I need advice after getting my first speeding ticket.

[wnewport]

So today I got clocked going 18 over in a 35 zone. I month ago it was a 45 zone, but I was not really paying attention. I am 18 years old and drive a salvaged no frills 2003 Ford Ranger that is insured with a $500 dollar deductible on my name through my father's insurance.

Anyway, I guess the details don't matter so much rather than the fact the ticket is for $100, and my insurance will go up 212 dollars a year for the next 3 years. That's a $636 dollar increase + the 100 bucks for the fine. So we are looking at a $736 dollar mistake.

Technically I can cover this financially, but as a high school student going into college, this is a pretty big hit considering my previous two years of a flawless record.

I realize that I have the option of paying for an attorney to attempt to get the ticket removed, reduced, or at least off of my record.

Since I am technically an adult, my parents want me to handle this independently.

I will have to hire an attorney, as that can't cost more than $400 dollars, to represent me.

Where do I go from here?

[choomanchoo]

hmm.................stop Speeding




sry no help

[Jigglybootch]

I've never heard of insurance going up because of a speeding ticket. I've gotten a few tickets over the past few years and my insurance never increased.

[kramer5150]

Originally Posted by Jigglybootch

I've never heard of insurance going up because of a speeding ticket. I've gotten a few tickets over the past few years and my insurance never increased.

Yeah but I would imagine it largely depends on your age, what state you are in, how old you are and your individual policy.

IN California, your first ticket can be erased off your record if you attend traffic school. So... they punnish you (partially) with government institutionalized education "jail time... naah, public service.... naah... Lets send them to school, that'll teach them."

[blinx]

Originally Posted by Jigglybootch

I've never heard of insurance going up because of a speeding ticket. I've gotten a few tickets over the past few years and my insurance never increased.

im on a program where if i get a speeding ticket or get in an accident, my safe driving deal goes away, its 15% off on top of my good student discount..

i get a ticket or my grades drop, im screwed

[Jon L]

Originally Posted by wnewport

I will have to hire an attorney, as that can't cost more than $400 dollars, to represent me.

Where do I go from here?

Do NOT hire an attorney.

All you have to do is sign up for an on-line traffic school (you in Kansas City?) like this http://www.drivinguniversity.com/kan...ansas-city.htm
and complete their course on-line. Don't do it now, but wait for "material" to arrive from your ticket, which will explain how much fine you still need to pay even if you choose traffic school.

Trust me. I've done this a few times, and it's the cleanest, cheapest way to get that ticket Off your driving record.

Another wild-card way I've had success with is to contest the ticket and hope that the cop doesn't show up. It's an automatic win, but if the cop shows up, there's essentially 0% chance you will win b/c the Judge and cop are on the same team. I would only try this if A) you knew for a fact this cop or this specific court has a low show-up rate, and B) you have requested change of court date a couple of times in order to hit upon the cop's inconvenient time or end of patience. Warning: if you are dealing with Highway Patrol (like Califonia Highway Patrol), they get paid to show up to court, so you can bet they love going to court instead of working.

But cheer up, man. It's only your first traffic ticket. It's not like its your 4th ticket in a year or third DUI

[Uncle Erik]

Originally Posted by wnewport

I will have to hire an attorney, as that can't cost more than $400 dollars, to represent me.

It would be more than $400. I'd only recommend hiring one if you had a criminal charge pending or a possible suspension of your license. Otherwise, it'll cost more than you think.

If, as was mentioned, you have driving school in your state, use that. You'll probably still have to pay the fine, but the ticket will come off your record. If you want to fight it, you should be entitled to at least a bench trial.

You might want to call your insurance company and ask if they'll raise your rates and how much with one ticket. They will tell you. If they won't raise rates, don't sweat it. If they do raise rates, weigh that against the cost of the fine and traffic school. You might also want to price out some different insurers if your current one will jump your rates.

Oh, and if you want to try to get your fine reduced, show up to the arraignment/hearing and set it for trial. Then go talk to the DA. They don't like to take traffic tickets to trial and sometimes are agreeable to making it go away by reducing the fine.

But still, speeding tickets are a pain. I picked up 6-7 over the years before deciding that they weren't worth it. That was in 1999, and I haven't had one since.

[RYCeT]

Don't pay the fine, appeal, go to court and made a plea bargain with the da. They usually offer no contest, you pay the fine but no points/violation on your license.

[stevesurf]

Originally Posted by wnewport

I will have to hire an attorney, as that can't cost more than $400 dollars, to represent me.

A decent traffic attorney should run around $500

Originally Posted by Jon L

Do NOT hire an attorney.

