Pittsburgh Speeding Lawyer
Every driver knows that it is against the law—and dangerous– to exceed the speed limit; yet driving above posted limits is common. In Pennsylvania, speed limits are considered absolute, so you should stick very closely to the speeds that are posted. If you exceed them by a small amount, you’ll get a ticket and a fine. But if you are convicted of exceeding the posted limit by 30 miles per hour or more, you will be facing the more serious charge of reckless driving and may end up spending as much as 90 days in jail, fines of at least $200, and a possible six-month suspension of your driver’s license, not to mention an 8 percent increase in your cost of insurance.With such severe charges and penalties at stake, contact our Pittsburgh speeding lawyer for help. If your speeding has resulted in a death or severe bodily injury, charges may be considerably more serious, including a possible charge of vehicular homicide.
Why You Need an Attorney for Criminal Speeding Charges
If you have been charged with the crime of reckless driving for speeding, you will want to hire an experienced criminal speeding attorney to represent you, in order to avoid the rather dire consequences and disruption of your life and finances that may result from a conviction. Your attorney will work to have the charges dismissed, or if this is not possible given the circumstances, to negotiate a plea agreement that will reduce the charges against you to a simple traffic violation. If you have a past record of reckless driving and you were clocked at an extremely excessive speed, a conviction may be unavoidable, but having a good criminal defense attorney can prevent you from having to serve jail time and may help you to obtain a hardship license that will allow you to continue driving for employment purposes. Your lawyer may also be able to help you get your record expunged after five years.
Possible Legal Defenses to Speeding Charges
Because the doctrine of strict liability applies to speeding charges, the prosecutor needs only to prove that you were driving over the posted speed limit to obtain a conviction. Nevertheless, a good lawyer can often challenge the charges with an effective defense that raises doubt concerning the reliability of the evidence against you, for example:
- You were caused to speed by some dangerous actions of a law enforcement officer.
- A sudden emergency occurred which you could only avoid by driving over the speed limit.
- You were not the driver of the vehicle that was clocked speeding.
- Your vehicle was not the vehicle that was speeding.
- The law enforcement officer who arrested or cited you was from another jurisdiction, and he was not in “hot pursuit” of your speeding car.
- The radar equipment or laser gun used by the officer was not properly maintained and may not have been functioning properly.
- A reflective surface in the area made an accurate radar reading impossible.
- The laser gun was measuring some other moving object or another vehicle.
- A defect in your vehicle (for example a stuck gas pedal) caused you to speed, and the manufacturer of the car or the braking equipment, not you, is to blame.
These defenses can be quite tricky and complicated, requiring an understanding of the technical details of the functioning of the equipment involved, so having a savvy criminal speeding lawyer representing you is of paramount importance if you hope to beat the charge.
The Legal Help You Need From a Pittsburgh Criminal Speeding Lawyer
In Pittsburgh or anywhere in Western Pennsylvania, if you or someone close to you has been pulled over and charged with criminal speeding, waste no time in contacting the law offices of attorney Gary Gerson. Gary has accumulated extensive experience in defending drivers against criminal speeding charges in his 25-plus years of practicing criminal law and has an excellent record of beating or reducing the charges and avoiding the serious consequences to your freedom, your reputation, and your ability to continue working when you’ve been accused.
In any criminal case, Gary Gerson will work tirelessly to ensure that the prosecutor fails to meet the standard of proof required for a conviction ̶ “beyond a reasonable doubt” ̶ by raising questions as to the validity of the evidence on which your charge is based. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Gary will take every possible step to cast doubt upon any evidence presented by the prosecutor as proof of your guilt.
Choose an attorney with the years of experience and a track record of success to achieve the best possible outcome for you and those who depend on you. You kept well informed and involved in decisions-making at every stage of the process. It will be your choice as to whether you wish to accept a plea bargain, if one is offered, or continue on to trial. Put an end to the stress and uncertainty today by calling the Gerson law offices to learn how we can help.
