Getting pulled over for speeding is an everyday occurrence of the roads of Santa Monica. One never realizes that they are over speeding until they look into their rear mirror and see the patrol car signaling them to pull over. The siren of the cop’s trooper can make anyone nervous, and the reason being that the events which precede getting stopped by the traffic police often end with the motorist chucking anywhere from a couple of dollars all the way to a thousand dollars in fines. Worse still, things could spiral out of control effectively leading to someone getting their driving license revoked.

Staying Calm, Cool and Composed

If one ever finds themselves in such a scenario involving cops on the roads of Santa Monica, here are some useful tips and pointers to increase their likelihood of walking away scot-free with just a warning.

  • Never dare hesitate to pull over once motioned by the traffic officers
  • Make sure you are buckled into your safety belts and reduce any audio playing
  • Be polite and ask the officer why he pulled you over
  • Ask to see the proof that you were indeed over speeding on the radar guns
  • If you were actually speeding request to be given the first warning.

Useful Tips and Pointers

Two outcomes are possible here. One, the ticketing officer lets the offender off easy with just a warning. Alternatively, the driver feels confident about contesting the allegations before a judge and the trial begins.

  • It’s prudent to set the court date as far as possible. Try and use delay tactics to frustrate the officer who booked you.
  • Many-a-times, the officers forget all about the summons in court and that leaves the presiding judge with no option but to rule in the driver’s favor.
  • In case the police officer shows up, you’ll have to face the judge and make a convincing case.

Many drivers have been released after they confessed that they were indeed speeding but they were doing so to reach to the office to avoid getting fired.

Costs of Different Tickets

The most commonly issued types of speeding tickets in Santa Monica, California are the 22349 a & b violation fines.

  • Being apprehended doing speeds above 65 mph on the California roads is grounds to call for a prosecution.
  • However, the decision is by all means open for a contest as per the regulations of the Traffic and Engineering Study.
  • On the other hand, doing speeds above 55 mph on two lane roads without any division is a traffic violation under the 22349 b statute. If one gets pulled over while doing 1-15 mph above 65 mph, the penalty paid is $146.

Alternatively, if you get slapped with a 22349 b violation fine you pay $266.

  • In both instances, the driver, if proven guilty, gets penalized one DMV point.
  • The higher the speeds above the road limits, the bigger the bail amount.
  • There’s also the 22350 vc basic speeding fine imposed on speeding drivers plying the roads in Santa Monica.
  • The penalty for commuters going with speeds ranging from 1 to 15 mph above the set limit costs $234 plus other local fees.

Avoiding Traffic Hot-Spots

It’s best to avoid getting caught on the wrong side of the law. Going to courts to contest a ticket is often a time-consuming and an expensive affair. Well, for starters, they could avoid using the roads which are known to be hot-zones with radar guns and traffic cops. Here are some of the locations where a majority of tickets have gotten issued at in Santa Monica:

  • Santa Monica Boulevard
  • The Pacific Coast Highway
  • Santa Monica Pier areas all the way to Colorado Avenue
  • Lincoln Street
  • Wilshere Boulevard
  • Olympic Boulevard

It’s prudent to hire a certified and a reliable traffic defense attorney to help clear the charges leveled. The Santa Monica Courthouse grounds are actually an excellent place to start asking about available traffic offense lawyers. The court is located at the intersection of Main Street and Olympic Blvd. The facilities stay open from 8 am to 5 pm on business days, except on designated court holidays. Here’s a link to the Google Maps showing the Santa Monica courts.

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Scott Desind

Scott Desind | Traffic Ticket Attorneys The Traffic Ticket Attorneys, Desind and Klijian, have over 25 years of experience fighting traffic tickets. Our attorneys are well respected and known for their experience in fighting traffic tickets, specialized knowledge of the law and procedures and results by the court personnel, officers, deputies, competitors and clients.