Anyone fight, and win, a camera speeding ticket in DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hypothetically, you could claim that you weren't driving. The photo cannot prove it, and you're innocent until proven guilty.

Actually, you don't even have to claim anything. Just say, the photo does not show who was driving, therefore there is insufficient proof that I was speeding because it could have been someone else. If they ask if you were driving, take the fifth.

Please post here if you do this, as I am very interested how they get around this, if they have a way to do so.

This argument doesn't fly in VA because the tag is photographed and the owner of the car is fined and it doesn't matter who is driving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Um, this is from November 2010. Presumably the OP has already decided what to do.

WTF? Who revives six month old threads?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, this is from November 2010. Presumably the OP has already decided what to do.

WTF? Who revives six month old threads?

Uggh...exactly!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Clearly you were going much faster."

PP already said she was "going 56 in a 45 MPH zone." What irritates me about speed camera tickets is that there is no police officer in the world who would pull you over and give you a ticked for going 56 in a 45 on an interstate. But there the camera is and it does. Aren't these supposed to be about safety, not revenue generation? Oh, wait...

This kind of "logic" makes no sense to me. You admit you're speeding by going 11 mph over the limit, yet feel you shouldn't get a ticket? Whatever.

It's about safety and revenue. If OP slows down to 45, everyone will be safer. If not, she can help address the city's budget deficit. Win-win.

[Anonymous]

The best way to beat a speeding ticket is not to get one. The machines in DC are set at least 10 mph over the posted speed limit. Speeding on freeways creates a risk for other drivers, but on city streets there is an added risk for pedestrians. Studies also show that the fatality rate when vehicles hit pedestrians climbs significantly with each 5 mph of speed. It's no wonder that D.C. is installing speed cameras in school zones, where motorists routinely drive over the posted limit. As a parent, pedestrian and, yes, motorist, I say bring it on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Um, this is from November 2010. Presumably the OP has already decided what to do.

WTF? Who revives six month old threads?

Um, someone who has the same question and wants more responses?

[Anonymous]

There is no reason for that stretch of highway to be rated at 45 mph. In fact on some stretches I think it is 40. This designation has nothing to do w/ public safety; rather, the lower the limit the more $$ DC can make on drivers driving at a reasonable speed for a limited access highway. After getting my ticket here, I drove dead on the speed limit, and it created a very unsafe situation as everyone around me was flying past. When on a highway, there is a [reasonable] expectation by all drivers that speeds will be between 50-60 mph. This stretch of highway should be no different - there are no short merges or sharp turns to necessitate otherwise. If DC wants to slow it down (for safety, of course!) then they should put in a light.

[Anonymous]

There is a really nasty new camera on Porter between CT and Adams Mill Road. The limit is 30 and the road is downhill so it is really easy to be going 40 and get a ticket. Guess how I know. I have my foot on the break almost as soon as I make the left onto Porter from Adams Mill every time I travel there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no reason for that stretch of highway to be rated at 45 mph. In fact on some stretches I think it is 40. This designation has nothing to do w/ public safety; rather, the lower the limit the more $$ DC can make on drivers driving at a reasonable speed for a limited access highway. After getting my ticket here, I drove dead on the speed limit, and it created a very unsafe situation as everyone around me was flying past. When on a highway, there is a [reasonable] expectation by all drivers that speeds will be between 50-60 mph. This stretch of highway should be no different - there are no short merges or sharp turns to necessitate otherwise. If DC wants to slow it down (for safety, of course!) then they should put in a light.

If you're talking about the SE/SW Freeway, there's every reason for that stretch of highway to be rated 45 mph. It's a tangle of merges, some with no merge area. Just because most people are being unsafe assholes, doesn't mean there's a "reasonable expectation" of anything. See that white sign with the black numbers on it that says "Speed Limit 45 MPH"? Let that guide your "expectations".

Stop whining, slow down, or pay up.

[Anonymous]

just bothering to show up to contest it will go a long way with the judge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Um, this is from November 2010. Presumably the OP has already decided what to do.


WTF? Who revives six month old threads?

Maybe they were told to slow down?

[Anonymous]

There is no reason for that stretch of highway to be rated at 45 mph. In fact on some stretches I think it is 40. This designation has nothing to do w/ public safety; rather, the lower the limit the more $$ DC can make on drivers driving at a reasonable speed for a limited access highway. After getting my ticket here, I drove dead on the speed limit, and it created a very unsafe situation as everyone around me was flying past. When on a highway, there is a [reasonable] expectation by all drivers that speeds will be between 50-60 mph. This stretch of highway should be no different - there are no short merges or sharp turns to necessitate otherwise. If DC wants to slow it down (for safety, of course!) then they should put in a light.

Do you have a degree in Highway engineering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is a really nasty new camera on Porter between CT and Adams Mill Road. The limit is 30 and the road is downhill so it is really easy to be going 40 and get a ticket. Guess how I know. I have my foot on the break almost as soon as I make the left onto Porter from Adams Mill every time I travel there.

That camera ain't new.

[Anonymous]

The camera may not be new but for some reason I've just started getting tickets. I know I haven't been careful with my speed especially at 5:30am when I am heading out to work out. This one is a definite moneymaker for DC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We got one on the SE freeway - going 56 in a 45 MPH zone. Ticket was $125! We've gotten a 1-2 before but they were always $40. Everything I read led me to believe that they charged $40 bc thats a price point that most people will just pay and move on, but $125 is a significant amount of money. Since you get the tickets weeks after you were driving, how can I possibly know exactly what speed I was going at the time? The cameras can be wrong. I read online that you can challenge the calibration of the camera and the placement of the warning signs.

Has anyone done this with success? Or even tried and lost? Gotten a reduced fine?

Thanks!

Probably the reason this ticket is $125 is due to the previous tickets you had. I don't think a judge is going to be inclined to be lenient with your history of speeding. Stop speeding or your next ticket could be $500.00.