MONTEREY, Calif.- If you've ever been busted for a speeding ticket, you know how expensive it can be, especially with insurance penalties. But before you dig into your wallet, you might want to check to see if you were caught in a "speed trap."
According to the section 40802 of the California Vehicle Code, a "speed trap" is illegal, and defined as, "A section of highway with a prima facie (posted) speed limit which is not justified by an engineering and traffic survey."
Those surveys are done by engineers, and are supposed to track the speed 85% of the population drives, and set the speed limit based on the nearest 5 mph increment, rounding up. Those surveys are also available to the public, through most Traffic Engineering Departments.
According to Geo. McCalip of www.helpigotaticket.com, cities in California are setting speed limits artificially low, in order to increase tickets, and rake in the revenue. "I'd say, conservatively, 95%, maybe as high as 98% of the tickets that are written in the state these days have little, to nothing, to do with traffic safety, they're written for revenue generation, so they're probably bogus to begin with."
McCalip isn't a lawyer, but he's helped thousands beat speeding tickets based on the speed trap law, and his claims of artificially low speed limits in cities across the state were proven right here on the Central Coast.
Preston Kincaid lives in Hollister and was ticketed in Monterey on Fremont Street going 42 in a 35 zone. Kincaid found out the speed limit for that section of road should have been set at 40 mph, so he fought the ticket, and his case was thrown out.
The same went for Dexter Ford. He was clocked driving 72 in a 35 zone in Southern California, but because he proved the speed limit was artificially low, his case was thrown out, even though he was driving twice the posted limit.
McCalip says the people need to fight back against "ticket-for-revenue scams" because it's the public who sets the speed limits, not city governments. "You're innocent until proven guilty, and if it's a speed trap, the officer is, by law, incompetent as a witness, and the court, by law, is without jurisdiction to convict you."
