Avoid a Speeding Ticket

Estimated reading time: 18 minutes

You can avoid a speeding ticket in Minnesota. And most people with a traffic ticket want a clean record. But if you avoid a speeding ticket in the first place you won’t need to defend yourself in court. And you’ll save money and avoid the other troubles that follow.

What is at stake?

First, what is at stake in a Minnesota speeding ticket case? Most speeding tickets are petty misdemeanor charges. But prosecutors charge a few as misdemeanors. A misdemeanor is a crime with a theoretical maximum of 90 days jail or up to one-year probation.

And though a petty misdemeanor in Minnesota is not a crime, it is a “conviction.” Both become part of the person’s public court record. Most driving-related offenses or violations will go on your driver’s license record if “convicted,” regardless of the level of offense. And many vehicle-related offenses or violations will as well. This includes speeding tickets, and any kind of traffic ticket. But in today’s world, most people are concerned about speeding tickets appearing on their driver’s license record. Why?

Three reasons to avoid a speeding ticket: First, too many convictions within certain time periods can result in “habitual violator rule” license revocation or suspension. But even one over 100 mph speed conviction triggers a six-month loss of license. Second, insurance rates can go up. Third, law enforcement officers will see the violation on the driver’s license record, the next time. As a result, we all want to avoid a speeding conviction.

Over 100 mph

A newer Minnesota law makes a speeding conviction for over 100 miles per hour trigger a six-month license revocation. In these cases, a common goal is to avoid the “over 100 mph” speeding ticket. Minnesota Statutes § 169.14, subd. 1a. So, many wish to reduce the proven speed, to avoid that six-month license revocation. But that can only happen in court. And Winona Defense Attorney Thomas Gallagher can help you keep your license.

Sometimes we see a Careless or Reckless Driving charge in an over-100 fact pattern. If the basis for that charge is speed alone, a court should dismiss or acquit. But anyone facing such a charge needs help from a good defense attorney, like Winona Attorney Thomas Gallagher. For more on Reckless and Careless Driving charges and defenses, see:

Careless or Reckless Driving.

Legal speeding: But remember: there is no speed limit on an off-road track. Whether a race club or a driving skills class, “track days” are a fun way to improve safe driving skills. Sure, they cost money, but less than speeding ticket. Have fun where there are no traffic laws — on the race track.

How to avoid

The first line of defense is avoiding the police stop in the first place. Few vehicles today drive below posted limits, except in traffic congestion. And this shows that speed limits in Minnesota today are artificially low, with little to do with safety.

Most drivers drive over the posted. As a result, it makes sense to be thoughtful about it. And you can make a vehicle more or less easy to read with RADAR and laser speed measuring devices.

Defensive driving skills today include legal self-defense. So exercise situational awareness of law enforcement officer locations and behaviors, to help avoid police contacts. This is also important given that speeding is a lawful basis for a traffic stop.

Defensive driving tips: avoid a speeding ticket

1. Drive at safe, reasonable speed.
2. Watch road signs and markings.
3. Keep your cool. Don’t be the road rage guy.
4. Consider a dash cam for proof.
5. Think like a cop: Speed traps by day; DUI enforcement by night.
6. Study RADAR & laser tech & countermeasures.
7. Crowd-sourcing apps like Waze: spot speed traps, beep warns over set speed.
8. Group defensive driving tactics, like follow-the-leader.
9. Track days, to avoid a speeding ticket, improve skills.

Once pulled over, before asking for license and proof of insurance, the police officer will seek an admission, like: “Do you how fast you were going?” But a respectful response need not include an admission. (Keep in mind that most traffic stops today are video recorded on the police officer’s body cam and squad car camera.)

So don’t let a police officer bait you into making admissions. You can be quite polite, without making admissions. After all, rudeness will not help. Chill, and avoid giving the officer a heads-up that you will fight the ticket in court. That would only inspire more officer notes for use against you in court. And if you don’t get a warning, take your ticket with a smile, and then plan your next move.

To best avoid a speeding ticket, you need to know more about the entire court process, from cop to court. For more on the court process, from police contact through court appearances and trial, see:

Court Process Guide | Minnesota Criminal Procedure.

Should I pay or fight a speeding ticket? For most people, the goal is to keep it off the Minnesota driver’s license record. To achieve that goal, you must challenge it within the courts, unless it is a Minnesota “Dimler Amendment” speeding ticket (more on that below).

“Defendant [City] suggested that flashing headlamps might be illegal interference with a police investigation; however, the expressive conduct at issue sends a message to bring one’s driving in conformity with the law — whether it be by slowing down, turning on one’s own headlamps at dusk or in the rain, or proceeding with caution. … Even assuming, arguendo, that Plaintiff or another driver is communicating a message that one should slow down because a speed trap is ahead and discovery or apprehension is impending, that conduct is not illegal. … The loss of First Amendment freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes irreparable injury.”

