[runya410]

I was stopped for speeding in Bonners Ferry Idaho. My question is I asked to see my speed on the officers radar and he said "the only way you will come back to my car is in handcuffs so no I do not need to show you the actual speed" I then asked him again and he said that he does not have to show it to me.
Upon writing the ticket he did not have me sign it, in the sig. spot he wrote "served".

Can I refuse to pay the ticket having not signed it (acknowledging it) and does he have to show me the speed if requested?

Thanks in advance.

[tickle]

When stopped in Ontario the officer always tells you what speed you were going and puts this on the ticket, we don't have to sign our tickets but the officer does with his badge number.

Just the fact that he served you and his name is on it is enough. Your plate no. would be on it too, so I don't see how you can refuse to pay it. No one likes paying tickets of any kind but this is what we have to do.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Go And Fight The Ticket. I Had A Similar Think Happen To Me In Ar And He Told Me I Was Doing 21mph Over The Speed Limit And Did Not Show Me Either. So 3 Weeks And 2 Days Later, I Made A 276 Mi (one Way) Trip To Traffic Court, Went Before The Judge And He Dismissed The Ticket. Maybe I Was Lucky, I Don't Know. But I Would Fight It Anyway.

[macksmom]

I just got a speeding ticket about a week ago... my FIRST one ever! (and I'm 25) :( I'm in Ohio and when the officer had me sign the ticket he said I wasn't admitting guilt I was just signing the ticket to acknowledge that he did in fact serve me the ticket... on the ticket was a court date... the officer said if I choose not to pay the ticket I could go to court on the specified date and contest it. Your ticket should have the same I assume... if not it should have a number you can call.
If you don't think you were speeding I would definitely fight it... I find it weird he wouldn't show you the radar... and was so harsh about it.

[GoldieMae]

It really depends on the state law. In Idaho, the officer can "serve" you the ticket if he thinks you are going to refuse to sign it. In most states, you do not have the right to see the radar gun. However, if you ask, and the police officer says that you cannot see it, you are within your rights to use this as impeachment when you fight the ticket.

You absolutely have to show up in court if you don't want to pay the ticket. If you don't show up, your driver's license will probably be suspended.

I think everyone should fight speeding tickets. I have been to traffic court (only once as a defendant) on a few occasions and have only seen the traffic cop appear once. That is true in big cities, but may not be true in Idaho.

Here's what usually happens: You go in, the judge asks you how you plead, you say not guilty, the judge asks you if you are ready to argue your case and if you have a lawyer, you say yes, and then the judge asks if the cop is in the courtroom. If the cop is not in the courtroom, the judge resets the hearing and asks the city attorney to serve a subpoena on the cop. Then, a few weeks later, you go back to court, and either the cop shows or doesn't show. If he doesn't show, you ask the judge to dismiss the case, but if he shows, the hearing will begin.

Don't go in expecting that the cop won't show. If he doesn't then fighting the ticket is easy. If he does, then you have to be ready to create reasonable doubt and argue that you were not speeding. If you were speeding, then you pay the ticket. If the judge thinks you were speeding, then you pay the ticket.

[Fr_Chuck]

No the officer does not have to show you the radar equipment. In fact if he allowed you access to the front seating of the car he would be breaking a dozen policies rules of most departments.

Most tickets are a citation to appear, in these cases you are to sign the ticket, But in many places the officer can merely serve you if he wants.

[runya410]

I was stopped for speeding in Bonners Ferry Idaho. My question is I asked to see my speed on the officers radar and he said "the only way you will come back to my car is in handcuffs so no I do not need to show you the actual speed" I then asked him again and he said that he does not have to show it to me.
Upon writing the ticket he did not have me sign it, in the sig. spot he wrote "served".

Can I refuse to pay the ticket having not signed it (acknowledging it) and does he have to show me the speed if requested?

Thanks in advance.

I was stopped for speeding 2 months pryer to this one by as luck would have it the same officer, he remembered me the second time and immediately wrote the ticket up. So without signing it can I not ignor it and when they mail the summings out I would call and ask for them to prove I actually got the ticket by sending me a signed ticket (which they don't have)?
I live in Canada but was stopped in Idaho.

[Fr_Chuck]

No, if in that area you were required to sign, he would have made you sign, if you did not sign ( where required) you are actually taken into the station house and required to post a bond to go home.

