What Happens When You Get a Speeding Ticket in PA
Maybe you were desperate to get somewhere on time. Or you had no clue about how fast you were going. You end up speeding, and the next thing you know, you see police lights in your rearview mirror. The officer pulls you over and writes you a ticket for driving over the speed limit.
Speeding tickets are one of the most common moving violations in Pennsylvania. But one or more speeding tickets can result in your difficulties escalating. Driving record points, increasing insurance premiums, license suspension, and costly fines are some of the consequences. A Pittsburgh criminal lawyer can help you avoid or minimize these problems.
What You Need to Know About Speeding
It is illegal to drive over the posted speed limit in Pennsylvania. If there are no posted limits on expressways or streets, here’s the guide everyone must follow:
- Residential streets – 25 MPH
- Non-residential streets – 35 MPH
- Expressways – 55 MPH
You might not get a speeding ticket unless you’re driving 6 mph or more above the speed limit, depending on the device used to measure your speed. However, if the police use the VASCAR device to calculate your speed driving down a 55 MPH zone, you need to exceed 10 MPH over the speed limit for a conviction.
In an active school or work zone, you can be charged with speeding even if you were going 1 MPH above the speed limit. A Pittsburgh criminal lawyer can help you get this citation dropped.
How Your Speed is Measured By The Police
Here are many ways the police measure your speed:
Follow your car
The police officer typically passes your speed against the police car’s speedometer. The officer needs to follow a certain distance in PA. This is done so that they can get a sufficient reading of your speed to pull you over.
Manual speed traps
Police use manual devices that work the same as stopwatches. To clock your car, the device has a pre-determined and pre-measured distance. Sometimes, aircraft are used to measure speed. Their report is radioed to the on-ground officer who will pull you over.
The stopwatch-type devices used often in manual speed traps are VASCAR devices. Their reliability has been questioned by Pittsburgh criminal lawyers, particularly when they are used in distances below 500 feet.
Automatic traps
Automatic traps are driven by technology, which means there’s little room for human error. Police use roadside transmitters to automatically measure vehicle speeds, sending the data directly to a computer in the officer’s vehicle.
Radar
PA is the only state to still use radar guns for measuring your speed.
The Police Pull You Over
So, the police finally pull you over. Here’s what you should do:
- Turn off the ignition, but don’t leave the car.
- Don’t get angry
- Don’t get into any arguments with the police officer.
- Be polite
Going up against a traffic violation without a Pittsburgh criminal lawyer isn’t recommended. At Logue Law Group, we stand by you throughout the process and work hard to discredit evidence. Together with you, we determine what the best course of action would be. If you want to know more, contact sean@seanloguelaw.com.