Elli v. City of Ellisville, 997 F Supp 2d 980 (US Dist. Court, ED Missouri 2014)

Court: how to avoid a speeding ticket

You have the right to go court to fight a speeding ticket. If you don’t use your right, you lose your right. And it’s a good idea to fight every speeding ticket. By fighting every speeding ticket you will either win, or learn a lot for the future. So you have nothing to lose by contesting it, since “losing” would be no worse “just paying the ticket” (a conviction record). Dress well and be polite to all you meet. You can speak to the prosecuting attorney yourself (or bring your lawyer). But avoid a debate on the merits of your case. Instead, stress your clean record, your desired outcome (no conviction) and your willingness to pay. If you do, you may be able to avoid a “conviction” on the speeding ticket.

Evidence at trial

There are two main types of prosecution evidence of speeding, both from the police officer. The first is speed measurement devices such as RADAR and laser. The other type is police officer visual estimate of speed. Both can vary widely in accuracy and reliability.

There are many books and manuals available about RADAR and laser speed measuring devices. It’s too big of a topic, technical in nature, to develop here. But suffice it to say that every speed measuring device can be useful to the prosecution. And yet every one can also be inadmissible, flawed, inaccurate and unreliable for various reasons.

You may be able to show the judge that the RADAR or laser evidence is unreliable. But then the judge may rely upon the police officer’s visual estimate of speed. Whether the judge views the police officer’s visual estimate of speed as reliable will depend upon several factors. Those include how much the claimed speed is over the posted, point-of-view, environmental factors, among others. And knowledge can help you avoid a speeding ticket.

The law’s reasonable & prudent standard

Minnesota speeding law says “reasonable and prudent under the conditions:”

“no person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions. In every event speed shall be so restricted as may be necessary to avoid colliding with any person, vehicle, or other conveyance…”

Minn. Stat. § 169.14, subd. 1

Two types of speed limits: statutory & posted

Speed limit signs must comply with the Minnesota Manual on Traffic Control Devices. It is the law; and has the effect of law, via Minnesota Rules and statutory incorporation. And Winona Lawyer Thomas Gallagher has won many cases with a sign defense.

Driving Over Posted: Not Necessarily Unlawful

Prima facie evidence

The general rule: A speed over the limit is only “prima facie” evidence that speed is not “reasonable and prudent.” Minnesota Statutes § 169.14, subd. 2. Driving faster than the speed limit is generally not a violation. Rather, driving “at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions” is the violation.

Prima facie evidence on the surface, supports a possible inference of guilt, but does not preclude an inference of innocence. And Minnesota law says that circumstantial evidence that allows a possible inference of innocence is reasonable doubt, and not enough to convict. The government has the burden of proof. And, it must enough evidence to meet its prima facie burden of going forward. Otherwise, the judge can dismiss the charge at the close of the prosecution evidence.

But conviction requires more: proof of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. And that means that if the evidence allows for a reasonable inference of innocence, the defendant is not-guilty. Plus, if the defense can rebut the state’s prima facie evidence, with any available defense evidence, you may be able to avoid a speeding ticket (even if over the posted).

Municipalities

In a municipality, Minnesota statutes more recently purport to make any speed over the speed limit presumptively unlawful. Minn. Stat. § 169.14, subd. 2. But even though rebuttable; courts hold presumptions of guilt unconstitutional. And that is because they shift the burden of proof to the defendant. Some courts may be lax stopping this statutory burden shifting in petty misdemeanor cases. (And most speeding tickets are petty misdemeanor violations, not misdemeanor crimes.)

Penalties for Speeding Violations

Two types: direct & collateral

Direct penalties are either a non-criminal, petty misdemeanor “civil infraction,” with a fine only; or, a misdemeanor criminal conviction with arrest and jail a possibility.

Adjudicated violations of the speed law are Petty Misdemeanors (fine only). But if a Judge finds the defendant “endangered person or property,” then it’s a misdemeanor conviction. And, a third or subsequent speed law violation within twelve months is a misdemeanor. Minn. Stat. § 169.89, subd. 1

DL Revocation or Suspension

Collateral, or indirect, penalties for speed violations include:

1. violation on the driver’s license (DL) record,
2. increased insurance or loss of insurance, and
3. potential loss of drivers license (DL).