In areas where you are not required to sign, they merely give it to you

[GoldieMae]

Don't do that. Canada has reciprocity with the states. They will recognize this ticket and you could lose your license.

[ScottGem]

As previously noted a moving violation ticket is a statement of violation and summons to a hearing. Signing the ticket is not an admission of guilt just an acknowledgement of being served. Since a moving violation is going to be served in a traffic stop, the officer simply noting served would proabably be sufficient for the court to accept service.

Now a ticket is NOT a conviction. So if you choose to fight it you can appear at the hearing at the time and place specified. You can present your evidence to refute the officer's claim. If it comes down to a he said/she said, you will lose. And the officer does not have to allow you access to the police car. They may be required to produce a log from the radar gun at the hearing.

[MOWERMAN2468]

macksmom,
I know for a fact that , in Ohio, if your ticket is lets say, $65.00, and you send the check in for $65.01, it will never show up. I got stopped in Ohio doing 73 in a 55mph zone. I told the state trooper when he told me how fast he clocked me at that I had gotten slowed down before he clocked me if he only got me at 73, I told him because I had been running about 78 or 79. So I got my ticket, called the house and told my wife the address to send it to and to make it for $5.00 over the amount due and write on the check , Enjoy your Christmas Party Donuts on Me, in the memo of the check. Well in the state of Ohio if you send a check for even just one cent over the fine amount, they will pay someone to print you a check and mail it to you. When you get this check for .01 or whatever amount over you pay, BURN THE DANGED OLE CHECK!! Do not cash the check. The computer system will show it as being an overpayment and the system will not balance until you cash your check (AGAIN DO NOT CASH THE CHECK), then the system will balance and it will show up on your MVR. So send them their fine check for a little over, cause them some extra work , and enjoy your clean MVR. This worked back in November of 2000. And it still has never shown up on any reports. Good Luck.

[Fr_Chuck]

The over pay may work in Ohio, but don't try it in GA, at least in and around Atlanta, they will keep your money and most likely never send you a refund unless you ask for it. And the department where you pay the fine merely sends the court a notice the fine was paid, if no notice is sent from the payment department, the court will show it unpaid and a warrant would be issued.

[macksmom]

Mowerman,
Yeah, I am totally bummed! I was so mad too because I got pulled over for going 55 in a 45... I got pulled over in one of those towns that are like a mile long, but still the speed drops 10mph while your going through the town... when the cop pulled me over I literally was about 50-75 ft away from the speed limit sign saying 55... man 50 more feet and I would have been clear... and the officer had been pulling people over all day long! I told him I had never gotten a ticket, but all he said was "sorry to ruin your day".

So my ticket is $90... are you saying that I can send in a check for $90.01... and it will take care of the ticket but mess up the system so I won't get any points on my record?

[MOWERMAN2468]

macksmom, all I can say here is it worked for me and I hold a cdl (commercial driving license) . That has been some time ago. But if you try it and they send you the check for .01 burn it and the offense should , I said should never show up on your record. If you are going to pay the ticket anyway, what is another penny? And to think , it is going to cost the state of Ohio a lot more money than that .01cents to print you out a check , try and balance their system, and mail it to you . The state of Ohio may have gotten wise to this in the past, but again , it worked for me and if I ever get another ticket in Ohio, and I don't have any reason to go there anymore, I will try the overpayment trick again.

Good LUCK, I sincerely hope it will work for you as it did for me. And the reason I had my wife put on there in the memo about the donuts was because it was on November the 30th that I got my ticket, and I figured they just needed a little more funds for more donuts. But I will admit, just like I did to the trooper that that time I was SPEEDING, and he just clocked me after I seen him and had already jammed on the brake pretty good.
Again, Good Luck, Please keep me posted.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Oh yeah, Macksmom,
Do not go into court and attempt to overpay the fine, you must do so by mail. So if you have not mailed it do so in time for it to reach the court. And I would call the day before and make sure it arrived, better yet, let someone else call and then if they want to discuss the over payment, you are not the one on the phone. Then don't return their call, because all you want to know is that they have received the check.

[MOWERMAN2468]

Any progress here?

[runya410]

After looking in to it I decided to pay will cost me more to fight it, maybe I should find out where the cop lives and pop his tires... lol. :D