How To Dispute traffic tickets

Okay, so you want to dispute a traffic ticket because you got a speeding ticket or any other kind of a traffic ticket that you do not think you deserved. The best approach is to start to deal with the ticket immediately. Putting the ticket in the glove compartment and forgetting about it would only complicate matters worse for your and it could even result in higher fines or even worse the suspension of your driver license. So decide what you want to do and do it quickly.

If you were issued a traffic ticket in California for a minor infraction, you basically have three options:

1. Plead not guilty and dispute traffic ticket
2. Plead guilty and pay the fine
3. Plead guilty and request traffic school, provided you meet the traffic school requirements

On this page we want to help you understand various ways that you can dispute traffic tickets. Keep in mind that these are some examples and these explanations may not apply to every case.

• Officer did not see what happened  

With the exception of red light camera tickets and toll violations, majority of traffic tickets are issued by an officer observing the alleged violation. Therefore, if you believe that you were wrongly accused of the violation, you would need to demonstrate to the judge that the officer made a mistake or did not actually see what happened.   For example, if you were cited for making an unsafe left turn, you could argue that you made a safe and responsible turn considering the prevailing traffic conditions. It would help your argument if you can point to facts even using visual drawings to show the officer did not have a direct line of sight to accurately see what happened.

• Challenge the Officer's evidence

In speeding ticket cases where the officer relies on speed radar or lidar to detect the speed of the target vehicle, you could always question the accuracy of the speed detection device. Most law enforcement agencies have adopted standards for maintain and testing speed detection devices to ensure accuracy and avoid issuing erroneous tickets to the public. Therefore, it would be a very reasonable argument for you to question the accuracy of the radar unit that was used to issue the ticket. Specifically, you could ask if the radar unit was calibrated in accordance to the requirements to ensure the radar was properly working on the day the ticket was issued to you.

• You could not have avoided the alleged violation

If there were circumstances beyond your control that contributed to you making an error that resulted in a violation. Here are a few examples; you failed to stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk because the crosswalk lines faded and could not be clearly seen or you did not stop at a stop sign because the sign was covered by a tree. In these situations it would help your case if you could take pictures of the obscured sign and show them to the judge to support your argument.

• Show you acted responsibly under the circumstances

You may be able to show that other circumstances created a situation which led to you making an illegal move. For example, if you were charged with making an illegal lane change going from a left turn pocket straight through the intersection, but you had to do it because there were emergency vehicles blocking left turns at the intersection then even though you may have violated traffic laws but you had to do it in order not to interfere with the emergency operation.

• Show the judge that you had to make a maneuver to avoid harm or accident

If there is an emergency on the roadway that may have caused you to make a sudden move to avoid an accident then you may be able to explain to the judge as a valid way to dispute traffic tickets. For example, if you can prove that you entered a carpool lane to avoid a vehicle stopped in the traffic lane in front of you then you may be able to beat your traffic ticket. The key here is to convincingly argue that you were forced to violate the exact wording of a traffic law in order to avoid a serious accident.

If you have decided to dispute traffic tickets with professional help you have come to the right place. Just sign up for our service and let us help you dispute traffic tickets with a trial by written declaration.