We all speed. Let’s just get right out there and admit it. What separates us on a daily basis from people that get speeding tickets is we are luckier than they are (or we’re smart enough to slow down where we know the cops are going to be). And trust me when I say some people are unluckier than others (I’m a Seattle traffic attorney and I see the same people in my office all the time).

When you get a speeding ticket the first thing people think about is how to beat it. They’ll look the ticket up and down looking for a problem, think about all of the ways the cops were mean to them or gave them inconsistent statements (for example, the cops telling you you were clocked at 75 in a 60 and then the ticket says 65 in a 60), and do whatever else they can to rationalize a way the ticket can be beat.

Well, I’m here to tell you, if your argument to the judge in any way starts like this, “I was speeding, but” or “I know I was going over the speed limit, but,” or “I had to speed up to avoid…” then be prepared for the judge to listen intently and then find that you’ve committed the infraction. Why would they do this? Well, speeding is speeding. There aren’t any affirmative defenses (defenses that work automatically, like self-defense, for example) to speeding. If you go over the speed limit, you are toast.

So, how does a traffic attorney beat a speeding ticket? We lawyer it up just like any other attorney would do for any other case. We look for procedural problems. We look for proof problems. We look for evidence problems. We look for any reason for the judge to not accept the ticket or the statements as valid. And we win. A lot.

If you are considering fighting your speeding ticket, don’t include as a part of your defense that you were speeding but have a good excuse. It just isn’t going to work.