Speed Contests
What counts as a violation of Vehicle Code § 23109(a)?
Vehicle Code § 23109(a) makes it a crime for a person to engage in a “motor vehicle speed contest” on a highway. A motor vehicle speed contest includes a motor vehicle race against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device.
However, an event in which the time to cover a prescribed route of more than 20 miles is measured, but where the vehicle does not exceed the speed limits, is not a speed contest.
What is the punishment for a violation of Vehicle Code § 23109(a)?
A violation under Vehicle Code § 23109(a) is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not less than 24 hours nor more than 90 days or by a fine of not less than three hundred fifty-five dollars ($355) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment. That person shall also be required to perform 40 hours of community service.
The court may order the privilege to operate a motor vehicle suspended for 90 days to six months, as provided in Vehicle Code § 13352(a)(8). The person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle may be restricted for 90 days to six months to necessary travel to and from that person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving in that person’s scope of employment.
However, a court may grant probation in a suitable case.
What defenses are available to Vehicle Code § 23109(a)?
- You were not actually speeding
- You were not racing against another vehicle, a clock, or other timing device
