Speeding Tickets

If you get a speeding ticket in Pennsylvania, you may think your only course of action is to pay the fine. But there can be serious repercussions from a speeding ticket. Every time you get a speeding ticket, you accumulate points. This can lead to complications, such as expensive car insurance premiums or a suspended driver's license, which can affect getting to work or school. Experienced Levittown speeding ticket attorney John M. Kenney may be able to help you fight your ticket. We serve clients throughout Bucks County, including Bristol, Morrisville, Fairless Hills, and Yardley.

Speeding means that you exceeded the posted speed limit. When there is no posted speed limit, default speed limits are 25 mph for residential areas, 35 mph for urban areas, and 55 mph for expressways or open rural roads.

If you pay the fine, you are pleading guilty and will automatically incur points on your driving record. Alternately, you can plead not guilty. In Pennsylvania, speeding is characterized as a summary offense. Other summary offenses include disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, first-offense shoplifting, and running a red light. These summary offenses are usually enforced by a police officer's citation, either handed to someone at the scene of the offense or mailed.

The citation is also called a summons. It will include a brief description of the offense and the specific section of law you allegedly violated, as well as instructions on time limits to respond and either plead guilty or plead not guilty. If you do not respond at all, your license could be suspended. With a guilty plea, a hearing will be scheduled.

By hiring a defense attorney who has substantial experience in fighting speeding tickets, it is possible to get charges reduced or dismissed. The traffic ticket itself sometimes provides a basis for challenging it. For example, there may be inaccuracies on the ticket. Minor mistakes, like a typo in your name, will not invalidate a ticket. But if the police officer cites the wrong section of law, the citation can be invalidated.

Sometimes there is a flaw in the equipment used to calculate your speed. The device used may be error-prone or inaccurate. Perhaps the equipment used to calculate your speed was not calibrated properly. A VASCAR device must be calibrated once every 60 days to issue valid readings, while radar guns and police car speedometers must be calibrated at least once a year. If the calibrations are not done properly and in a timely maner, the evidence will be thrown out. This in turn may lead to the charges being dropped for lack of evidence because the prosecutor must prove that you are guilty of speeding beyond a reasonable doubt.

The most straightforward challenge to a speeding ticket is simply human error. Police officers, like all people, make mistakes. They may be distracted, the visibility might be poor, or they may not have followed you for long enough to get an accurate assessment of how fast you were going. They also may have mixed your car up with another car.

Mr. Kenney can give you clear and honest advice about your speeding ticket. He can examine your ticket, listen to your story, and evaluate whether there is a valid basis to challenge the ticket. For a free initial consultation, contact experienced Bucks County traffic violation lawyer John M. Kenney at (215) 547-3031 or by completing our online form.