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Speeding ticket/court appearance in the US for UK citizen...

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LukeN10

Junior Member
Hi there, this is my first post on the forum - hopefully somebody will be able to provide me with some help/advice on an issue I am very unsure about...

I am a UK citizen, currently travelling across the USA for the first time in a hire car rented by Hertz. Earlier today (11 Sept), I was driving in North Carolina (Dare County) and was pulled over by a cop and given a speeding ticket for driving "78mph" in a 55mph zone. Apparently, as the speed I was travelling was above 70mph, the offence automatically goes to court rather than being a simple payable ticket. So, the ticket I have been given lists a court date for mid-October, by which point I will have already left the country and returned to the UK. I said this to the cop at the time, who said I would have to hire a local attorney to attend the court on my behalf.

Here are my questions about this: -

1) If I choose to do nothing in this situation, what will happen? Will they chase me back in the UK for a US speeding offence? Will I have any issues returning to the US, or just NC, in the future?

2) The "78mph" listed on the ticket is wrong, I am sure of that. I was going much closer to 70mph and in fact may have been under the 70mph threshold for this offence to have to go straight to court. Could this be a defence? And if so, how would I be able to defend my case if I cannot attend the court date due to being back in the UK?

3) Again, going back to the "do-nothing" option, would this be traced back to me by the hire car company? Or is the fine only related to the person and not the car/insurance?

4) If you believe the best option would be to hire an attorney, do you have a rough idea as to what the total costs of this would be? And does anybody have any suggestions for a Dare County attorney firm that may be most appropriate (and lowest cost!)

Any help or advice on the above points would be really appreciated. Many thanks in advance!
 
Last edited by a moderator:


HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
1) If I choose to do nothing in this situation, what will happen? Will they chase me back in the UK for a US speeding offence? Will I have any issues returning to the US, or just NC, in the future?

You won't be "chased back" but you can count on not ever legally driving in this country again. Were you charged with speeding or reckless driving (which is a crime)? If it was reckless driving then you are looking at the possibility of being arrested when you enter this country again.

2) The "78mph" listed on the ticket is wrong, I am sure of that. I was going much closer to 70mph and in fact may have been under the 70mph threshold for this offence to have to go straight to court. Could this be a defence? And if so, how would I be able to defend my case if I cannot attend the court date due to being back in the UK?

Is what a defense? Your thought that you couldn't possibly be driving that fast? Based upon what? Even if that WAS a defense how can you possibly defend yourself without appearing in court?

3) Again, going back to the "do-nothing" option, would this be traced back to me by the hire car company? Or is the fine only related to the person and not the car/insurance?

I don't think any of this would involved the vehicle owner.

4) If you believe the best option would be to hire an attorney, do you have a rough idea as to what the total costs of this would be? And does anybody have any suggestions for a Dare County attorney firm that may be most appropriate (and lowest cost!)

We do not recommend attorneys here. I'm sure you can use Google just as the rest of us can.
 

LukeN10

Junior Member
To state that a bit differently, you don't have any idea how fast you were actually going.

No, that would be an incorrect statement. To be a bit more specific, I was travelling between 68 and 72mph. To be exact on this is virtually impossible given that I am unsure exactly when the officer took my speed. But to reiterate the point I was making, I was definitely NOT travelleing at 78mph as the ticket states.
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
So by your own admission, you were likely going fast enough to justify what you were charged with. Even if you were 100% dead on balls accurate certain that you were going 69, you wouldn't prevail in court. Your testimony is not as credible as the state's expert witness.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
No, that would be an incorrect statement. To be a bit more specific, I was travelling between 68 and 72mph. To be exact on this is virtually impossible given that I am unsure exactly when the officer took my speed. But to reiterate the point I was making, I was definitely NOT travelleing at 78mph as the ticket states.

FlyingRon said it well, but I want to reiterate this: You really cannot answer with any certainty as to what speed you were going, whereas the officer can.

Officer: LukeN10 was observed traveling 78 mph.
vs.
LukeN10: I don't really know how fast I was going, but I believe it was somewhere in the general neighborhood of, oh, about 68-72...


Who is more credible?
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
FlyingRon said it well, but I want to reiterate this: You really cannot answer with any certainty as to what speed you were going, whereas the officer can.

Officer: LukeN10 was observed traveling 78 mph.
vs.
LukeN10: I don't really know how fast I was going, but I believe it was somewhere in the general neighborhood of, oh, about 68-72...


Who is more credible?

And 72 is still fast enough to support the higher sanctions on speeding here (15 over or 75 MPH is the law).
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
That's a little tough to swallow considering all the civilian speedometers I've seem are only calibrated in 5 mph increments.

Some speedometers are digital, or, as in my car, I can program the dash to show the speed numerically as well as using the analog gauge. Also, my analog gauges have little tick-marks between the 5mph increments, so I could tell if I was going 67.5 mph vs 70 mph
 

PayrollHRGuy

Senior Member
Some speedometers are digital, or, as in my car, I can program the dash to show the speed numerically as well as using the analog gauge. Also, my analog gauges have little tick-marks between the 5mph increments, so I could tell if I was going 67.5 mph vs 70 mph

But I'd be willing to bet that you have never actually had your speedo checked for accuracy. There is a reason that most police car's speedo has "certified" written somewhere on it.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
But I'd be willing to bet that you have never actually had your speedo checked for accuracy. There is a reason that most police car's speedo has "certified" written somewhere on it.

Irrelevant - (and yes, I have.) My post was in direct response to HighwayMan's post. ;)
 

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