Legal Question in Traffic Law in Ohio

Re: construction zone ticket

There are two issues here. First, the issue of whether the area was posted as a construction zone. Even if the normal speed limit was 65 mph, if it was posted as a construction zone the speed limit would be reduced to 55 mph.

The second issue is your actual speed: 75 mph. Since 75 mph is 10 miles over the posted limit of 65, mph, it is unlikely that the Court will have much sympathy for you. However, the fines in construction zones are normally higher, and the points would be higher, so it might make sense to contest this ticket if you have a points problem.

Re: construction zone ticket

Because you were going 75, even if the speed limit was 65 you would have been speeding and therefore could be ticketed. If there are no signs stating the 55 speed limit throughout the area, you may be able to get the charge reduced to just a normal speeding - which is generally cheaper than speeding in a construction zone.

While you can try to do this by yourself, you are generally much better off having an attorney try to speak to the prosecutor on your behalf. Sometimes the prosecutor will only make offers to an attorney. Because this is a traffic violation and traffic cases tend to move quickly, I suggest you contact an attorney as soon as possible if you concerned about the ramifications of the violation on your driving record. In the long run it may not be cost effective to hire an attorney, but you can find an attorney who will give a free consultation and honestly tell you whether it would be worth hiring him to fight this for you.

If you have any questions or would like to come in and discuss the merits of hiring an attorney, feel free to contact me.