can often be used to help back up your stories.
8. Traffic Signs Are Not Properly Posted
The speed limit site must be properly installed if you are speeding in Virginia.
There are three ways to prevent the sign from being installed correctly, as follows:
- Do you know if the sign is obscured by vegetation, tree branches, or other signs or if it looks like it has fallen? If so, you can tell your lawyer or the judge about it.
- Another way is that it’s not a speed limit sign. It’s a yellow sign that has a speed limit. Yellow and black characters are warning signs, not actual speed limit signs. So if you go to an off-ramp and there’s a yellow sign that’s not a speed limit, it’s not an official speed sign, and sometimes officers get confused by that too.
- Sometimes local governments or organizations will take vigilante action against us and put up their sign. If you can find out who put the character, you can tell if they have the authority to do so or not. Are they not compliant with the law? So those are the three ways your attorney can attack whether the speed limit sign is posted correctly or not.
9. Driving School for Dismissal or Reduction
Many jurisdictions will ignore or reduce your fees in exchange for a driver upgrade course. However, each jurisdiction has its own rules on how or if they do this.
For example, Fairfax County in Northern Virginia does not do this program. However, at the same time, Prince William County and Arlington County did it.
You need to know that Arlington County requires concrete courts, and there are specific rules about how and when they do it.
So talk to your local attorney or county Registrar’s office to find out if the program is available and what the requirements for the program are.
10. Your Car is Running Out of Gas
Whether you believe it or not, many people go to court and argue that they’re speeding because they’re out of gas.
Many people think when they are about to run out of gas, they go faster to get home sooner before they run out of gas.
But of course, this is not a good idea for several reasons.
It’s not good because it puts people’s lives in danger by speeding and breaking the law.
Then if you go slower, you save on gas.
So by going fast, you run out of gas faster, and your car runs less efficiently. So if you don’t know, don’t use that argument in court.
11. You Have a Perfect Driving Record
You can do a lot with a good driving record.
You go to court and say, “I’ve never had a problem because I never got a ticket before. I have a clean driving record”.
In Virginia, the record plus five is perfect. Anything between zero and five is a good record. Right around the negative two is average. Below negative two to about negative four is not that great. But if you get a negative five or below, that isn’t good. If you are negative ten or lower, you will surprise many people.
So yes, having a good driving record can help. You can take a driver improvement class in Virginia to receive five good points for your paper.
You can do it voluntarily every two years for about $45 online or $75 in person.
If you don’t have a perfect driving record, you’ll want to improve that record before the trial. Then, you can take a self-driving improvement class and get five good points for your paper.
12. You’re Trying To Pass Someone Else’s Vehicle
Many people are caught speeding when they are trying to pass someone. Often they go to court and use this excuse or defense, but it backfires on them.
The argument doesn’t work well if you’re accused of speeding more than ten miles per hour over the speed limit.
The first question is, how fast are the people you’re passing? How quickly do they go? If someone is already ten miles over the speed limit, you don’t need to pass them.
Well, you’ve broken the law, and why should you go faster than them? If someone is driving the speed limit, you don’t have to drive 15 miles per hour over the limit to cross it.
So if you are accused of speeding more than fifteen over the speed limit, then it doesn’t make sense why you pass them as an excuse.
However, there are always exceptional circumstances where it can happen, but you must think about it carefully.
13. How The Officers Did Their Job
One of the most effective ways to be a speed case is to attack how officers do their job or use their speed enforcement equipment. This is the most common way lawyers win cases when their clients are accused of speeding over 100 mph.
However, it is a technical defense requiring much experience and specialized training. You must understand the science and methodology behind all equipment that officers use.
You have to understand how they are trained. In addition, you must understand the NHTSA enforcement methodology, the rules of evidence, and the legal maneuvers required to exploit the information.
All of these require a technical background to focus on speeding up defenses.
But it’s very effective if you have a lawyer who can do this.
So it’s not the kind of defense you can do without years of experience and training.
14. You Are Driving Down Hills
Many people got caught up in speeding as they descended the hills. Now, this could be a good reason.
You can say, “I really didn’t mean to go that fast, and it’s just that you know it’s going down hill and I did a bit of extra speed.”
This excuse works exceptionally well if you are accused of only walking, as you know, 10-15 miles over the speed limit and, importantly, knowing where the officer is measuring your speed.
Most officers like to measure your speed with radar or lidar as you pass hilltops. Then, just as you reach the peak, the officer does that because you don’t have a chance to slow down your vehicle.
Other officers will sit down and measure your speed; they mark when your vehicle is going downhill and you are traveling at a very high rate.
So, find out what the officers are doing before you argue that they’re measuring you at the bottom of the hill.
15. You’re Trying To Stay Away From Other Unsafe Drivers
Sometimes we speed away from an unsafe situation. For example, there was a drunk driver or someone following us, an aggressive driver. But we must ensure that the situation justifies our driving behavior.
