Got a $200 speeding ticket, should I go to court?

[caribbean_spur]

Hi guys,

I have a question. I got my first speeding ticket (first ticket ever too) and I do not know the US system so I am not sure what to do.

I heard some guys on the forum talking about going to court to contest it and I was wondering if it's something I could do or should do? The cop who gave me the ticket told me " you can pay it within 30 days or go to court and see if the judge would help you out" but I have no idea what that meant.

If I go to court can I just beg that I have never had a ticket and I was not paying attention (which is really what happened) and see what happens? And if this does not work could they punish me and make me pay even more than the initial $200?

Any suggestion would do!

[greywheel]

What was the ticket for? Where did you get it?

I have never had luck getting tickets reduced. It has always just cost me more because of the court costs they charge for contesting tickets.

[caribbean_spur]

I am in Miami and I got it for speeding 14 over . I know it's high I was just zoning out, coming from the gym being tired and all. But it is my first ever offense.
So it does cost money to contest those then. Why would the cop advise me to do it?

[Ron Ron Artest]

I have got a lot of tickets, probably at least 13, all in texas. They way it is done in texas is if you have not taken defensive driving within a year then you can do that to get the ticket off your record. I would go to court and ask to do whatever you can to get it off your record and you will most likely have to pay a court fine and do the defensive driving course. Cant hurt i wouldnt think

[exstatic]

The cop is not your friend. I'd take anything he said in this case with a grain of salt. Does Florida offer the option to take defensive driving to keep the ticket off your record? If they do, take it. You still have to pay the ticket, but you don't get the double whammy of an insurance rate hike on your next policy renewal in 6 months.

[caribbean_spur]

There is an option to go to traffic school and they say points will not be accessed against the license. Does it mean that I will not lose point and the insurance rate won't be increase. Is the insurance rate related to the fact that I got a ticket or the number of points on the license?

So I guess I have to bite the bullet and pay the $200. The insurance hike is my greatest concern since FL is really expensive as it is. If I could avoid that that would help.

[Clandestino]

to save time i'd pay a lawyer to do it for you. i call a lawyer, charge your credit card, they charge whatever the ticked would've cost you and its done. no 6 hr defensive driving, no going to courthouse, all that bullshit. very easy

[Summers]

There is an option to go to traffic school and they say points will not be accessed against the license. Does it mean that I will not lose point and the insurance rate won't be increase. Is the insurance rate related to the fact that I got a ticket or the number of points on the license?

So I guess I have to bite the bullet and pay the $200. The insurance hike is my greatest concern since FL is really expensive as it is. If I could avoid that that would help.

I believe this is correct, at least in Texas. You can take defensive driving and have it not count against your insurance rating; and I believe this is regardless of whether you just pay the fine or go to court. My husband never pays his speeding tickets. He always asks for a court date and he's always gotten lucky. Either they court doesn't want to mess with a stupid traffic violation and waive the trial or the cop has moved or something. I kind of think hiring a lawyer would be a waste of money if you just want to pay it and be done with it. If you just don't want to mess with it anymore (which is what I always do), just pick up the phone, call the court house and give them your credit card number. Done.

[Frenzy]

usually i get my tickets reduced a few bucks (20-50$) just being guilty. I have had about 6 tickets.

speeding 3
stop light 2
and a fresh one i got last month....which was caught on camera in balcones heights.


i was turning right and there was no "no turn on red sign" so i went. I got a ticket a month later. I asked around and people in that area have gotten the same ticket as well. Reason is... not yielding long enough...wtf.

it's better just to pay the ticket and take defensive driving or if the ticket is to much they give you payment plans..just ask the judge.

[caribbean_spur]

Thank guys. As I understand it, it seems driving class is a must so I''l do it. I would love to not pay it but I will be really pissed of if at the end I have to pay even more because the judge says I made him waste his time and make me pay more.

[RandomGuy]

Meh.

I am 3-0 when fighting tickets. All it takes is showing up, pleading not guilty and asking for a jury trial.

1) the prosecutor looked at the dash camera and noted that the cop had the radar set to "measure speed to the front of the vehicle" and I was very obviously behind his vehicle when the radar went off, the cop had thought that the radar was measuring the speed of cars behind his vehicle. The case was dropped.

2) motorcycle cop didn't show up. case was dropped

3) clerical error led to trial date almost two years after offense. state trooper moved to oklahoma in the interim and didn't show up to testify. Case was dropped.


It took me a little bit of time to go down for the appointments, but simply declaring myself not guilty and asking for a trial got me out of $500+ worth of tickets.

Currently I have a job where I do some driving on my employer's dime, so I no longer have the luxury of taking the chance, so I simply do the defensive driving thing.

BUT

Based on my limited experience, it seems as though the courts/cops really don't have the resources or interest in pursuing full-blown trials for speeding tickets.

I can't tell you what to do, but I personally would never simply plead no contest to a ticket ever again after I leave my present employment. The odds seem to be in my favor. I may have gotten lucky once, but the odds of getting lucky 3 times in a row are somewhat slim.

For you, with some limited experience, it would be better to go the "no contest" (a 1/2 admission of guilt, somewhat like "guilty" plea) route and take the defensive driving offered.

By the by, if you hire a lawyer, they will probably take it all the way to a trial. I saw one or two people there with lawyers, and the prosecutors seemed to have made 100% sure that the cop was there to testify. I would think that the prosecutors took some offense to the lawyers that were hired, and were more willing to let some polite nice guy like me go home, case dismissed.

[Summers]

Meh.

I am 3-0 when fighting tickets. All it takes is showing up, pleading not guilty and asking for a jury trial.

1) the prosecutor looked at the dash camera and noted that the cop had the radar set to "measure speed to the front of the vehicle" and I was very obviously behind his vehicle when the radar went off, the cop had thought that the radar was measuring the speed of cars behind his vehicle. The case was dropped.

2) motorcycle cop didn't show up. case was dropped

3) clerical error led to trial date almost two years after offense. state trooper moved to oklahoma in the interim and didn't show up to testify. Case was dropped.


It took me a little bit of time to go down for the appointments, but simply declaring myself not guilty and asking for a trial got me out of $500+ worth of tickets.

Currently I have a job where I do some driving on my employer's dime, so I no longer have the luxury of taking the chance, so I simply do the defensive driving thing.

BUT

Based on my limited experience, it seems as though the courts/cops really don't have the resources or interest in pursuing full-blown trials for speeding tickets.

I can't tell you what to do, but I personally would never simply plead no contest to a ticket ever again after I leave my present employment. The odds seem to be in my favor. I may have gotten lucky once, but the odds of getting lucky 3 times in a row are somewhat slim.

For you, with some limited experience, it would be better to go the "no contest" (a 1/2 admission of guilt, somewhat like "guilty" plea) route and take the defensive driving offered.

By the by, if you hire a lawyer, they will probably take it all the way to a trial. I saw one or two people there with lawyers, and the prosecutors seemed to have made 100% sure that the cop was there to testify. I would think that the prosecutors took some offense to the lawyers that were hired, and were more willing to let some polite nice guy like me go home, case dismissed.

You're still a weasel. :)

[RandomGuy]

You're still a weasel. :)

(makes weasel noises)

Of *that* I am indeed guilty, ma'am.

I must say though, that the one that I actually got a look at the dashcam footage of with the prosecutor was one where I was actually innocent.

I wasn't really paying attention to how fast I was going, but I kinda suspected I wasn't going as fast as the cop (small town texas) said I was, but wan't going to argue with the man.