FIGHT SPEEDING TICKETS FOR VIOLATION OF CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE SECTION VC 22350

A speeding ticket 22350 VC is issued under the California Basic Speed Limit Law. Basically, the local jurisdictions are permitted by the California Vehicle Code to reduce the speed limits on roadways below the maximum speed limit governed by 22349 vc and 22356 vc. However, a speed limit reduction must be done based on a Traffic and Engineering Study with very stringent requirements.

According to the California Vehicle Code, if a speed limit is reduced below the maximum speed limit without adhering to the required requirements, that constitutes a California SPEED TRAP. Therefore, if the presence of a speed trap can be clearly established in a speeding ticket for 22350 vc, the ticket should be dismissed by the traffic court.

In order to clearly show the presence of a Speed Trap on a roadway in California for a speeding ticket case one must have a detailed knowledge of a Traffic and Engineering Study and how to analyze the information including the justification for the speed limit reduction.

By now on this page you have read the basic information about speeding ticket 22350 for issuing erroneous speeding tickets.

If you decide to have our service to prepare all your documents for a Trial by Written Declaration, then just scroll up click on the red button and go through the sign up process. Once you have completed the sign up sent us a copy of your speeding ticket and any documents that you may have received from the traffic court and we will start to work on preparing your trial by written declaration documents to fight your speeding ticket.

Normally, speeding ticket 22350 in California are issued on roadways that are not a part of the freeways system. This is generally due to the fact that, in most cases, the freeways are subject to the State’s Maximum Speed Limit of 65 mph see 22349 VC.

For speeding violations of VC 22350, the main issue is not exceeding the posted speed limit but the speed according to the vehicle code must be greater than is reasonable or prudent or must endanger the safety of persons or property.

VC 22351 indicates that the law presumes the reasonable or prudent speed is the one posted on the speed limit sign or the prima facie speed limit. Going over the posted speed limit does not again mean that you were going over a reasonable and prudent speed due to the conditions such as; weather, visibility, surface, roadway width and other present conditions.

The following are a frequently asked questions for the speeding ticket 22350:

1- What is the California Basic Speed Limit Law ?

In California the maximum speed limit on all roadways is 65 mph (22349 a VC) with 2 exceptions:
A. The maximum speed limit for undivided roadways with one traffic lane in each direction is 55 mph (22349 b VC).
B.  The maximum speed limit for all roadways may be increased to 70 mph (22356 b VC) based on a Traffic and Engineering Study.

However, the California Vehicle Code allows the responsible jurisdiction to reduce the maximum speed limit on a roadway provided that the reduction of the speed limit is based on a Traffic and Engineering Study (aka; Speed Zone Survey)

2- What is a Traffic and Engineering Study?

A Traffic and Engineering Study (aka, Speed Zone Survey) is a very detailed analysis of roadway characteristics with at least one spot speed zone data collection (aka; speed zone survey) in each direction of travel. There are very strict rules on how the local jurisdictions are supposed to conduct speed studies on the roadways. Once the study has been completed then the data is analyzed to determine the appropriate speed limit that should be established on that roadway.

3- What is a speed zone survey ?

The intent of the speed zone survey is the measurements of the speed of vehicles to determine the actual speed of unimpeded traffic. The speed of traffic should not be altered by concentrated law enforcement, or other means, just prior to, or while taking the speed measurements. The data points are collected by an individual using a Speed Detection Radar. The speed of each vehicle is recorded.

4- What is the significance of a Speed Zone Survey ?

A speed zone survey establishes the speed of unimpeded flow of traffic on a roadway including the 85th percentile speed or the critical speed.

5- What is the 85th percentile speed or the critical speed?

According to the State’s manuals a speed limit should be within 5 mph increment of the 85th-percentile speed of free-flowing traffic.

6- What if the 85th percentile speed or the critical speed on the speed zone survey is not within the 5 mph increment of the posted speed, is this a speed trap?

Not necessarily. Local jurisdictions are allowed to legally post a speed limit below the 85th percentile speed without creating a speed trap. There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about this subject due to the complexity of the issues involved.

7- What if the 85th percentile speed is within the 5 mph increment of the posted speed limit? Does this mean that the speed limit was established legally and is not subject to the speed trap argument?

Not necessarily. If the 85th percentile speed is within the 5 mph increment there may still be a speed trap. Mainly due to the fact that there may be an error in the way the 85th percentile speed was calculated, or there may be a major issue in the way the spot speed data points were collected, or the way the speed zone survey was segmented though a continuous roadway. There are infinite possibilities to prove that a Traffic and Engineering Study was not conducted in accordance to the State’s mandated requirements thereby establishing a speed trap.

The local officials in California understand the speed trap rules in relation to making their speeding tickets withstand a court challenge. Therefore, in order to artificially manipulate the 85th percentile speed to reduce the speed limit, local officials resort to tricks of the trade to disguise their actions.

8- I got a speeding ticket for violation of VC 22350 on a residential street by speed RADAR. Is this subject to the California Speed Trap rules?

A street may be a residential street but still be subject to the State’s Speed Trap rules. However, not all residential streets are local streets. There is a major difference when it comes to arguing a Speed Trap.

Under California Vehicle Code a local street is a roadway that is defined by latest functional usage and federal aid systems map submitted to the Federal Highway Administration, except when these maps have not been submitted or when the roadway is not shown on the map, a local street is roadway that primarily provides access to abutting residential property and meets one of the following conditions:

1- Is less than 40 feet in width
2- Not more than one-half mile of uninterrupted length
3- Not more than one traffic lane in each direction

If the street that a speeding ticket was issued on meets one of the above conditions and qualifies as a local street then the Speed Trap argument will not apply in traffic court.

9- There were no 25 mph signs installed on the residential/local street where I was given a speeding ticket for violation of VC 22350. Can I argue lack of signs to beat my speeding ticket?

In California, the safe speed limit for a local roadway is 25 mph. The governmental agency (City, County or State) responsible for determining the safe speed limits on roadways within their jurisdiction is not required to post a 25 mph sign to inform the motorists of the speed limit on a local street. So, do NOT even waste your time by arguing with the judge that there are no 25 mph speed limit signs on the street. That will NOT get your speeding ticket dismissed. As a result, you must use a different argument to fight speeding tickets on a local/ residential street.

10- I got a speeding ticket for violation of VC 22350 in a school zone for driving in excess of 25 mph. But the speed limit on that street is higher than 25 mph. Can I argue a Speed Trap?

No. If a speeding ticket is issued in a school zone while children are present then the speed limit on that segment of the roadway is 25 mph. As a result, you must use a different argument to fight speeding tickets in school zone.

11- I was in on a local street when I was given a speeding ticket for violation of VC 22350. How can I fight this speeding ticket?

You would have to look at the way the speeding evidence was collect against you. For example, if the officer used speed radar to collect the evidence a detailed knowledge of the speed radar operation would be critical in challenging the speed radar information to beat speeding tickets.

Speed Trap Rules apply to speeding violations of 22350 as outlined below:

22350  No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

Here are section 22351 a and 22351 b of the vehicle code

22351  (a) The speed of any vehicle upon a highway not in excess of the limits specified in Section 22352 or established as authorized in this code is lawful unless clearly proved to be in violation of the basic speed law.
(b) The speeding of any vehicle upon a highway in excess of the prima facie speeding limits in Section 22352 or established as authorized in this code is prima facie unlawful unless the defendant establishes by competent evidence that the speeding in excess of said limits did not constitute a violation of the basic speeding law at the time in California, place and under the conditions then existing.