Last Friday as I was driving home from a doctor's appointment I was pulled over for speeding, The officer claimed I was travelling at 61 mph in a 45 mph zone. Let me supply you with some details. The road i was travelling on is a state highway (4 lanes) in North Carolina and goes from 55 to 45. There is a sign that alerts the driver to the fact of the speed change. As the area is a known speed trap I take my foot off of the accelerator and coast as I go over the bridge (which is about .25 miles in length. As I enter the area where the speed changes I have a white Dodge Challenger to my left and they continue on and do not reduce speed. As I enter and crest the bridge another car (orange vehicle looked like a Vibe) passes me. I come down from the bridge and enter Oak Island and I see the police vehicle on my side of the road partially hidden by some bushes. I see him coming out in front of me (his car was facing away from me so his radar I assume was in the back window, I immediately tap my brakes and look down and I see I was going around 45 mph. At this point I am thinking he is going after one of the two cars ahead of me.
As I pass him and he enters the roadway imagine my surprise he gets behind me and pulls me over.
He comes up to my white Ford Flex and tells me he clocked me at 61. I simply tell him I have to disagree as there was no way I was going 61 mph as I "exited the bridge" as he put it. He states that he will not adjudicate this here and asks for my registration. As I have already given him my driver's license I comply. I figure he will run my record and find I haven't received any citation in many years (over 38 years actually) and will probably give me a warning. No, he comes back and he has written the citation for the full 16 mph over the speed limit and tells me my court date is in May. At his point since I have received the ticket I tell him he ticketed the wrong car as the other two I previously mentioned were the ones he wanted and there was no way that i was going 61. I told him that if he had clocked me at 50 that was possible as you come down from the bridge but no way it was over 60 mph. I then asked him when was the last time he calibrated the radar. He didn't answer the question only saying he wasn't going to adjudicated this here.
My question is: What recourse do I have at this point? It is basically my word vs. the officer's. This will put a serious mark and my insurance rates will definitely go up. I thought of pleading my case in front of the county judge or hire an attorney but I don't know any down here (I lived here on the island for only two years). I talked to my brother who is a member of the Columbus Police Department, He is a liaison for the police department with the FBI, Home Land, and the Treasury Department and before that a homicide detective and a street cop. I told him the story and his initial thoughts is the NC officer is a hard ass and I must have have "pissed him" off when I initially disagreed with him about the 61 mph. I sent him the ticket and since he doesn't know NC law it difficult for him to assess but states there a couple of things stated in the ticket that perhaps would give me an opening to have the ticket thrown out in Ohio, but perhaps not in NC.
Any advise would be welcome.....
As I pass him and he enters the roadway imagine my surprise he gets behind me and pulls me over.
He comes up to my white Ford Flex and tells me he clocked me at 61. I simply tell him I have to disagree as there was no way I was going 61 mph as I "exited the bridge" as he put it. He states that he will not adjudicate this here and asks for my registration. As I have already given him my driver's license I comply. I figure he will run my record and find I haven't received any citation in many years (over 38 years actually) and will probably give me a warning. No, he comes back and he has written the citation for the full 16 mph over the speed limit and tells me my court date is in May. At his point since I have received the ticket I tell him he ticketed the wrong car as the other two I previously mentioned were the ones he wanted and there was no way that i was going 61. I told him that if he had clocked me at 50 that was possible as you come down from the bridge but no way it was over 60 mph. I then asked him when was the last time he calibrated the radar. He didn't answer the question only saying he wasn't going to adjudicated this here.
My question is: What recourse do I have at this point? It is basically my word vs. the officer's. This will put a serious mark and my insurance rates will definitely go up. I thought of pleading my case in front of the county judge or hire an attorney but I don't know any down here (I lived here on the island for only two years). I talked to my brother who is a member of the Columbus Police Department, He is a liaison for the police department with the FBI, Home Land, and the Treasury Department and before that a homicide detective and a street cop. I told him the story and his initial thoughts is the NC officer is a hard ass and I must have have "pissed him" off when I initially disagreed with him about the 61 mph. I sent him the ticket and since he doesn't know NC law it difficult for him to assess but states there a couple of things stated in the ticket that perhaps would give me an opening to have the ticket thrown out in Ohio, but perhaps not in NC.
Any advise would be welcome.....