Agree/Disagree. Hire an attorney that is preferably a judge in another county . This works!

Originally Posted by RYCeT

Don't pay the fine, appeal, go to court and made a plea bargain with the da. They usually offer no contest, you pay the fine but no points/violation on your license.

This is the best advice, but find out early if you can do this.

[wnewport]

I have called my insurance, and I am sure of the $636 rate increase I will receive over the next 3 years.

I live in the suburbs of Kansas City, Lee's Summit, and I don't believe taking a driving school will be accepted in my area.

How would I go about calling the court to find out if the online driving school would work?

I was also pulled over by a local Lee's Summit police officer, there were two in the car. I know for a fact they have been giving an ungodly amount of speeding tickets where I got pulled over. (Easy targets because they just decreased the speed limit from 45 to 35 on a four lane road.) With this massive number of speeding tickets given in such a short time in the same location, it might affect whether the cops show up to the court dates.

[mrarroyo]

I do not know what the attorney fees are in your state. But here in Florida you can get an attorney to represent you for less than $100 and based on the statistics they win more often than they loose. I myself found myself in such a predicament and hired an attorney who not only had the ticket removed but represented me in court (I did not have to show up).

So check on their fees and hire an attorney. Remember it is not just the fine, and next year's insurance premiun but also that the premiun will be higher for a few years.

[stevesurf]

Originally Posted by wnewport

I have called my insurance, and I am sure of the $636 rate increase I will receive over the next 3 years.

...
(Easy targets because they just decreased the speed limit from 45 to 35 on a four lane road.) With this massive number of speeding tickets given in such a short time in the same location, it might affect whether the cops show up to the court dates.

Your LE would have to be severely overburdened or be in a major city (like NYC) to have them "no show" on the court date. Please don't count on that. Given the recent speed limit change, this is probably selective enforcement and may be arbitrated before it gets to a judge. And yes, it is almost guaranteed to have an insurance premium increase for speeding, at any age.

Good luck with this!

[mbriant]

but if the cop shows up, there's essentially 0% chance you will win b/c the Judge and cop are on the same team.

Perhaps the fact that YOU ARE GUILTY could have something to do with it as well.

[F1GTR]

Originally Posted by wnewport

I have called my insurance, and I am sure of the $636 rate increase I will receive over the next 3 years.

That was your first mistake, aside from the speeding, and you'll learn from it I'm sure. Why did you even bother to call them?

A) They wouldn't have known about it for months until the ticket made its way through the system to them and

B) That might have never/will never even happen at all if you take the Deferred Judification option the day you appear in court. Deferred Judification allows you to, once a year, take a Driver's Ed course via classroom/internet/tv, pay only "court costs" on the ticket and then it never goes on your record.

NEVER call the insurance company and tell them you have a ticket. Either they will find out about it on their own or they never will.

Originally Posted by wnewport

I live in the suburbs of Kansas City, Lee's Summit, and I don't believe taking a driving school will be accepted in my area.

Look on your ticket and tell me exactly what county and precint the ticket was issued from. I'll find out for you online whether or not it's offered in your area. I can't imagine it isn't.

Originally Posted by wnewport

How would I go about calling the court to find out if the online driving school would work?

You don't. You either appear in person, on or before the date listed on the ticket, and tell them you would like to select Deferred Judification as your option. They will do the rest by giving you usually 180 days to complete your driver's safety course and returning the certificate to them, on which day you will also pay your court costs(roughly $100 and the ticket never goes on your driving record and insurance never finds out about it).

[Davesrose]

Originally Posted by Jigglybootch

I've never heard of insurance going up because of a speeding ticket. I've gotten a few tickets over the past few years and my insurance never increased.

Your insurance goes up if you get more points on your license. Here in Georgia, if you're clocked going more then 14 miles, you get points on your license. So with going 18 miles over a 35mph zone, it's pretty hard to fight it.....especially if you get an attorney, it's probably just cheaper to pay the ticket and accept the insurance hike. And don't ever go more then 10 mph over the limit if you do speed, but not speeding means you won't ever be in this situation

You can look up the laws on your state's speeding policies, so that if this happens again, you can ask the officer specific questions. IE, what distance he clocked you and what method he used. If you're going 15 over, it's pretty hard to get out of a ticket.....but the officer may drop down the offense so that you just get the ticket and not any points on your license. IMHO, it's not really worth it to try getting out of the ticket in court. The officer who wrote the ticket would probably be even more irritated that he had to show up in court, so he would give you less benifit of the doubt and would be biased towards making the ticket stick.