I took a photo of a speeding ticket I got from one of those photo radars on BR-101. The fine arrived at my house but I think my car's speedometer was miscalibrated. Is there any way to contest it or do I have to pay anyway?
You can contest it, yeah, but you need concrete proof - a recent speedometer calibration done at an authorized shop is essential, otherwise the argument won't hold up. The process is done through an administrative appeal filed directly with the JARI (Junta Administrativa de Recursos de Infrações) or the traffic authority responsible, and that's when you present the documentation proving your car's speedometer was miscalibrated on the date of the ticket.
It's no use contesting it just because "I think" the speedometer was miscalibrated - the police will ask for proof, and getting a letter from an authorized technician after the fact isn't that easy. The right way is to send an administrative appeal to the traffic police station or DETRAN (depends on your state), but with actual documentation from the shop showing that your car was calibrated and it was wrong, and ideally with a date pretty close to the fine so it has credibility. If you think the photo itself has a technical problem or the radar was out of calibration, then yeah, you can try contesting it from another angle, but a miscalibrated speedometer without concrete proof is pretty unlikely to work.
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