fuckleberry

write another letter stressing that you're a REALLY nice, church-going Asian boy

acn684

lol, i wrote my letter...i just don't know what to do now...send it in with the plea not guilty? wait till the date on the bottom and go in?

Oh yeah...i never signed anything when he gave me the ticket....?

narci

Again, in Ontario, if the cops reduce the speed when giving you a ticket, he/she uisually puts a code somewhere ont he ticket letting the judge and other's know he reduced the ticket.

Back on topic..I don't think you would get much help here since everyone's froma different place and each has different laws/regulations with regards to your predicament.

GIBSON6594

sign it under not guilty, send it in, you will receive a letter telling you your court date. You're not supposed to sign it when it's given to you. Just show up on that date, thats all you have to do, I would request a supporting deposition when you sign the ticket, cops hate when you do that, but a) if they don't you get out of the ticket and b) it will help confirm the details of what happened that night.

acn684

theres already a date on the bottom of the ticket that says im suppose to appear 3/28?

mcomia

Wait, so are you worried about the points? Or about the fact that your insurance will go up? I don't know how it is in NY, but down here, if you take driving school (which you can do online, so it's really easy), the points will be thrown out, but your insurance still goes up a bit.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Wait, the cops in your city determine when the court date is and put the date on the ticket?

paranode

The cop is just threatening you. I'd even mention that to the prosecutor. They can't just show up to court and change the charge, it doesn't work that way. Besides, unless you get all the way to the trial phase he won't even be summoned.

TSX420J

if you dont have any traffic violations for a year just do what i said.. worked three times for me...

acn684

yeah theres a date on the bottom "it says you are to appear"...unfortunately im in a small town neighborhood upstate and i don't know how many of these they do...vs the city of new york for say. I'm definately gonna go the the trial now that i know i guess... Im worried that my insurance will go up, plus it makes it really gay if i get clocked for a mis-speeding ticket next time then always worrying about getting the 3rd a losing my license. I mean i don't speed at all, not wrecklessly, i got unlucky, had a bad day i guess, didn't even know it was a 30 zone until i realized...

Adampops

The myth about overpaying your ticket and not cashing the check they send back is false. I did it, and it prolonged the insurance from finding out, but every year they go through their records and they will find out. It sucked, but by the time insurance found out one of my other tickets was erased so my insurance didnt change at all.

San-AnT

yeah, i didn't read the rest of the posts- Texas just went to a point system last september, but it is very loose. you only get points for severe things like driving over 30mph over the speed limit and stuff or dwi,etc.

San-AnT

btw, why doesn't gibson6594 post here anymore?

drkabe

this is very true...I have heard this from couple of people from work

acn684

=T im so conflicted right now....Damn...is it suppose to feel this bad getting a speeding ticket?

JTso

iTrader: (2)

What's the worse that could happen? Did you speed? If yes, tell them you did speed and want to explain the circumstances. Then ask for forgiveness. They most likely will reduce the fine and possibly dropping the ticket if it's your first one. If no, plea not guilty and fight it to the end. Just deal with it like a man. If you can't handle it, then go hire a lawyer and let him do the talking.

krypt0n1te83

You know, I'm in the same situation. I'm in San Diego, Cali. About 2 months ago, I got a ticket. He clocked me at 91 mph on 65mph zone. He said he'll write me up as 85 mph so that I can go to traffic school and won't get license suspended. Now I'm not sure if I should go to court or not, which is set for 3/29. I have until 5 days before that date to decide. At that time, there was a SUV going even faster than me right next to me. The cop clocked me from about 1/4 mile ahead of us. I want to argue that he clocked the car next to me, since we were so close together. Is this a valid argument? I'm also afraid if i go to court, the cop will bring it back to 91. Does he have that right? What should I do?

this is my first ticket.

acn684

Yeah..from what the guys told me, it seems like they can't really increase ur penalty because i think the cop would have to write you up for 91 at that time. If you think about it, you can't be convicted for something that happened in the past with a different ruling. i'm going to head over to the court this weekend to see what i can do, and what i should do. More than likely im going to go to court to see if i can get it reduced to a parking violation, even if that means increased fine. I'd rather pay 200 for a 90 dollar ticket than to have a speeding ticket on my record...