If you’re driving 90-100 mph to get away from someone trailing you, a little bit of it doesn’t make much sense. So this defense works best at lower speeds.
That might make more sense if you’re accused of driving 10 or 15 miles over the speed limit.
Also, you have to explain why you can’t pull over or let the person through.
Why is speeding a necessary way to get out of this situation? Sometimes it doesn’t, and you admit to the judge and say: “Your Honor, this guy was tailing me and I speeded to get away from him. I wouldn’t do it again if I had the chance. It was a bad decision at the time but that’s why I did it.”
Sometimes we speed up to avoid someone who looks like an aggressive driver and turns out to be a cop.
Police officers are coming in an unmarked car behind your vehicle, you keep accelerating to get away from them, and they keep following you.
It’s scary, and you don’t know what’s going on. So you explain that to the judge; try not to accuse.
Just explained, “I didn’t recognize, I was just trying to get away from the unsafe driver, he kept following me and I was scared. I didn’t know what was going on and I thought I could make a defense.”
16. Errors in the Summons
When a police officer writes you a speeding ticket, it is widespread for errors to occur on the key.
This error usually has nothing to do with your case, and it’s not a defense at all, but sometimes it does.
If the officer writes down the wrong court address or court time, that’s a big problem.
Talk to an attorney right away about it before you go to court.
If your officer mistypes the accused person’s name, it can be a big problem.
But if he just misspelled your name, it’s usually not a big deal. In addition, there will be some biographical information such as your height, weight, eye color, or the make and model of your car.
If this detail is wrong, it usually doesn’t matter much unless there is a real issue, whether the officer pulled over or ticketed the right person.
17. Not Use To That Car
Many people get fined for speeding; they’re behind the wheel, which they’re not used to.
They drive an old slower car and then borrow a friend’s or rent a rental car.
But now, their car is lighter, smoother, has better suspension, and they don’t realize how fast they are going.
This can be an excellent explanation, especially for low-level speeding offenses.
So if this is your situation, tell the judge what cars you usually drive and what car you use.
Explain to them how you are unfamiliar with the feel of the car.
This argument is especially compelling if you drive alone at night or on an empty road without anyone around you.
18. You Don’t Realize How Fast You Are Driving
Ignorance is not a violation of speed but is also irrelevant.
If you don’t realize how fast you are driving, you will explain to the judge why you did. So if your speedometer is accurate, provide that information.
Let the judge know if you drive a car that only goes faster but noticeably slower. Or, if there are no other cars around to gauge your speed, explain it to the judge, as these things can all be relevant.
But you don’t want to say that I didn’t realize it was going that fast because I had been taking some medication that was driving me crazy. It’s DUI and sounds so unsafe that you don’t want to say that.
You don’t want to say I didn’t realize I would be back quickly because I’ve been working 15 hours straight and am so sleepy. But, yes, saying that speeding is not a good idea if you are fatigued.
So make sure your explanation of why you didn’t realize you left that fast is worse than the accusation of speeding.
If you are in this situation, take a driver improvement class before the court.
Then tell the judge how taking a driver improvement class has made you more aware of your speed and better at avoiding accidental speeding.
19. Sovereign Citizens
If you search for traffic defense and ticketing defense online, you will find a lot of material from organizations and people who call themselves Sovereign Citizens.
These arguments take many forms, but they all say the same thing.
The essence of the argument is that courts and police officers have no right to enforce traffic laws or even write traffic laws.
In this case, they often say very mysterious laws and issues unrelated to traffic laws.
But these arguments rarely or never work out among the thousands of speeding cases.
20. Right To Travel
Another traffic ticket defense trending online recently is the right-to-travel defense.
This defense relates to the idea that you have a constitutional right to travel and that as long as you are not involved in commerce, the government cannot regulate how or when you drive.
Hence, laws that require you to get a license plate, have a driver’s license, or have a basic speed limit are unconstitutional as they limit your right to travel.
But this argument is not valid because they misunderstand constitutional rights. First, you have the right to travel. However, you do not have the right to drive a car.
Driving a vehicle is not a constitutional right; it is a privilege, and the United States Supreme Court has ruled that out time and time again.
So you may have the right to travel, but driving a car is not the same as traveling because you can travel without a vehicle. Moreover, the government doesn’t need to violate it simply because you have a constitutional right.
You have the right to privacy, but the government can still search your home if they have a search warrant. You have the right to own a gun, but the government can still ask you to get a permit.
So just because you have constitutional rights doesn’t mean the government can’t ignore them.
The defense of the right to travel has never been successful in the case of a speeding ticket or a ticket. So if you try this, you can, but it’s not something I’d recommend.
Conclusion
That’s how to get a Judge to dismiss a speeding ticket in Virginia. Some of the reasons are pretty plausible, and you can try, but there are also reasons you shouldn’t bring them up to a judge in court. However, consulting a lawyer and hiring them is an excellent way to resolve your speeding case.