Major Strategies for Fighting Speeding Tickets in Ohio

Getting ticketed for speeding in central Ohio can seem like no big deal, but the penalties and other consequences can really pile up. Working with a Franklin County speeding ticket lawyer can help you avoid fines, keep points off your Bureau of Motor Vehicles record, and avoid increased insurance premiums. Also, if you drive for a living, a conviction for speeding can cost you your job when your employer requires maintaining a clean driving record.

Several strategies exist for challenging the evidence police and prosecutors use to convict people for exceeding a speed limit. The Columbus-based speeding defense attorney with The Maher Law Firm discusses three of those strategies here.

Questioning How Speeding Was Measured and Documented

Ohio law requires police and state troopers to record alleged speeders’ rate of travel with a radar gun, laser device, stop watch, or specially designed in-car speedometer. The alleged speeding must occur over a significant distance, and the method used to document this must stand up to technical analysis before and during trial.

A Franklin County speeding ticket lawyer will ask whether the officer used the speed measuring device correctly, whether the device was in proper repair and recently calibrated, and whether the device malfunctioned in any way.

Checking to See if the Ticket Was Amended

Law enforcement personnel and courts are allowed to change traffic citations between the time they were issued and when a driver appears at trial. Strict rules apply to how those changes can be made, as well to when and how any changes must be communicated to a driver and his or her defense attorney.

When a Franklin County speeding ticket lawyer can show that his client’s citation was improperly amended or amended without sufficient notification, a judge is expected to dismiss the charge.

Presenting Evidence That Safety Required Briefly Exceeding the Speed Limit

Drivers are allowed to accelerate away from danger. While a driver must slow down once the risk for a collision or some other problem has abated, no one is supposed to get ticketed for speeding up to change lanes or move through an intersection to allow an emergency vehicle to pass. Similarly, brief bursts of speed are permitted to move around earlier crash scenes.

If a speeding ticket attorney proves that the client’s brief burst of speed was necessary in avoiding a collision or other dangerous road conditions, the case could be dismissed.

If you would like to know more or get help with another traffic offense case, call a Columbus Ohio speeding ticket attorney with The Maher Law Firm at (614) 205-2208. You can also contact us online by completing this contact form.