fyi for those of you in the lucky states. As always, if you plead guilty or just take traffic school, you're screwed. Otherwise, cite your state's VC for this.

In states without official tolerance, if you're feeling plucky and want to take the risk of being refused traffic school since you fought your ticket, you can try citing the Federal advisory of a +5 mph tolerance to all states. This is for those of you who gets real unlucky and has a police officer actually pull you over for doing 60 in a 55 zone (as opposed to being nice to you and writes you for 60 even though you were really doing 66)

The official tolerance vechicle codes of various states:

Official Tolerance
Some states have laws providing that points are not assessed for minor speeding. On freeways in the daytime the tolerance is 5 MPH in Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Wyoming; 10 MPH in Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Montana, and West Virginia; and 15 MPH in Georgia. South Dakota doesn't assess points for speeding. Minnesota (171.12(6)) and Arizona do not have points for speeding in some 55 zones. A new Ohio law prohibit points for speeding 10 miles per hour or less over a limit of 55 or higher, or 5 miles per hour or less over a speed limit below 55. Connecticut doesn't assess points for speeding less than 85 MPH if one pleads guilty by mail, but may revoke a license based on multiple convictions or guilty pleas notwithstanding the point total. Nevada doesn't assess points for speeding 5 or less over a 60-70 MPH limit in the daytime and outside of a county with a population greater than 100,000. New Mexico doesn't assess points for speeding 75 or less outside a residential zone, for speeding 5 or less over any limit, or for speeding in rural areas. Pennsylvania doesn't allow radar or laser tickets for less than 6 over the limit (or less than 11 over a limit less than 55 MPH), and only State Police can use radar or laser. Except by the State Patrol, radar and VASCAR can't be used in Georgia to write a ticket for 10 or less over the limit outside a residential area or school zone.

 

Very interesting.

 

I see that CA is not one of the tolerant states.

 

nothing on MA huh?

 

nope - but unless you come off with an attitude, a CA judge should be very reasonable to the Federal Advisory of a +5 mph tolerance if for some unfortunate reason you legitimately get ticketed for doing only 59-60 in a 55 mph zone.

personally, i've never had that happen but I always read stories of guys claiming the cop was having a bad day or whatever and chose to ticket them for doing exactly 59 mph in a 55 zone or whatever. In that case, I'd fight it with the Federal Advisory to all states for +5 mph tolerance, and even if the judge says no, you still have a good shot for traffic school because you weren't so much denying guilt as asking for the judge to go along with a Federal Advisory.