An over 100 m.p.h. conviction will trigger your driver’s license revocation for six months. A third petty misdemeanor in a year can be a misdemeanor charge, based on priors. A third misdemeanor in a year (a fifth in two years) can result in license revocation. Minnesota does not use a point system, like some other states. We don’t have speeding points. See:

Driving After Revocation Defense.

Drivers License Record: Avoid a Speeding Ticket

A clean DL record is valuable. It can make the difference between future police officer discretion breaking your way, or against you. And that’s an important reason to avoid a speeding ticket. So, how can you keep your record clean, if you already received a speeding ticket in Minnesota? Knowing the law helps.

1. Dimler Amendment: Avoid a Speeding Ticket

Once upon a time in the 1970s, we had “the energy crisis” media panic. Politicians imposed a national 55 mph “energy conservation” speed limit. Before that, they set “speed limits” on safety and engineering studies. Then artificially low speed limits became politically correct, no longer about safety. Later we saw political opposition to the “national speed limit.” People in rural areas and Western states drive long distances to get basics. So they need reasonable speed limits.

A political compromise: These states passed the 55 mph limit to avoid losing federal highway tax-refund dollars. But they created exceptions so that drivers could pay a fine but still avoid a speeding ticket going on their driver’s license records. In Minnesota, a rural legislator named Dimler sponsored an Amendment to the speeding laws. The Amendment kept a conviction for 65 or less in a 55 zone (later 60 mph zones were added); off the Minnesota driver’s license record. Though the court record still showed a petty speeding conviction; a driver could avoid a speed on their driver’s license record. Remember, these extreme low speed limits were never about safety, but about “energy conservation.”

A statute adopted in 1986, we call “the Dimler amendment” determines which speeding violations go onto the DL record. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety maintains the DL record.

Speeding violations do not go on the DL record if:

• 10 mph above the speed limit (or less) in a 55 mph zone; or
• 5 mph above the speed limit (or less) in a 60 mph zone.

But if the court certifies the speed limit is more than 65 mph or less than 55 mph, the prohibition on recording a violation on the DL record doesn’t apply. Contrary to popular misbelief, there is no general “ten-over” exception in Minnesota law. (The Minnesota legislature could pass a “10 over” law, regardless of the posted, similar to the Dimler law. But for now the current Dimler law only applies in a 55 mph or 60 mph zone.)

And the Dimler amendment does not apply if the court certifies that the violation was:

• in a commercial motor vehicle or
• the driver had a commercial DL (class A, B, or C).

Minn. Stat. § 171.12, subd. 6.

Commercial drivers beware: The Dimler law won’t work for speeding tickets in a commercial motor vehicle or a driver with a commercial drivers license (CDL). See, Minnesota’s “Anti-masking” statute, Minn. Stat. § 171.163.

And Winona Attorney Thomas Gallagher is aware of a case where the Dimler law did not work for a person with an out-of-state DL. But it does work for non-commercial, Minnesota-licensed drivers.

2. Continuance for Dismissal Without a Plea

The prosecutor can agree to “continue” the speeding charge for up to 12 months, on various conditions. And at the end, with successful completion of conditions, court administration dismisses the charge. There is no guilty plea, ever. And no adjudication (conviction) results. So, nothing is ever “certified” by court administration to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, as a result. Typical conditions include payment of prosecution and court costs (instead of a “fine”), and no same or similar violations. And the term used for this outcome varies from one local area to another. Other common terms include: Agreement to Suspend Prosecution, Deferred Prosecution, Continuance WithOut a Plea (CWOP).

3. Local or City Ordinance violation

Ordinance violation citation, instead of state statute: A police officer has discretion. She can cite drivers with a local or city Ordinance violation; rather than a Minnesota Statute. And if they do, you should be able to pay the fine; but without it going on your Minnesota Driver’s License Record. This is something a police officer can, in his or her discretion, decide to do for you. Prosecutors can, too.

4. Stay of Adjudication: avoid a speeding ticket

A stay of adjudication prevents the Court Administrator from certifying a traffic “conviction” to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. That means it won’t go on the Minnesota Driver’s License Record.

A “stay of adjudication” involves either a guilty plea, or guilty verdict; but the judge stays (delays) adjudication of guilt upon conditions, for a period of time. If the person does not violate a condition, the judge never adjudicates the violation (never convicts). And so Court Administration never certifies a “conviction” to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to go on the DL record. Typical conditions include payment of money to the court, and no same or similar violations.

In most criminal cases, judges are reluctant to stay adjudication without prosecutor approval (or finding an abuse of prosecutor discretion). But in petty misdemeanor traffic cases judges may be more willing, even without a prosecutor’s agreement. And there are a couple other ways, less commonly done.

