High-Quality Legal Representation In Kentucky And Indiana

Is speeding always speeding?

On Behalf of | Feb 14, 2019 | Traffic Violations

It is usually not enjoyable to get pulled over on a Kentucky road and get a speeding ticket. All forms of speeding are not the same. Throughout the United States, there are three variants of speed limits. There is the basic speed limit, an absolute speed limit and a presumed speed limit. If a person is pulled over for speeding and issued a ticket, he or she has the best chance of making a defense if he or she is aware of, in advance, the type of speeding citation he or she received.

Most people are familiar with an absolute speed limit. This is the speed limit that is posted roadside. If the speed limit is 50 miles per hour, and a person is driving 55 miles per hour, then he or she is breaking the absolute speed limit. Since the speed limit is posted, there are not a lot of defenses that a person can make for why he or she was driving over the speed limit.

One defense a person could make is that he or she was speeding because of an emergency, an example of which may be having an individual in the automobile who is having a serious health issue and requires immediate medical attention. A driver also may be speeding because there is a landslide barreling down the road behind him or her, and he or she needs to increase his or her speed in order to prevent the vehicle from being overrun by the landslide.

Another possible defense is challenging the officer’s determination of the speed at which the vehicle was traveling. In order to do this, a driver would have to determine what method the officer used to determine his or her speed. Was radar or a laser used? Once this is determined, a driver may then create a defense designed to attack the validity of the method used.

When people are accused of crimes, including traffic violations, they may benefit from the services of a criminal defense attorney. A lawyer may help their clients review the evidence gathered by law enforcement; understand possible defenses; and, if necessary, defend them in court.

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