I was cited by CHP for not having a seat belt on. On the ticket, the citation # is correct but the cop wrote "speeding" next to it. There is nothing written on the ticket regarding my speed.
Is this grounds for dismissal or I just pissin' in the wind?
BK
As a former Traffic Court Judge in NY state what this would say to me is that the officer found you speeding but cut you a break by writing you for a seat belt infraction. In NYS the office has the option of rewriting the ticket if there is a simple mistake on it, most likely it's the same in Cal. There is a question if the mistake is in the violation sec. # or in the violation name (Speeding or No seat belt). I'd plead to the seat belt if I got the chance and pray they didn't rewrite it as a speeding ticket. There is always the question of how fast the unbuckled seat belt was going when the office observed it. My .02
Go to court; the officer might not show up. If he fails to show, your ticket is dismissed.
If he does show, ask him to re-write per the seat-belt as advised by a previous poster.
If he won't re-write or wants to re-write the other way (for speeding and not seat-belt), argue to the judge or commissioner that the officer has not made the necessary on the spot identification of your offense. You have a right to know the proper charge when you show up in court so you may prepare your defense; deny you were speeding and plead to the seat belt.
Question: have you prior speeding or moving violations which tend to show you're a high risk driver? If so, it's a more difficult problem as to your credibility. Even though it's not supposed to count, it does.
Keep us posted.
to cite me for. Frankly, I'd be slightly more resigned to paying a speeding ticket as speed and infractions of that type are preemptive to accidents.
No one has ever CAUSED an accident by not wearing a seatbelt.