It’s a rush every morning. You dive into the bathroom to grab the hot water before
anyone else. Then you make a mad dash to the kitchen to get breakfast for the kids
and get them ready for school. Breakfast for you is a cup of coffee and something
leftover from the night before. The kids make the school bus just in the nick of
time. You check the time, grab your keys and sprint towards you vehicle. As you
whip through traffic, neighborhood pets, and assorted children’s toys, you go over
the schedule for the day. At this point your about ninety-five per cent
job/family/home and about five per cent driving. Then you see them. The red and
blue lights snap you back to reality and since you haven’t touched your brakes
since you left your driveway it can’t be stuck brake lights, it must be the cops.
You cringe as you look at your speedometer. You pull to the side of the road and
practice your best “What? Me speeding?” expression in the rear view as you fumble
for your license, registration and proof of insurance.
It’s not an uncommon occurrence. Speeding fines collected from individual drivers
constitute a part of a city’s budget. I know from experience that these fines are
estimated and actually put into the budgets so don’t let anyone tell you different.
The question here is can you beat the ticket in court? If you received the ticket
in West Virginia, there might be some hope for you. There’s a cute little law on
the books that you may be able to cite and scare those town magistrates into the
closets of small town mediocrity.
Now, there’s several ways to avoid convictions and paying tickets in West Virginia.
I knew of one character who always fought tickets given on the municipal level or
by state peace officers within a city. He would simply pay the bond and wait. The
case would make it to the Circuit Court Judge eventually and be continued. In fact,
my friend’s cases were usually continued three or four times before the case was
dropped and his bond money,usually the cost of the fine, was returned. The lesson:
Circuit Court Judges don’t have time to listen to minor traffic infractions. Does
it work out this way all of the time? Probably not, but it does work enough to give
it a go. If you were caught trying to set a land speed record I doubt that you will
be successful, so don’t rely on the scenario mentioned above.
The easiest ones to fight and be victorious are the ones from small towns and
municipalities of a certain class. This strategy actually has the West Virgina Code
on your side. There’s really no choice for the magistrate except to throw out the
case. This magic pill designed to wipe out your speeding woes like quinine
decimates malaria, comes in two dosages. West Virginia Code §17C-6-7. – “Prima facie
evidence of speed by devices employing microwaves; placing of signs relative to
radar”. Doesn’t sound scary but this is the first of a “one-two punch” that will
keep your hard earned money in your pocket.
West Virginia Code §17C-6-7. – “Prima facie evidence of speed by devices employing
microwaves; placing of signs relative to radar” gives us some insight on just whom
is allowed to even use radar as a means of speed monitoring and control.
The code states:
“The speed of a motor vehicle may be proved by evidence obtained by use of any
device designed to measure and indicate or record the speed of a moving object by
means of microwaves, when such evidence is obtained by members of the department of
public safety, by police officers of incorporated municipalities in classes one,
two and three, as defined in chapter eight-a of this code, and by the sheriff and
his deputies of the several counties of the state.”
So, to put this in simpler terms, those peace officers (police officers)
that use radar devices to monitor speed must be using the devices in class 1, 2,
and 3 municipalities. To determine what constitutes as a class 1,2, or 3
municipality, we go to the coup de gras, the second punch of our knockout blow.
West Virginia Code §8-1-3. “Classification of municipal corporations.”
Sparring with that nasty magistrate will come to an abrupt end and victory will be yours if
the municipality does not fall within the following guidelines:
“Pursuant to the mandate of the “Municipal Home Rule Amendment” to the constitution
of this state, all municipal corporations are hereby classified by population into
four classes, as follows:
(1) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of fifty thousand shall
be a Class I city;
(2) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of ten thousand but not
in excess of fifty thousand shall be a Class II city;
(3) Every municipal corporation with a population in excess of two thousand but not
in excess of ten thousand shall be a Class III city;”
Simply put, if the municipality has less than 2000 residents as of the 2000 U.S.
Census and your speed was obtained using a radar or laser “gun”, the ticket is null
and void and there’s simply no way to argue with it from a court’s standpoint. This
does not apply to VASCAR or pacing. If the magistrate wishes to push it, see the
first couple of paragraphs of this article. Populations of West Virginia Cities as
of the 2000 census can be obtained at: http://www.citytowninfo.com/
I am not advocating excess speed on the many miles of roads in the State of West
Virginia. I do know that sometimes we can be oblivious to how fast our vehicles are
traveling. Yes, it happens. Everyone is entitled to a mistake. If that officer in
the spiffy uniform is running radar and giving you a ticket in a municipality that
doesn’t have at least 2,000 citizens as of the latest U.S. Census, he’s betting you
don’t know about this law. They lose! Be aware that you can be charged with
reckless driving and all speed limits are prima facie, meaning a safe speed
according to the conditions present at the time you came speeding…um, driving
through town. While they can’t mention an actual speed, the officer may try to
judge that your speed was knowingly reckless in relation to the conditions present
at the time.
Please drive carefully and responsibly…and eat breakfast!