Savio

that's is about the dumbest argument I have ever heard....you both were speeding...you going to go to court and then him an SUV was speeding a couple miles faster than you were?

acn684

i hope they give pity on someone with high grades and is only his first accidental offense

acn684

wait...do i plea not guilty? or do i plea bargain....? and if i do plea bargain, does that mean i take guilt but i want to work out a solution? If so, what if they reject my plea bargain...does that mean i am guilty?

GIBSON6594

you can't "plea bargin", you can only bargain what you are pleaing to, as in which offense. An example of a plea bargain is to so you will plea guilty but to a non-moving violation, instead of speeding. it saves everyone time and money.

GIBSON6594

your grades will have nothing to do with it

GIBSON6594

what does this mean?

And a reduction to a parking violation will not be an increase in fine

JayRoam

Wow kid, by how it sounded, I thought you got convicted of manslaughter!

If you have the option of going to traffic school, do it. The conviction gets thrown out. If not, plead guilty, pay the fine, and stay clean for a year. If you have no moving violations in the next year, it will fall off your record.

GIBSON6594

the clear time is 18 months. I don't think the traffic school applies to NY, it will lower the points recieved, but will not get the conviction dropped.

acn684

yeah ny doesn't drop it..and insurance will kill me cause im on a solo plan which means the entire cost falls on me. all i was saying was that the cop dude threatened to increase my fine if i went to contest him in court. Im just saying that i don't think he can do taht because it seems unlawful to do so. I'm getting more confidence in going to court. What im praying is that I get to talk with a really sympathetic prosecutor, tell him that i was just late for my class project, got off the highway and felt highway lag. It is my first offense and i do have a clean record so i hope he'll just charge me for something thats other than speeding...

krypt0n1te83

If I go to court, and try to plea not-guilty, and i fail, will I still be able to go to traffic school to clear it off? Or is it court OR traffic school?

GIBSON6594

both, not one or the other, although you could choose to only go to court if you wanted

GIBSON6594

Dude, seriously, you're not Robert Blake. This isn't a murder trial. You're not gonna have a prosecutor there submitting discovery and cross-examining you.

This is what is gonna happen...you're gonna show up and sit down for a while till they call your name. Then once they call it you will are going to talk to the cop that gave you the ticket (unless he doesn't show) and try to talk the ticket down. If he does, you pay the fine and get the points (if applicable) to the reduced charge. If he doesn't you pay the fine and get the points for the charges on the original ticket. The judge will order either one to happen. You will pay if you can and you will go home.

Thats it.

TypeSAddict

The EXACT same thing happened to me. I got a ticked in NYS from a Village cop who claimed that he tagged me going 45 in a 30. He came back with the ticket and said he was ticketing me for "failure to yield to a traffic control device." The copy he gave me said '45 in a 30' scribbled in the margin, but in the actual offense portion of the ticket it said failure to yield to a traf. contl. dev. He then told me that if I plead not guilty, I wouldn't get the break and a ticket for 45 in a 30 would be recorded.

I actually spoke with a lawyer that said that they legally cannot do that, and the ticket can only be prosecuted for what it says officially. However, I did a bit further research and found that the two point violation that I received was the only violation in NYS that does not come with an insurance increase. Low and behold, my insurance has stayed the same, and I avoided excessive court costs by pleading guilty. In your case, you still had a significant violation, and I would say that you need to go to court to avoid an insurance increase.

acn684

you speak to the cop? i thought u spoke to someone else

acn684

is there someway i can speak to someone for advice in person or on the phone?

TypeSAddict

I called a traffic lawyer for a free consultation. I'm a poor ass student and couldn't afford a lawyer, so I just called one on the phone and tried to do my best on my own with what he told me.

acn684

what did he tell u type s?

GIBSON6594

OK i'm not posting in this thread anymore, I really think i'm being ignored

CJams

I just beat aticket here in Seattle. It cost a hell of alot more, but the ticket doesn't exhist on my record.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

Did you hire a lawyer?

TypeSAddict

He told me that, in his opinion, the cop couldn't change the ticket after it had been written. However, not being able to afford to actually hire the lawyer and pay court fees, etc., I opted to just take the reduced fine w/o an insurance increase. That is, after all, all I was really looking for. In your case, it's different and I would def. fight it

acn684

damn..my cop guy owned me...