Fight That Speeding Ticket! How to legally beat the system and avoid paying your fine

This week's news that a computer systems analyst is taking his $100 speeding ticket to the Ohio Supreme Court on what looks like a technicality probably made readers roll their eyes - especially because it appears he was going 41 mph in a 25 mph zone. Gary Kieffaber says the ticket was invalid because the officer didn't check the box indicating that Kieffaber's speed was "unsafe for conditions." "I can't be convicted based on a document that doesn't support or explain all the elements of the charge," he said. "They failed to show that my speed was improper." Makes you want to say: Hey, you were speeding. Just pay the darn thing, OK?

But maybe Kieffaber has a point. While no rule says that every box or line on a ticket has to be filled out for the charge to be valid, you shouldn't let sloppy or poorly documented citations slide, either. That might call into question the accuracy of the rest of the information on the ticket, especially if it's challenged.

# posted by Bob Reno @ 8:02 AM