<p>Harvest moon, that is so strange. Mostly curious, this was from a local police force, not the state police or sheriff? </p>
<p>Personally it sounds like you got caught in a speed trap. Going 13 miles over? I’m not going to say what I think, it will get me in trouble. </p>
<p>I have found that michigan is lenient in issuing speeding tickets and then the officer put your moms info in. I would definitely look into this. </p>
<p>I know your mom was mad but I hope she calms down and helps you figure this out. </p>
<p>No, @deb922, it was actually the sheriff’s department.</p>
<p>And I KNOW 13 over is horrible, but I only did that because I thought I was still on the expressway. It’s hard to explain and I don’t want to say exactly where in Michigan I was at, but it’s a part where there are many expressways merging onto other expressways and I thought it was one of those situations. So yes, it indeed was a speed trap. </p>
<p>I normally don’t EVER speed and if the ticket is reissued in my name, I will explain all of this to the magistrate.</p>
<p>I’m told if the officer misspells your name on the ticket, it is tossed. Not an expert, but I’d think this kind of snafu is also grounds to toss the ticket. Please share the outcome as I’m curious what they’ll say/do. Good luck!</p>
<p>“Okay, I’m sorry, but I’m getting conflicting advice here… so I take it that we SHOULD start with calling the officer or his supervisor and explaining what happened in lieu of just making a hearing and trying to explain it there, but what should we say, exactly? I should call and say “i got a speeding ticket but it was issued to my mother since I was driving her car, so rewrite it” or “i got a speeding ticket but it was issued to my mother since I was driving her car, so dismiss it”?”</p>
<p>When you call just state the facts and ask what to do. I have to believe that they will know how to handle it. If you call and say that you want it dismissed it sounds like you are trying to get way with something.</p>
<p>There should be a DL number on the ticket. Is it yours or your mothers? I have never seen a DL on a registration. If the officer put your DL on the ticket and her name/address, the ticket will get thrown out, as they do not match up. </p>
<p>In our state, we have to provide our DL info to register cars (has to do with taxation, the specifics of which are not relevant to this thread). It is possible that if the same system exists in Michigan, the DL info of the registerd owner would have been pulled up. Maybe the cop decided that it was easier to write the info off his computer screen than off a tiny piece of plastic. Female, same last name… Gotta be the same person. </p>
<p>^ yep, gotta be the same person even though my mother is in her 50s, short, and has brown hair & blue eyes and I’m 20 years old, tall, and have blonde hair & green eyes I’m now starting to find this humorous, lol.</p>
<p>My mom’s friend said he’d look into it for us and see what he can do. He said this can maybe get worked out without going to court, but he can’t guarantee anything. So, going through the sheriff’s office IS the way to go at first. </p>
<p>He also said that this kind of error was a goof by the officer because he either didn’t import my DL info to the ticket or didnt check to make sure the names matched. </p>
<p>The most straightforward approach is to plead “not guilty” by mail (don’t go to court for the arraignment), get a court date, and show up with proof of where you were immediately prior to and immediately after the time of the citation (and the same with your mom). Present this as evidence (3 copies- one for you one for the judge, and one for the officer) at the court.</p>
<p>Request the ticket be dismissed.</p>
<p>Don’t make your mom hassle with this. And don’t discuss whether or not YOU were speeding; that is an altogether different matter than the matter documented by the ticket. Your job is to present the facts pertaining to the accusation. The judge’s job is to make a legal determination based on the facts.</p>
<p>The judge will either decide the officer needs to be less sloppy and will dismiss the ticket, or s/he will decide the “right thing to do” (regardless of the law) is to transfer the ticket to your name, and find you guilty. No big deal either way, and s/he SHOULD send a message to the cop to be more careful in filling out citations IMHO.</p>
<p>Update: my mom talked to an officer friend of hers, and he called the officer who wrote the ticket. The ticket was already put into the system, so my mom’s friend told her to call and set up a court hearing and to call him when she gets the date. Once she has the date, my mom will call her friend who will call the officer, who will then explain his mistake to the judge and will get the ticket dismissed.</p>
<p>I know my mom’s friend said he’s trying to avoid anyone from missing work by going to a court hearing, so I’m not sure if my mom actually has to go or if they can get this cleared up beforehand. I also don’t know for sure that it will be dismissed (that’s what my mom said, but I don’t know if that’s her relaying her friend’s words or her just assuming).</p>
<p>I’ll let you all know what happens in the end so that anyone else in this situation can know how it works! </p>