There are several different speeding tickets you can receive in San Diego Traffic Court. There are basic speed law violations under VC 22350 which is typically for speeding tickets on streets. There are speeding violations for exceeding set speed limits like speeding over 55 mph, speeding over 65 mph, and some locations in San Diego County have speed limits of 70 mph. There is also speeding over 100 mph which is the most serious speeding violation under vehicle code section 22348(b). 

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Fines and Punishments for Speeding Tickets

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Fines

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The fines for speeding tickets are determined by how many miles per hour (mph) you are over the speed limit.

 

1-15 mph Over the Limit: If you were cited for going 1-15 mph over the posted speed limit your fine would be in the lowest fine bracket, which is a fine of $234.

 

16-25 mph: If you are cited for between 16-25 mph over the speed limit you are in the middle fine bracket and the fine is $363.

 

More than 25 mph Over: If you were going more than 25 mph over the limit, then the fine is $486.

 

Speeding Over 100 mph (VC 22348(b)): The punishment for speeding over 100 mph is the most severe punishment on a speeding ticket and includes a fine of $1,310, it would be two points on your driving record, a 30 day license suspension, and depending on which court your ticket is in you may also have to do an in person 16 hour traffic school which does not hide the points. 

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If you have prior tickets on your record, the court also increases the fines for having priors, so these numbers would be a little higher.

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Traffic School Fee: The court will also add a $52 administrative fee on all tickets for the ability to attend traffic school. If you have received a courtesy notice from the court you will see a listing for "Total Bail" and one for "Traffic School" below it. The Total Bail is the fine amount for the ticket. The amount next to Traffic School is the total amount on the ticket which is the fine amount plus the $52 added to it. You do not pay both amounts, just the amount next to Traffic School.  

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How Do Speeding Tickets Impact My Driving Record? 

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Points: Speeding tickets count as one point on your driving record. If you plead guilty to the speeding violation and do not attend traffic school, you will get a point on your record which can have an impact on your auto insurance rates. 

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How to Avoid Points Going on Your Driving Records?

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Dismissal or Traffic School: To avoid the point from a speeding violation, or any other one point offense, you can either fight the ticket and try to get it dismissed, or attend traffic school. Traffic school is designed to be an 8 hour class which is typically completed online these days. There are hundreds of options to choose from and the costs range from $5 to $30 depending on which one your choose. Once you have complete traffic school online, the traffic school will electronically notify the court that you have completed traffic school and the court hides the point from being reported to your insurance company. 

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So, to avoid a point you would either want to fight the ticket to see if you can get the charges dismissed, and if you cannot get the charges dismissed, then you could use traffic school as a fall back position to keep the point from going on your driving record. 

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Options for Dealing with Your Speeding Ticket:

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There are there three ways to deal with your ticket: 

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(1) Just pay the ticket and do the traffic school. This is the quickest way to resolve the ticket, it hides the point, and you can do this on the court's website without ever going to court. The drawback is there is no chance of a dismissal and you cannot do traffic school on any other tickets for another 18 months, so any other tickets you get you would for sure need to fight.

 

(2) Option two would be you go to court for the two hearings to contest the ticket and see if you can get the ticket dismissed on the trial date. The benefit of this option is it gives you a chance for a dismissal saving traffic school and the fine if the ticket is dismissed. The drawback is spending a several hours at court for the two hearings, missing work and the expense of getting to court.

 

(3) Option three would be to have an attorney, like us, handle the court hearings and see if we can get the ticket dismissed. The benefit is you do not have to go to court as we take care of the two hearings for you and give you an experienced attorney to evaluate the officer's evidence to see if we can find a way to get the ticket dismissed. We cannot guarantee the ticket will be dismissed, so you could end up spending an extra $125 on the ticket. 

 

Next step, is figuring out which option works best for you. If you have any questions, please let us know. 

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If you want to read over the actual speeding vehicle code sections they are below

 

California Vehicle Code Section 22349 Maximum Speed Limit

 

Maximum Speed Limit

22349.  (a) Except as provided in Section 22356, no person may drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 65 miles per hour.

 

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person may drive a vehicle upon a two-lane, undivided highway at a speed greater than 55 miles per hour unless that highway, or portion thereof, has been posted for a higher speed by the Department of Transportation or appropriate local agency upon the basis of an engineering and traffic survey. For purposes of this subdivision, the following apply:

(1) A two-lane, undivided highway is a highway with not more than one through lane of travel in each direction.

(2) Passing lanes may not be considered when determining the number of through lanes.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that there be reasonable signing on affected two-lane, undivided highways described in subdivision (b) in continuing the 55 miles-per-hour speed limit, including placing signs at county boundaries to the extent possible, and at other appropriate locations.

 

 

California Vehicle Code Section 22350 Basic Speed Law

 

A second speeding ticket violation may be a violation of the "Basic Speed Law" under California Vehicle Code section 22350: 
 

Basic Speed Law

22350.  No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

 

California Vehicle Code Section 22348(b): Speeding over 100 miles per hour (MPH)

 

Excessive Speed and Designated Lane Use

22348.  (a) Notwithstanding subdivision (b) of Section 22351, a person shall not drive a vehicle upon a highway with a speed limit established pursuant to Section 22349 or 22356 at a speed greater than that speed limit.

 

(b) A person who drives a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than 100 miles per hour is guilty of an infraction punishable, as follows:

(1) Upon a first conviction of a violation of this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500). The court may also suspend the privilege of the person to operate a motor vehicle for a period not to exceed 30 days pursuant to Section 13200.5.

(2) Upon a conviction under this subdivision of an offense that occurred within three years of a prior offense resulting in a conviction of an offense under this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750). The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 13355.

(3) Upon a conviction under this subdivision of an offense that occurred within five years of two or more prior offenses resulting in convictions of offenses under this subdivision, by a fine of not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13355.

(c) A vehicle subject to Section 22406 shall be driven in a lane designated pursuant to Section 21655, or if a lane has not been so designated, in the right-hand lane for traffic or as close as practicable to the right-hand edge or curb. When overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction, the driver shall use either the designated lane, the lane to the immediate left of the right-hand lane, or the right-hand lane for traffic as permitted under this code. If, however, specific lane or lanes have not been designated on a divided highway having four or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, a vehicle may also be driven in the lane to the immediate left of the right-hand lane, unless otherwise prohibited under this code. This subdivision does not apply to a driver who is preparing for a left- or right-hand turn or who is in the process of entering into or exiting from a highway or to a driver who is required necessarily to drive in a lane other than the right-hand lane to continue on his or her intended route.

 

A speeding ticket for speeding over 100 mph will carry a one month suspension of your driver's license if you are found guilty of that offense.  

 

If you have received a citation for a speeding ticket here in San Diego County, call today!