Q: I was pulled over by a state trooper for speeding. Flow of traffic is 65 including the officer. He cut me off by coming
into my lane about 3 quarters of the way with no blinker and then swerving back to his lane, there was no reason to come into mine as it was merging in 1000 feet. He then speeds up to around 75-80 MPH and slows down then does it again with no lights or sirens. He is ahead of the traffic and slows down to about 55-60 MPH. As the traffic and myself catch up I change lanes and he is riding beside me. He then hits his brakes and pulls me over. He said I was doing 71 in a 55 which I was going between 65-70. Then I handed him the wrong registration on accident for an 04 Mazda Rx8 when I have a 2014 Mazda 3. He marks my car as 04 on the ticket and make and model as 4 door. Nothing was mentioned of me handing him the wrong one. I feel he was useing a technique called pacing, or trying to influence traffic to speed up. Would I be able to fight this?
A: You should consult with a local attorney to discuss possible defenses. A judge will probably not be interested in the officer's actions or the alleged speed of the flow of traffic, but other defenses may be available, depending on what method the trooper used to confirm your speed. It may also benefit you to get a calibration certificate for your speedometer, since you disagree with his determination of speed.
A: With an experienced traffic attorney, you could win on the pacing since the officer will require the speedometer calibration certificate for the vehicle he was driving, as well explaining how he maintained speed and distance for at least .2 miles. A good cross examination will involve the errors on your ticket. Click on "find a lawyer".
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