Five Strategies to Fight a Traffic Violation Ticket


Fighting a traffic ticket

Just because you received a ticket for a traffic violation doesn’t necessarily mean you deserved to get it. Sometimes tickets are given for pretty arbitrary offenses, which means that you can fight them.

However, fighting a traffic ticket may not seem like the simplest thing in the world. Fortunately, if you find yourself in one of these five situations, you just may be able to fight that traffic ticket and succeed.

Challenge the Officer’s Subjective Conclusion

In numerous states and with countless police officers, it’s often possible, and sometimes even fairly simple, to challenge the police officer’s view of what happened. This is a particularly successful strategy if the police officer in question had to make a subjective choice on whether or not you broke the law. If the court finds that you didn’t, you’re off the hook!

Challenge The Officer’s Observations

In states where a police officer must make an objective decision, not a subjective one based on whether or not your action was safe, it often comes down to which version of the event is the correct one. Usually, the person with the badge is going to win, but on the off chance that you can provide reasonable cause to doubt the officer’s observations, you can win.

Prove it Was a “Mistake of Fact”

Judges are allowed a bit of flexibility when it comes to considering factors beyond your control. If you can prove your action was a reasonable and honest error, you jst may win the case. For example, if you failed to stop at a crosswalk because the lines were faded, that could be a “mistake of fact.”

Prove Your Action Was Legally Justified

For example, if you recieved a speeding ticket because you safely exceeded the speed limit after experiencing sudden chest pain and were on your way to the doctor, that qualifies as legally justified.

Prove Your Action was Necessary to Avoid Harm

Emergencies that are not of your own doing are often recognized as a “necessity” defense in every state. If you suspected drunk driving and drove below the speed limit to stay behind that car and avoid collision, that qualifies as a necessary action to avoid harm

Whether you’re fighting a serious traffic violation or a small one, it’s important to frame your argument in a professional and succinct manner. Don’t justify the ticket by mentioning a cell phone or wandering thoughts. After all, the goal is to avoid the ticket, not acquire more.


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