Speeding Tickets

[SirPeale]

Not to get into a long story, but who has experience with getting out of a speeding ticket?

[grantspain]

i got out of one in the u.k,i was speeding on the motorway at about 90 mph when a traffic cop(who was hiding in front of a lorry) spotted me and pulled me over,lucky for me i saw him just as i  passed and slowed down,even so he pulled me over to the hard shoulder and asked me how fast i thought i was going,i said about 75mph(legal is 70mph) he said more like 90mph ,i said i had to speed out of the way of the lorry which i thought was about to enter my lane to which he just hummed and then spotting my chelsea football club shirt asked me if i had gone the cup final the previous weekend(which i had) and then told me to be on my way and slow down in future

[missioncontrol]

In NC you just show up and they'll reduce it, but you won't get out of it......

and if you do try to fight it, well then they won't reduce it.........

[AtomSmasher]

One time a cop pulled me over for speeding and asked why I was speeding and I said "Stupidity."  He replied "Good answer" and let me off with a warning.  This story doesn't help you at all, I just thought I'd share 

[Dartful Dodger]

Instead of checking not guilty and going to traffic school, you can go to court.  I usually go to court and plead guilty, I get supervision and it's taken off my record if I don't get another ticket within 6 months.

In Illinois it's a 75 dollar fine if you go to court and 125 dollar fine if you go to traffic school.

If there's more to this story and you'll lose your license if you plead guilty, than you should get a lawyer.

Friends of mine always go to court with a lawyer, they tell me I should never plead guilty to a ticket.  It doesn't make any sense to me because you can get supervision, and have it taken off your record anyway.

[SirPeale]

If there's more to this story and you'll lose your license if you plead guilty, than you should get a lawyer.

Friends of mine always go to court with a lawyer, they tell me I should never plead guilty to a ticket.  It doesn't make any sense to me because you can get supervision, and have it taken off your record anyway.

Actually, it's nothing like that.  This is the first ticket I've had in ten years, and that I didn't deserve either.

I drive like an old man, so I've been told.  Almost always under the speed limit, no more than 5MPH if I do.

There's a  H U G E  hill between Keene and Brattleboro, fairly steep, but straight.  First you have to go waaaaay up it, then come down the other side.

So when I crest the hill, I don't hit the gas, I just coast.

Because the hill is straight, I'm not worried about 'suprises' around the corner and whatnot, and the speed of the vehicle comes back down to 55MPH at the bottom.

So there's a cop about 1/2 way down the hill.  I don't think anything of it, until he's pulling me over.

70 in a 55, and I really think that's pushing it.  65 likely, considering the hill.

I just can't afford the ticket or the inevitable insurance hike, so I was looking to fight.

[Dartful Dodger]

Since you already have the ticket, getting a lawyer may be your only option.  You'll need to ask someone from your own state.

You could try to argue your own case, but then it's your word against an assumed impartial officer.

In Illinois you can role the dice and see if the officer doesn't show up(that's what I do), if he's there I plead guilty and then I get supervision.

Like I said in Illinois, it's a $75 fine and it doesn't go on your record, which is cheaper than $250 for a lawyer. Even with a lawyer you're still rolling the dice to see if it gets thrown out.

You should look in the phone book for a traffic lawyer, call one up and see what they say.

[SirPeale]

It's a seventy-five dollar ticket.  That's not terrible, but the raised insurance would be.

Most of the things I've seen online have been about arguing your own case.  Seems doable.

[JoeJoe97]

Generally you get it reduced to no points, AKA not going on your record.  The tradeoff is they usually hit you with a steeper fine.  A buddy of mine just went.  Here in Milwaukee they just have a book.  They look up your ticket and give you a list of what you can plead guilty to. 

Maybe other states are different, but in WI I would expect $75 to be the cheapest upfront it will be, but you can likely keep it from hitting your insurance.  Whether or not it is worth it you'd have to check with your insurance.

[hyiu]

here's my $0.002 cents of experience...

