Fighting the system with the system - Speeding ticket win

[nthfinity]

Speeding ticket challenge upheld in Washtenaw County Circuit Court

Posted by Susan L. Oppat | The Ann Arbor News (http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/about.html) August 22, 2008 19:34PM

Categories: Breaking News (http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/breaking_news/), Top Stories (http://blog.mlive.com/annarbornews/top_stories/)
An Ann Arbor judge's decision to throw out two speeding tickets last January - along with the way the city sets speed limits - was upheld on appeal in Washtenaw County Circuit Court on Friday.
But while Ann Arbor officials took steps last March to avert further challenges, the attorney who won the case said he doesn't believe the city could beat a new challenge.
Two Ann Arbor residents who were ticketed for speeding last year challenged the legality of the posted speed limits. They based their argument on a 2006 state Motor Vehicle Code that requires the use of the number of access points - driveways and intersections along a half-mile stretch of road - to set speed limits. The fewer access points, the higher the speed that must be set under the law.
One of the ticketed drivers, James Walker, is a recognized expert on speed limits. He's testified before state lawmakers on setting 85th percentile speed limits.

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National studies indicate that setting limits at or below the speed that 85 percent of drivers travel reduces friction between drivers and boosts safety. Walker said Ann Arbor's posted limits typically fall in the 10th to 30th percentile of the speeds drivers actually travel.
Walker's attorney, John Shea, argued that the city cannot legally set a limit other that what's allowed under the access-point law unless it adopts the 2006 Uniform Traffic Code, which allows cities to use the 85th percentile formula.
Assistant City Attorney Bob West argued in January that state legislators couldn't have intended when they wrote the access-point law to use such a "simplistic" formula to set speed limits.
While 15th District Judge Julie Creal agreed, she said she couldn't ignore the law.
West argued Friday that the law is "fatally flawed."
True or not, Circuit Judge Timothy Connors said Friday, courts only apply laws. He said changes should be addressed to lawmakers.
After Creal threw out the tickets, the city repealed its adoption of the access-point portion of the Motor Vehicle Code in favor of its own rules.

Contact reporter Susan Oppat at [email protected]
or 734-482-1166.

City Attorney Stephen Postema said he doesn't believe the city code conflicts with state law, even though it doesn't use either the 85th percentile or access points to set speed limits. He said the city has some flexibility through the Home Rule City Act to create its own code. However, a provision of the act specifically orders that "no provision of any city charter shall conflict with or contravene the provisions of any general law of the state."
Shea said the question now is whether anyone who gets a ticket in Ann Arbor will spend a couple thousand dollars in attorney's fees to overturn city code. If they do, he said, he believes they would win.



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Background; Jim is a good friend of mine; who is a an expert on state, local, and federal law regarding roads, transportation, speeding etc. Jim received a ticket; which he knows breaks the said laws. On the principal, he has fought the system successfully on two rounds now. If you receive a speeding ticket, make sure to get ALL the information about the road traveled, speed set, and laws in setting that speed before simply paying out.

[Mattk]

Out of anything he can be an expert on, he chooses speed limits?! Crazy! Nice work in thinking up that wild argument, though.

Circuit Courts do not create binding precedents. I'm very surprised that the circuit judge was allowed to adjudicate on the legality of a legislative instrument as that is the role of a superior court. The upshot of that is that nothing has happened beyond the facts of this case. However, this does seem like a sound decision as cities cannot create laws either. They are bound by the acts that create them. I don't think the city will appeal and this weird case will stay in Ann Arbor, where it probably belongs.

To be honest, I think this 85th percentile formula is rubbish. It's too simplistic and will result in inaccuracy unless further study into road use and the road itself is undertaken.

[nthfinity]

Out of anything he can be an expert on, he chooses speed limits?! Crazy! Nice work in thinking up that wild argument, though.
He's a former multi SCCA Rally champion; what would you do in your retirement?

Circuit Courts do not create binding precedents. I'm very surprised that the circuit judge was allowed to adjudicate on the legality of a legislative instrument as that is the role of a superior court. The upshot of that is that nothing has happened beyond the facts of this case. However, this does seem like a sound decision as cities cannot create laws either. They are bound by the acts that create them. I don't think the city will appeal and this weird case will stay in Ann Arbor, where it probably belongs. Ann Arbor isn't unlike the courts surrounding San Francisco; where legislating from the bench isn't terribly uncommon. In fact, the first judge felt the law was wrong, but saw that the city could not win; to which the city appealed.

This article is the result of the second win, which the county judge is much more of a strict constructionist. The letter of the law is just that; as is the language used. I'll find out this week if the city appeals a second time. They are also showing no interest in reconsidering their city - held belief that they can create their own speed limits.


To be honest, I think this 85th percentile formula is rubbish. It's too simplistic and will result in inaccuracy unless further study into road use and the road itself is undertaken.Then you don't know the science, and data behind it. Calling something rubbish because you think its simple is rubbish itself ;) The science is well established for going on 70 years now.

Since the national speed limit has been raised from 55 mph, the rate of accidents have fallen ;)

the 85th percentile is where a majority of the drivers out there naturally drive. Death rates and accident rates are determined largely by outliers. Think of creating a bell curve on the number of drivers driving at certain rates of speed. The outliers are what cause the accidents.

again, the science is well established ;)

http://www.motorists.org/speedlimits/

http://www.dma.org/~ganotedp/85th.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_limit

[HeilSvenska]

Precedent! Precedent!

[Mattk]

No, I think the 85th percentile science is valid, but the formula is flawed as it does not take into account extrinsic factors. It just encourages a blanket use, rather than further analysis. However, having read those links, it seems in practice people aren't so dumb as to just do some calculations and whack on a speed limit.

I think the city has really fucked up here, and the solution is to either hire some crafty lawyers to draft a more appropriate ordnance, or give up. City ordnances cannot explicitly contradict acts of the legislative body that created the city itself (and gave them the power). I'd say give up.