Speeding Ticket Mythsmyths associated with speeding tickets. By Damon Dallah
Myth #1: This is the ultimate speeding ticket myth. Actually, it sounds plausible. It’s supposed to be a clever way to not get your speeding ticket reported on your driving record, which means points won’t be added and your insurance company won’t increase your monthly bill. Here’s how it works: When you get a speeding ticket, you are supposed to mail in your fine, plus a few extra dollars. When the courts receive your payment, they will cash the check and supposedly mail you a refund for the extra dollars you sent. But, instead of you cashing this refund check, you tear it up and throw it away. By not cashing the check, this is supposed to leave your case open indefinitely and not show up on your driving record. Points are not assessed to your driving record until all financial transactions are complete. Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? Sorry to burst your bubble, but this is a HOAX. I don’t know how it got started or who is behind it. All I know is that it doesn’t work because the minute you are found guilty, it automatically goes on your record, even before they receive your payment. Whatever you do, don’t try this. More than likely, the courts will cash your check and NOT mail you a refund. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if the traffic courts are behind this myth!
Myth #2: Many states in the nation have enacted a bill that prohibits police officers from pulling over drivers based solely on the fact they weren't wearing their seat belts. In order to give someone a seat belt ticket under this bill, the driver of the vehicle must be pulled over for another reason, such as speeding. Only then can a police officer write a ticket for no seat belt if the driver wasn't wearing one.
Myth #3:
Don’t confuse an International Driving Permit with an International Driver’s License. They are not the same! Here’s how the add looks:
Need a new driver’s license? The FTC is well aware of this type of scam and is cracking down on those people that offer such bogus licenses. Don’t be fooled into thinking that some magic driver’s license can replace your suspended one. The government isn’t that stupid. You can get what is called an International Driving Permit (IDP). An IDP is a special permit that allows you to drive in other countries without taking a new test or any other formalities. It is valid in any of the over 150 countries that has signed the 1929 or 1949 UN convention on road traffic.
There’s a very popular myth floating around the internet lately.
Many people are under the false notion that if you ask an officer to show you the radar unit then he has an obligation to show it to you. Nothing could be further from the truth. An officer does not have to show the radar reading to anyone. There is no law in any state that requires the officer to show the radar or laser reading on his gun. One of the primary reasons for this has to do with safety. The officer will not want to bear the liability of you getting hit by oncoming traffic. As a result, your request to view the radar unit will be declined. Do not use this defense in court.
Myth #5:
During a routine traffic stop, an officer does not have to read you your rights. Many of you are familiar with the Miranda Law, which became effective due to the landmark case Miranda vs Arizona 384 US 436 (1966). The warnings are required to be read during interrogations. This means that whenever a person is under arrest and they are asked a question about a crime, these rights must be read to them. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. You can choose to exercise these rights at anytime.
However, a traffic case is an exception to the rule. The courts have ruled that an officer is not required to read the Miranda warnings during a traffic stop. But, that doesn’t mean that they don’t apply. In a traffic stop, you do have the right to remain silent, it’s just that an officer will never tell you that. He’s betting that you don’t know this and will ultimately convict yourself by saying the wrong thing.
Myth #6: I'd like to meet the idiot who thought of that one.
Myth #7: More and more these days, states across the nation are starting to share information with each other. As of today, all 50 states are members of what is called the “Driver’s License Compact”. Basically this is a conglomeration of states that share driver’s license information with one another. So, if you get a speeding ticket in one state your home state will find out about it.
Myth #8: Car and Driver Magazine reported in their November 1993 issue that the use of powerful lights may reduce - and sometimes defeat - laser's effectiveness and buy time for drivers to slow down after their detectors go off.
Every state has laws on how bright and how many lights you can have on the front of your car. Whats allowed, typically no more that 300 candlepower total, is far below that required to defeat police lasers.
Myth #9: The theory here is that the chains will create a grounding effect with the car and send the radar signal towards the ground instead of back to the radar unit. But the person who originated this myth failed to realize that a radar signal does not have electrical effects when it touches the frame of your vehicle. It merely bounces off.
Myth #10: This is yet another instance where science proves this myth wrong. By honking your horn, the beat oscillations emitting from the horn are sent into the surrounding atmosphere. This is supposed to alter the radar beams path. However, the oscillations from the horn are so small and under so much metal, that it plays absolutely no role in interfering with police radar.
Myth #11:
A police officer does have the right to search your vehicle anytime you are placed under arrest. No permission needs to be granted by you.
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