California Speeding Ticket over one hundred miles per hour

When you get a California Speeding Ticket over one hundred miles per hour you have joined the overachievers club.   Not only are you going over the speed limit, you are going WAY over the speed limit.   California speeding tickets over one hundred miles per hour sound like reckless driving and shocking behavior when you hear speeds like 105, 110, and more.   I’m a Los Angeles traffic attorney so I get calls every day from clients facing a ticket for going over a hundred miles per hour, 110, 120 and more.    And while some of the tickets do involve reckless or dangerous driving, the majority of the drivers I speak to with a California speeding ticket over one hundred miles per hour obtained the ticket during a long commute.

3 Major Commuting routes in Southern California

1 – Los Angeles to Vegas

Winner and still champion of California speeding tickets over one hundred miles per hour is the 4 hour drive though the high dessert and into sin city.   Everyone is in a hurry to get to Vegas.  You get out of LA and head up the Cajon pass and when you make it to the top you can almost smell Las Vegas.   Many a driver will catch the eyes of a radar gun from the California Highway Patrol when they get a little too excited.   The entire city of Barstow seems to exist solely as a cottage industry for this commute.  You can hit the outlets, eat McDonald’s in a train car, or get a speeding ticket.    Welcome to Barstow!   Heck even people on the way back from Vegas are in a hurry.  Your broke, your hungover, and you just want to be home.   Once you get over about eighty five miles per hour you are a prime target for the countless officers issuing speeding tickets on this famous stretch of the 15 freeway.

2 – Los Angeles to San Francisco “The Grapevine”

Coming in at a close second in the great California commute is the long stretch of the 5 freeway between Los Angeles and San Francisco known as “the grapevine”.    Kern county traffic courts make a living off issuing California speeding tickets over one hundred miles per hour.   And who wants to go back to Bakersfield, Delano, or Shafter to fight a ticket?   At this point many people are ready to just pay the fine on their ticket for going over a hundred miles per hour but sometimes this isn’t an option.  Most traffic courts in California require a personal appearance by you or your attorney to face the music on a ticket for over a hundred miles per hour.   The primary reason for this rule is because the Judge will likely be asking you to hand over your license for 30 days at the end of the hearing, but more on that below.

3 – Los Angeles to Arizona

The bronze medal goes to the stretch of the 10 freeway connecting Socal to Arizona.   Popular among the river and dessert crowd for long weekends in the RV and also a big commute for students and folks working or living in Arizona on a part time basis.    Once you get past Palm Springs there is just nothing going on until you make your way to Arizona.  And this is where many people decide to go a little north of 65 and the lights and sirens come out with a California speeding ticket over one hundred miles per hour.

So what happens when you show up in court in the middle of nowhere on a California Speeding ticket over one hundred miles per hour?  Well for starters, you see the Judge for your arraignment.  You have just driven a few hundred miles at EXACTLY 67 miles per hour, you are exhausted and you are waiting in a trailer converted to a courtroom for a Judge to decide your fate.  After listening to a video or audio tape of your rights and the bailiff and clerk make their speech, you get your 10 seconds in front of the Judge.   You try to beg for mercy, explain your actions, and not look like an idiot, but before you know what happened you have admitted your guilt and you are at the window getting your sentencing paperwork.    At that point it starts to sink in, you just got fined about $1000, handed over your drivers license to the bailiff for 30 days, and slapped two points on your DMV sheet.   Hello mega insurance premiums.  Don’t let this happen to you.

The key to dealing with a California speeding ticket over one hundred miles per hour is to be prepared to fight your case, or hire an experienced traffic lawyer to fight the case on your behalf.  At the first appearance you will only be saying two words, “Not guilty”.   Anything else is a waste of breath.   Judges do not dismiss or waive tickets at arraignment based on your sad tales of woe.   You either blab and plead guilty or you do the smart thing and say “not guilty”.   Once you have entered your plea of not guilty on your ticket for speeding over a hundred miles per hour, the next court date will be trial.

So it’s time for your second trip to the middle of nowhere.  Back in the car for a few hours, no speeding, wait, wait, wait.   Once trial is about to begin, you have finally arrived at the point where something good can happen with your ticket.  Now the options are limitless.  Every case is different and every court is different, so I can’t give you legal advice without knowing the specifics of your case, but as a general guideline based on my experience in traffic court over the last 15 years, consider the following

Trial strategies for California Speeding Ticket over one hundred miles per hour

1-Dismissal of the charges

Can be based on officer no show, can be based on failure to bring the calibration records, lack of memory, officer in a hurry, officer’s lack of memory, legal issues, discovery issues, etc.

2-Amend to non moving violation

Will the officer or the judge agree to change your charge from speeding over a hundred miles per hour to a non moving violation?  If they will you avoid the 2 points, you avoid the license suspension, you don’t have to go to traffic school, and you probably get a lower fine to top it off.

3-Amend to 85 miles per hour or less for traffic school

Will the officer or the judge agree to change your charge from speeding over a hundred miles per hour to a lower speed?  If they will you avoid the 2 points, you avoid the license suspension, you probably get a lower fine, and if allowed you can appear in traffic school.  If they amend but don’t allow traffic school, you end up with 1 point.

4-Amend to 99 or less for one point speeding

This amendment at any speed under 100 will result in 1 point on your driving record instead of 2 and avoid the 30 day license suspension.

5-Plea to ticket as is with agreement from judge for no license suspension

This agreement will result in 2 points and a high fine, but you keep your drivers license.   The 30 day suspension is discretionary and a traffic judge is much more likely to use that discretion in your favor before trial in my experience.

6-Plea to ticket as is with agreement from judge for reduced license suspension

This agreement will result in 2 points and a high fine, but you may only lose your license for 5 days, or 10 days instead of 30.  The 30 day suspension is discretionary and a traffic judge is much more likely to use that discretion and agree to a shorter period of suspension before trial in my experience.

7-If can’t get any of these do the trial with same approach.

If you can raise doubt as under 100 or under 85 etc make pitch to reduce penalty accordingly as described above in numbers 1-6.

I hope this article helps you make an intelligent decision on how to handle your California speeding ticket over one hundred miles per hour.  If you have more questions feel free to email me using attorneygallagher@gmail.com, or call us at 800-797-8406.   If you want more info on my law firm check out our website here.   If you have enjoyed this article and you would like to receive our free monthly newsletter, sign up here. (and don’t worry you can unsubscribe anytime)  You can go here to submit your case details for a free evaluation.