GINA B. GOOD / PVT Michael Brunet stands in front of the doors to the Pahrump Justice Court, ready to question the deputy who cited him for speeding. Advertisement

Michael Brunet was ready for his day in court last month.

He had researched the Nevada Revised Statues (NRS) and spent 14 hours completing a summation to represent himself in a Traffic Court bench trial before Justice of the Peace Tina Brisebill.

So it's no wonder he had mixed feelings when his case was dismissed before it even started.

He was happy he didn't have to pay a fine for his May 2008 speeding ticket. But on the other hand, he didn't get to make his case.

When Brunet was a courier in California, he watched his speedometer roll forward 170,000 miles a year without really thinking much about it.

Even though he's no longer driving for a living, Brunet still puts his fair share of miles on his personal vehicle and confesses he occasionally puts the pedal to the metal when the road is clear of other traffic.

Brunet also admits he's had more than a few speeding tickets, but he was surprised to be ticketed for going 43 miles an hour in the 35 mile per hour zone on Pahrump Valley Boulevard near Honeysuckle Park, between Mt. Charleston Drive and Calvada Boulevard.

The deputy who ticketed him told Burnet he was operating under a "no tolerance" dictate. According to Brunet, who later decided to observe the area for a few days, Nye County's coffers benefited greatly from the deputy's diligence.

"The deputy wrote at least 50 citations at that same spot," said Brunet, who was alerted by a friend that there could be a way to contest his speeding ticket. "I was told about an article in the Pahrump Valley Times that quoted Sheriff DeMeo saying the speed limits aren't legal," Brunet said.

The July 4, 2008, article mentioned an attempt by Nye County commissioners to change and establish speed limits on various roads in Pahrump had failed because they first had to pass an ordinance, although they had been changing speed limits for some years with a simple majority vote.

So Brunet was ready to challenge not just his own ticket, but to prove by quoting appropriate statutes that none of the various speed limits established by the commissioners are valid.

However, on the day of Brunet's hearing, DeMeo spoke to Nye County Deputy District Attorney Charlie Watkins and had the charges dropped, saying the speed limit for the entire town is 25 mph on any non-paved road and 45 mph on any paved road.

The only exceptions are school speed zones which are strictly enforced as posted. NRS chapter 484 addresses traffic laws and restrictions on speed. NRS 484.366 establishes a speed of 15 mph for a designated school zone and 25 mph in areas designated as school crossing zones.

"The 35 mph posted limit on Pahrump Valley Boulevard between Calvada Boulevard and Highway 372 is not enforceable because it was not done using the correct procedure," stated DeMeo.

Surprisingly, admitted speeder Brunet wants speed limits legally established. "Limits can be set by the town board or board of county commissioners by ordinance," he said.

"I went to court to fight and I knew I would win because I had a strong defense. I got the ticket on May 2, 2008. I actually came prepared to grill the deputy on the law and the statutes. I was actually looking forward to putting up a heck of a fight. At the pretrial, I was told to shut up and sit down. They offered me a minimum speeding fine and a point on my record.

Traffic law is a positive-revenue business, Brunet said. "It's a major source of income for a municipality. First you get the basic fine.

"According to the NRS, there is no legally enforceable traffic speed rate in Nye County except for highway travel. The Department of Transportation can set a highway speed limit not to exceed 75 mph. The county commissioners don't get it. They keep talking about changing the speed limits. They don't understand they can't change the speed limits because there are no speed limits. The commissioners have to establish the basic speed rates for the whole county."

The Pahrump Town Board can also enact a town ordinance establishing residential speed limits, once traffic surveys have been completed by the county or town.