Me and my friend just got a ticket for "racing on highway" which is a criminal charge and we have to go to court. The thing that makes me sooo mad is that we wern't racing and never even broke the speed limit, which is 40mph. She said the way we sped up was considered to be street racing, even though we wernt side by side and didnt start from a stop. I have to go to court Feb 2, hopefully they will drop it, If not it looks like i wont be driving.

 

Get a lawyer.

 

yeah...i don't have enough money for one though, im only 16. I have to convince my parents to get one.

 

Check on the ticket for the vehicle code you were written up for. Presumably it is: 316.191 Racing on highways

Section 1a and 1b define "drag race" and "racing", respectively. Read and understand these definitions.

"never broke the speed limit" -- doesn't matter

"didn't start from a stop" -- doesn't matter

"weren't side by side" -- doesn't matter, as this could be a result of winning/losing a race

Notice that in section 1b, preventing a vehicle from passing is one definition of "racing".

Don't use any of the arguments above, because they aren't relevant. Judge won't care, and will likely get upset, because you would be wasting everyone's time.

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One argument to use is that you were not aware of the other vehicle. It's not a race if you don't see the other vehicle. This is what you're supposed to say to the cop. (Yeah, I know, too late now.) But in your original post, you said it was you and a friend.

Paragraph 2a) says the fine is $250-$500, with license revoked for a year. Up to you and your family to determine if traffic lawyer is the way you want to go.

Don't count on the arresting officer not showing up, or the judge to be lenient.

Good luck, and let us know how it works out.....

PS I made it to 17 before my first speeding ticket.

 

thanks for the information. It basically sounds like I am SOL, but i guess you never know. My friends parents already called their lawyer, hopefully he can help.

 

FIGHT IT!

 

ouch, that sounds like a downer, good luck resolving it.

i got my license in feb 98, and have only been pulled over once, and got away with a warning with that one. knock on wood that my record stays clean for years to come.

 

Man, that really sucks. Is there something your not telling us? I wonder why a cop would say you are racing in the conditions you described. Taking off fast?

Then again, there are some dumb ass cops. Maybe you'll get luck and have a situation where the cop that wrote you the ticket has previously wrote rediculious tickets in the past and the judge sees it.

 

i think so.

 

i was arrested and put in jail for a few hours until my parents had to bail me out of jail, i was arrested for street racing, a friend and i. we weren't racing, just speeding, there's a difference. but we went to court, it helps to have a lawyer....it helps a LOT. my friend and i, our lawyers made deals with the town attorney, i got away with taking the defensive driving class, and my friend had to do 50 hours community service, he had taken the driving class a week before all this. and after we completed those tasks, the tickets would be reduced from wreckless to improper. i was fine with that. just recently, i applied for a valet job, but you had to have a perfect driving record, so i ordered my driving record from the dmv to see what was on it... i have +2 points from the driving class, no tickets at all, somehow i got lucky.

advice, you must get a lawyer seeing you're only 16, it will greatly help you, don't drive until court date if you can help it, or make your parents restrict your privledges until then, and when you get in front of the judge or town attorney, make sure your parents mention that they have taken action to restricting your driving rights, that's what helped me.. best of luck let us know what happens.. i.e. don't speed period, cops think differently, the one who arrested me and my friend was a cop for 3 months and wanted to make "the big bust in town" as he told me and the magistrate... yeah it wasn't cool