How to fight a speeding ticket?

[RYCeT]

Hi guys, my father just got a speeding ticket in NJ highway. He is booked at 74mph at 65mph zone. Problem is we got 3 cars insured under his name. We plan to go to court. Do you guys have any idea or any website I can go to? Thank's for any suggestion.

[andrzejpw]

Was he speeding?

[RYCeT]

yes he did, we don't mind paying the fines but what we tried to do is to avoid this to be reported to the insurance company. Is there any way to do this guys?

[andrzejpw]

From what I understand, you can get an attorney to take care of this for you. A friend of mine does this every time he gets a speeding ticket. Basically, you pay the attorney $100 or so, and he gets the judge to reduce it to a non-moving violation or something. No points, no insurance.

[tyrion]

I don't remember how it works in New Jersey (grew up there). In Florida, if you go to the pretrial and plead no contest, almost every time, you will get a fine, no points, no school and adudication witheld. No conviction, no effect on insurance. There must be attorneys up there, like down here, that specialize in traffic ticket defense. Thats your best bet.

[Slimm]

Well, depending on where in Jersey, it might happen something like this. When I had to go to court for an infraction (in my case, driving with a "suspended license", unknown by me at the time), I and the rest of the "defendants" had the opportunity to speak with the "prosecuter" before you went before the judge. Basically, if you spoke with him, he offered a reduced charge brought against you in exchange for a "no contest" plea. Then "BAM", pay the fine and your on your way.

No points, no record on your insurance, etc.

That's North Jersey though.

[bhd812]

my ticket (seat belt, 70 in a 50)didnt go on minsure report. i plead guilty and had 6months probat,traffic school (they never called me back) and a small fine.

my radar detector company paid for it (k40) and now I wear my seat belt every day now.



I am happy that I got busted cause I wouldnt wear the belt and I would drive alot more faster if i didnt.



dont worry if its his first time then no probelms

[RYCeT]

Getting caught for speeding, doesn't worry me but the consequence in insurance rates that's worry me since it involve 3 cars here. Thank's for the reply guys.

[Norbert]

I fought a speeding ticket once. The cop was pissed because I didn't stop for him fast enough and he wrote me up for "failure to yield" and "speeding." So I checked off the option for a hearing because I absolutely did not fail to yield. I pulled over as soon as I noticed his lights. I was even gonna plead guilty to the speeding (which I was).

At court the cop did not show up and his notes were "lost." I won on both counts. My understanding is that if you fight it and lose, you pay the same. Is this true? If so you have nothing to lose. I didn't bring an attorney with me either.

[Earwax]

Around here, if you fight it in court and lose you pay the fine and it goes on your record for sure, and I think you also have to pay court costs. If you go to court and plead "no contest" you just pay the fine and get "probation", i.e. it's wiped from the record if there are no more violations in the next 6 months.

At least that's how it was 10 years ago, the last (and only) time I got a speeding ticket.

[Norbert]

It would seem reasonable to pay court costs for appearing. I'm not convinced though. Why should I have to pay extra to have the law work its way through its own process?

In the case mentioned where your dad was clearly speeding it depends on a good lawyer. But even with a good lawyer you could get a guiltly judgement and pay all of that and your insurance boost too. I must tell you that, of the multiple speeding tickets I have paid, I still have a "safe driver" designation on my license and have not paid more on my insurance. I am clearly driving below the radar.

[bhd812]

It is a good thing to have a lawyer but trust me (I have enough of them), when you bring a lawyer in for something so small it just makes you look worse in front of the judge.
tell him to plead guilty and they will put him on probat for 6 months, the fine wont be that bad and here in ill you might have to go to traffic school (you can do it online these days) and after 6 months its wiped off your record.


inssurance wont higher your rates for this, Dui yes but not this.

[fyrfytrhoges]

i agree that going to court and admitting the offense and asking for some compassion, especially if he doesn't have a bad record, is the way to go. all they really care about is the $$$ in my experience, if you pay the fine usually the points go away and your insurance will not be affected, at least that's the way it was in my case. but i'm sure different states have different procedures and of course you can't always count on the judge to be a nice guy.

[KYTGuy]

Sad to admit, but I am something of an expert on speeding tickets...

That said, I am only "good" at it in the states of California and Washington, and only in some jurisdictions in those states.

Here is how I managed to keep from having Insurance trouble in those instances, as I usually collect three or four tickets a year, and usually pay zero or one per year.

First, I recognized that the Officer will write tickets for a week or two with the same appearance date, as he has to get dressed up and get paid extra for the courtroom duty. SOOOoo... I always plead hardship if I can, to the court clerk, on a monday morning before my appearance date listed on the ticket(when they are snowed under by all the schtuff that happened that weekend's pleading masses), so the clerk will offer another, later, appearance date.

Step two, If the jurisdiction allows it, do it again.

(each time you do it, you increase the chances that the officer will not show)

This is all you can usually do. It is often (80% in my experience) enough to miss the officer in court, in which case, you are off the hook - no record, no points, no notice to your Insurance.

For the future, keep a disposable flash camera with 36 exposures in your glovebox. Firstly it is really useful in any accident, to document the face of the other driver(s), cars, extent of damages, arrangement of the vehicles, the signals, the terrain, skid marks, the conditions, LICENCE PLATES, number of people, the way they are comporting themselves just after the accident, etc.
Do this of course after you make sure noone needs triage, and that you are safe to be where you are. Do it as soon as you can, before anything gets moved.
You can go back after the speeding paperwork is over, and take pictures of the speed signs (are they obscured by vehicles, bushes, trees? Also take pictures of the road/exit signs nearest where the stop was made, as the Judge will know where this is...(remember you have an exit behind you, and one in front of you...one may offer a better Picture than the other).
Take a picture of the road, by getting down near the road surface, and shoot in the direction you were travelling with the ittybitty lens, it will make the road look like it is straight and goes over the horizon. Hopefully it is a clear day, and no cars are in the picture, or only a few (wait for the right moment) this can get the ticket reduced, if it shows that conditions were clear, and that there was no traffic.

Photos are only useful if the Judge allows them. ASK nicely if they can be admitted. Dress well. Be Polite. Don't argue fussily, just matter-of -factly.
Don't allow the officer to "misremember" the situation, if he/she does. (they make many stops a day, and this may be two months or so since the stop.

AT EVERY STEP, the court system will try to get you to "post bail" and then default out...means you pay the fine, and the points go on your record, and your insurance gets notified. Always ask for the court appearance, never pay till the judge says you have to. Realize that this plan means you will have to go to the courthouse three or more times before you go to the hearing, and this will be a weekday each time, and you have to spend this time to get a chance of getting off. At the end, if the officer does show up, you can still plead financial difficulty, plead "guilty of a lesser offence", Guilty, with an explanation". These are listed in order of their usefullness, best first.
Some jurisdictions will make you pay the ticket only, some will make you pay extra if you get before the judge. If it is a first ticket, you can sometimes get traffic school instead of getting points/record. BUT....usually this still goes on your insurance. Educate yourself about how your insurance company views these, and then you can assess how much you want to fight it.

Good Luck...

Good luck.

[RYCeT]

Wow, Thank's KYT Guy. We're going to try that, If we choose to plead guilty with an explanation, what's excuse do you usually use?