^Know the spot too. They were moving the camera from one side to the other. Good to know they have two now.

Got nailed there, too. Saw the flash, and looked at the camera later in the day on my way home. :grrr:

Yes! This was my exact intention! Good catch by you. You've raised the entire IQ of Dorkiphus, especially when grading on a curve.. :cool:

I try to do my part

sorry you got tagged, good luck

i wonder if it is worth getting representation, is it?

or would you better of just accepting the fine / penalty, how would that be?

Elfer, good luck with the defense. AFAIK, the GW Parkway is enforced by US Park Police, and last I was aware the Park Police weren't hooked into the traffic record database with the States, so the points may not appear on your record (unless something's changed in the past several years....).

As for the "up to 10mph over" leeway, I think that averts wasted time in court for speedometer error claims. Slap a set of taller sized tires on the car, and you can get a dyno to misread by quite a bit. Although I understand that in parts of Europe, auto manufacturers are very liable for a big fine, if any of their cars, which is otherwise OEM equipped, proves to have a speedo that's reading less than the actual speed. I think that's why many Porsches seem to read a bit high (2-4mph over) on the OEM speedo.

GW Parkway tickets are adjudicated in the Federal Court in Alexandria (or at least they used to be). Ask me how I know. The magistrate judges tend to be more equitable in their decisions, so good chance of having fine and points reduced somewhat, but that is a generalization. Good luck.

All of my cars' speedometers read over actual speed, some more than others.

I can dig out my "going to court" skirt I used in college for you to borrow if you like. I always get PBJ - even now that my outfit has changed from "poor innocent school girl" (while in college) to "humble and slightly ditzy middle aged woman but very apologetic" . Always get PBJ. (knocking on wood)

The rates are all about the same -- between $800 and $2k, and most of the higher-end law firms who specialize in RD are about the same. Some cursory research will provide you with a few well-reviewed firms -- they're all the same, really. Just pick one.

It's a genuine racket in VA -- it's a real industry here. For most people, the lawyer will do nothing aside from be the foot-in-the-door required to chat with the officer on the day of the court date. Just a checkbox.

Granted, I don't know your specific circumstances so perhaps the lawyer will come in more handy than she did for me (mine was a simple 20-over jobby on I-66).



On the one hand, paying $1500 to a lawyer who clearly just got her J.D. to put in 15 minutes of work to get my ticket reduced to <10mph speeding ticket seems completely ridiculous. But considering judges are more than happy to suspend a license and/or throw someone in jail for a day when they show up without said lawyer (I watched it happen while I was waiting, twice), it seems like cheap insurance.

FWIW, GW is usually a US Park Police ticket, tried in Federal Court, so completely separate from the VA highway racket.

ed