- first, be polite... (yes, I know it is frustrating... ) and at times, its even unfair...
but if you got angry and impolite, it will not get you anywhere...
having said that... hope you kept your cool that day....

- because cops WROTE DOWN whatever and all on their pad when they give tickets.... so, whatever you told him that day out on the road, he WILL REMEMBER.... so, whatever it is, don't change your story...

- my personal experience is plead not guilty, and then they will give you a court date... (where the cop will appear...) dress decent, be calm, and be EARLY that day... up to my knowledge, sometimes, they will let you "pre-bargain"... or sometimes, you will have to find the cop who give you the ticket and talk to him...
(the ticket has the cop's name, so you can use it to find him... ask around politely...)

- plead to him politely that this is your first ticket in yrs.... tell them that you do not want to get away with it, but hitting you with points will hit your insurance and it'll really hurt your family living, and you speed not because you're trying to go fast, just the road is downhill and you didn't watch the speedometer for a few seconds and speed picked up....  if possible, can it be just fine, but not adding points so that insurance won't raise ??....
(plead to them.... hopefully, some of them do have a little heart.... )

stress the point that you're not trying to get away free...
you don't mind if there's fine... just plead for no points, so no insurance hit on you....

I did that once some yrs ago, and they fined me $100 (or maybe $150... I forgot...) donation to the local boys and girls club, and with no record.... (that is in CT....) and I never speed since...
(knock wood......)

I was told some other places, if they're kind enough, they might do dismiss, or change to it something else... like no seatbelt... or something that has no points... (just fines...)

but sometimes, when you didn't catch them in good mood... or whatever reason, you'll still be hit with points, or just reduced speed / fine....

Mine is done yrs ago, so, situation might not be updated....
(also, different state might act differently also...)

ps: some insurance company doesn't raise on the first offense.... and you can take the safety course (defensive driveing course) to reduce it back a little....

Plz take whatever I said with a grain of salt...

and GOOD LUCK.....

and let us know the results....

[missioncontrol]

plead insanity........

[toasty]

It almost always makes sense to fight it.  Pay it, and not only will you insurance rates go up and you'll get points on your license, it will also make it more difficult (and costly) to fix the next ticket you get.

Prosecutors routinely accept larger fines in exchange for a plea to a non-moving (read: non-point) violation, such as improper parking or excessive vehicle noise. Some prosecutors will work directly with you, but most won't -- most will only deal with an attorney. This is because, if you have an attorney, the prosecutor knows that he or she is on a level playing field with you, can't push you around, and may actually have to do some work to get a conviction. Most prosecutors would spare the aggravation for guaranteed revenue for the city, unless you're doing something really outrageous.

Please, for the love of God, don't just pay the fine, and don't try to go it alone. That's the worst advice I've ever heard, and I hear it all the time. If the officer doesn't happen to show up, you're golden, but if not, you're getting ready to engage in a process where everyone in the room but you knows the rules but no one is allowed to tell you what they are.  Not an enviable position.

PM me if you live in Missouri or Illinois and I've handle the ticket for you gratis on general principle.

[AtomSmasher]

I thought most states automatically let you pay a larger fine and/or go to traffic school to remove your first ticket within 5 years.  That sucks if your in a state that doesn't allow that.

[Dartful Dodger]

I thought the points system was just a yourapeeon thing.

Finally, Illinois isn't the worst state at handling something.

[SirPeale]

I live in Vermont, but the ticket was in New Hampshire.

I'm leaning heavily towards 'not guilty'.

[shardian]

Ummm, I got a speeding ticket about 2 years ago. I had to drive thru unicorporated speed-trap towns to get to college. I took my ticket, paid it, end of story. Insurance had nothing to do with it. I NEVER had an insurance hike. Why in the world would the insurance company even know you got a speeding ticket?

[toasty]

^^Most insurance companies will pull your state driving record every so often to see if you have any new tickets.  If you get a ticket other than the state in which you live, it's pretty unlikely to show up, and it's probably a non-issue until you apply for insurance somewhere else and have to disclose any traffic tickets you've received.

