So Yesterday I was test driving a 1993 2500 Chevy Gas for a friend. (He lives 3 hours away and wanted me to check it out for him.) The owner was with me, and as I was driving he was explaining to me how the diffs had been re-geared from 3.42 to 3.73, and that's why his speedometer was 20 mph off at 65. He told me when we got to the free way to put the needle at 85, and that was 65. So I got the speedo to about 70 before I shifted it into 5th hear, assuming that was about 50-55, and got the needle to 82. The only other car on the road was a buick. I passed under a bridge, and a cop raced out, and pulled me over. He said I was going 82, after I explained that the owner told me the speedometer was off by 20. The owner of the truck had just transfered his plates to his new truck, and plates off of another truck to the truck i was driving. He was able to do this all with one form at a local bank, and it was in his new truck, so the cop followed us back through town to his house. I put the needle directly on the speed limit, and asked the cop when we got back how fast i was going on the various roads i took to get back. He said he wasn't paying attention, but I was, and I knew that in a 35 I was probably doing 25, and in a 25, probably only 20, etc. The officer gave me a ticket even though it was not my truck, and the owner told me wrong. The cop gave the owner a ticket for improper display of license, even though it said right on my ticket the make, model, year, vin, color, and license plate of the truck. What can i do here?

 

Pay it and be glad he didnt give you the other ticket as well. The driver is responsable for everything on the vehicle he is driving.

 

if you're saying you thought the speedo was off, but it wasnt b/c your buddy told you wrong, id say you're pretty much hosed.

 

I would explain it to the judge. They usually fair minded

 

I want the owner to come to court with me to explain that he told me wrong, or to write a notorized letter stating that he told me wrong. I would also like if we checked the speedometer to mile markers along the road, to see how far off it really is, but I don't know if that will help me or not.

 

If the speedo really is off, it still might not matter. The speed limit is the speed limit, if you exceed it, you're breaking the law, whether you know how fast you're going or not.

Hope you get a lenient judge.

 

But if the Judge isn't you are hosed even more. They will charge you court cost. Tell yur buddy about it. If the guy selling doesn't know much about his own truck then I would stay away. Search FML with google. This story should be entered on there.

 

should have let your buddy drive an you ride along...
ficticous tags, speeding, your probably lucky the cop didn't have a dog with him.
driver is also responsible for anything IN the vehicle...

 

The thing to remember is this:

Mistake of fact can be allowed, in some cases.
Mistake of law is never allowed

 

go to speedticketbeaters.com Pay them the fee, print the emails, fight the ticket and win. I did it several times now and will never pay another ticket again without fighting it in court.

 

should have had your gps with you

 

Funny you mention this. You've gotten lucky or had officers who didn't know what they were doing. I've had several people try to fight my speeding tickets with this stuff. I've never lost a speeding case yet, but who am I to say? Maybe he'll get lucky this time. Research of the site though reveals a lot of unhappy customers. By the time he gets done paying for that service, he may as well get a local lawyer who knows what to do in that particular jurisdiction.

Here is one of many instances of dissatisfaction I've found with that site:

http://www.complaintsboard.com/compl...s-c171582.html

 

Suck it up and NEVER let anyone talk you into speeding so easily again

 

I tried the lawyer route, they suck!! Biggest waste of my money ever.

 

If you were speeding, I say just pay it. I don't think operating a vehicle with a broken speedo will justify going 20 over. I would think a reasonable person can tell the difference between 60 and 80. Besides, you will spend a lot of money and time trying to fight this. Just my 2 cents though.