Defenses: Avoid a Speeding Ticket

Some assume that they can’t possibly win a speeding case. If that were true, why spend time or money on trying to win? But knowledge is power. And the more you know, the more you know you can win. So learning about the law and defenses will give you an edge; and help you avoid a speeding ticket.

There are many potential defenses to a speeding charge. But most people who get speeding tickets have a clean record over the previous five years. And this is favorable. A person with a clean record has a better chance of getting a clean-record outcome – though at a cost. The Rookie mistake is to focus on defenses, rather than a practical focus on outcome. So keep your eye on the prize. Justice is not perfect in our imperfect world. After all, humans enforce and administer the laws. Even if innocent, paying to keep it off your DL record may be a better result than proving the point. But a prosecutor may not be willing to offer that, at least not yet. So here is a discussion of some defenses for the trial.

A. Reasonable & prudent: avoid a speeding ticket

Over the posted on the highway, alone, is generally not speeding. Was the speed reasonable and prudent? Intent can play a role here as well. And relevant factors could include road conditions, traffic conditions, incline, mechanical issues, etc.

B. Passing

It may be reasonable and prudent to exceed the posted limit in order to pass another vehicle. In fact, it can be dangerous not to do so. Passing too slowly means risking a head on collision. So passing as a fast as possible is “reasonable and prudent.” This defense is even more important for motorcyclists.

Increased speed limit when passing: Minn. Stat. § 169.14, Subd. 2a explicitly increases any posted speed limit by ten miles per hour over the posted speed limit when the driver is passing on a two-lane highway having one lane for each direction of travel, with a posted speed limit that is equal to or higher than 55 miles per hour. Of course, speeding is driving faster than “reasonable or prudent,” not driving faster than the posted speed limit, or the posted plus ten. And passing as quickly as possible on a two lane highway fits definition of reasonable and prudent since it avoid unnecessary risk of a head-on collision.

Statutory driving rules for passing: Minn. Stat. § 169.18, Subd. 3 says “the driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left thereof at a safe distance and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.” And this law implicitly requires us to do so quickly, since driving the wrong lane against oncoming traffic any longer than necessary is dangerous and unsafe.

C. Identity

What is the proper way to conduct a speed trap with RADAR or LIDAR? In part, it requires two police officers in two police squad cars. One will operate the speed detection machine, and identify the vehicle he observes speeding. And the other operates the pursuit vehicle to make the traffic stop. So that way there is little chance of misidentification or stopping the wrong vehicle. But these days police cut corners and rarely do it the right way.

D. Excuse defenses

Police squad cars with flashing light bars may drive faster than reasonable and prudent; but have the excuse of necessity. But how about the person driving a heart attack victim, or woman in labor, to the emergency room?

E. Evidence issues

Can the government show an evidentiary foundation for its speed evidence – pacer, RADAR, LIDAR, etc.? And did the government properly comply with discovery statutes, after a request?

F. Impossibility

Did you see the news report about the Minnesota State Trooper in a Helicopter with a stopwatch? He claimed a motorcyclist was traveling significantly faster than the maximum top speed for that motorcycle! “Warp speed, Captain!” Sure. Anyone can make a mistake. But when a police officer claims an impossibility, we can defend that.

G. Actual speed, within posted

The claimed, measured speed was wrong, inaccurate. The actual speed was within the speed limit. No trial evidence proves a speed over. But in any event, the speed was reasonable and prudent, with no collision or risk of one.

H. Many more: avoid a speeding ticket

In the law libraries, there are multi-volume treatises of defenses to speeding tickets. So these are just a few. Avoid a traffic stop in the first place if you can. But after that, fight to keep It off your record. It’s worth doing. More:

Criminal Defenses Minnesota

Public Policy Problem?

Many view speeding laws and enforcement of them as bad public policy. Some falsely blame injury accidents on speed, when it is not a causative factor. But enforcement of a “bright-line” law is easier. After all, with most drivers routinely “speeding,” can anyone seriously argue that driving over the posted is more dangerous than tailgating or following too closely? One is a safety hazard but the other is so easy to enforce.

Expediency vs Public Safety

Police and prosecutors have financial incentives to enforce those easy-to-enforce laws, to get their numbers up. And they ignore traffic violations that actually do endanger safety, such as failure to signal lane changes or tailgating. The public knows and understands this. And it contributes to cynicism about traffic law enforcement.

Bottom line: Avoid a Speeding Ticket

Let’s face it. A speeding ticket is not only annoying. Over time, it can cost you a lot of money. Keeping this one off your record can help you get a warning from a police officer next time. Call it the snowball effect. So avoid a speeding ticket. And don’t let this one hit your record by paying the ticket. What have you got to lose by trying to win?

Author: Winona Defense Attorney Thomas Gallagher.

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