Don't quote me on that, though, because insurance companies may do it differently in areas like the NE where states are smaller and people are likely to pass through multiple states on a regular basis.  I'd still recommend getting it fixed -- that extra peace of mind is probably worth the $75...

[Dartful Dodger]

A friend of mine got a DUI.  He asked his lawyer if this is going to hurt his insurance.  His lawyer told him, as long as you don't switch companies they'll never know.

It's been over 6 years and his insurance hasn't gone up.

[toasty]

^^Well, I'm a lawyer myself, and that's the dumbest advice I've ever heard, especially on a DUI/DWI.  Sure, you might be fortunate enough to not have your insurance company decide to recheck your driving record, but if they DO decide to check and you've got a DWI on there to which you've pleaded guilty, you're going to get creamed.  Worth getting it fixed just to not have to worry about it, IMO.

Since your friend had a lawyer involved, I hope he at least was able to get it amended to careless and imprudent driving or something.  I cringe when I hear of people just paying a DWI, b/c that stuff will stay with you for a long, long time.

[Dartful Dodger]

^^Well, I'm a lawyer myself, and that's the dumbest advice I've ever heard, especially on a DUI/DWI.

I'm not a lawyer. But a lawyer that tells his client to inform his insurance company that he got a DUI is the dumbest thing I ever heard.

[toasty]

^^I didn't suggest that you ought to volunteer to your insurance company that you've recently got a DWI.  The reality, though, is that they could find out on their own if you just plead guilty, so why give them anything to find out about?  Just get the thing fixed and be done with it.

And by the way, when you're seeking new insurance or renewing a policy in such a way that your insurance company asks you point blank whether you've had tickets or not and you choose to lie about it, you're begging for them to deny coverage if you ever submit a claim.  The moment you submit a claim, the first thing your insurance company will do is try to figure out a way to avoid paying it, and making sure your application was honest is one way to go about it.  Any lawyer that advises you to lie when asked a direct question by your insurance company clearly isn't looking at the big picture and probably ought to be disbarred.

[Dartful Dodger]

Your lawyering skills are great.

I can barely tell you don't know what you're talking about.

[toasty]

Whatever dude.   I offer my insight on this board from time to time in the hopes that people will find it useful, because there is so much misinformation out there about how to navigate through things of a legal nature.  Also, I'm normally the one asking arcade related questions and not answering them, so I view this as my way of giving back to the community.  If you'd prefer to cast dispersions and instead follow the advice of some lawyer you've never met that you're getting second hand and which may not even be applicable to your specific situation, be my guest.

For what it's worth, my first job as a lawyer was at a firm where we unfortunately worked for insurance companies (I'm happy to report, by the way, that I no longer work for those folks.  Quite the opposite, in fact -- consumer protection).  Among my duties was finding a legal basis to deny coverage on claims, so I'm not just talking out of ---my bottom--- here.  As I mentioned above, different companies do things differently, so I'm not throwing this out there as gospel, but I will just suggest that anyone reading this tread lightly when you're thinking about falsifying something on an insurance application.  Your insurance company is not really your friend under the best of circumstances, and when you need them, they start looking for an out.  Don't give them one.

[CheffoJeffo]

I can say for a fact that my auto insurance company perodically checks, particularly around license renewal time (they called once to remind me that my license had not be renewed, so I asked).

First piece of advice is to READ YOUR POLICY so that you undestand what your exposures may be.

Cheers.

[saint]

Once a year my insurance company verifies my current information with our DMV.

[Spaz Monkey]

Friend of mine used to work in auto insurance.  Best thing to do is to go to court, see if you can go to traffic school to get the ticket off your record.  Key thing is record.  Insurance companies look at driving history, DMV looks at points.  If the ticket isn't on your record, the company won't see it.  In regard of other people getting speeding tickets and rates not going up, some states will let the first one be free, but when you get the second one, the insurance company can charge for both.