ok guys... it's my turn... today i was going to acura of pleasanton and got a ticket..... damn chp i hate them.... anyway it says i was going 93, which i really think i wasn't.... maybe around 80 or a bit over that but 93 was tooo fast for that speed....

i need help guys, specially those living around the bay area. what should i do? he said i will get the ticket mailed to me within 30 days... what should i do then? should i get a lawyer? what kind of fine am i facing if i am convicted? anything else i can do at all?

in case it's useful, i have gotten my licence for 6 yrs and this is my first ever ticket of any kind (besides two parking tickets).

any help is appreciated. please guys, it's a really sad day for me, don't even wanna say anything at all. and please those in north cali, offer some help....

 

I think thats too fast to go to traffic school. I am assuming the limit was 65. I think its over 20 that you cant go to traffic school for. No you dont need a lawyer. Its just a ticket. Just pay the fine. Probably around 300. my last one was 20 over and it was around that. You cant fight it. Unless there was some other factor. But if the chp said you were going that fast then thats that. Your word against his. trust me, his word is stronger than yours.

 

so that means a permanent record in my file?

 

dude, i don't know ur laws in Cali but here in FL if its ur first ticket for a moving violation and you have a clean record you should be able to get off.

Here in miami we have a place called the ticket clinic and in which all they do is defend speeding tickets...etc you just pay $69 and they guarantee you wont get points or you get ur money back. You might not even have to go to traffic school...the thing is you dont want to get points on ur license or ur insurance will go way up... just check ur yellow pages

 

Points go away in 18 months, but your file regarding insurance? I'm not sure. I was busted going 87 on 280 heading north (November) and the speed limit posted was 65 and I still attended traffic school (online). I looked around and apperantly the price for fines are split up in brackets, so depending where you fall or how fast you were going then the price can jump up heavily. If my memory serves me correctly, I believe the brackets were split up in 15mph chucks. As long as you are in the 1-15mph over zone, then you are considered a small fry and the CHP probably wont even bother with you and just throw you back into the water. 16-30 mph over is when they consider you "big" enough to reel in. The mph over rate is somewhat doubled and for those who are unlucky enough to get caught 31-45 mph and above are asking for double points and/or potential jail time. My rule of thumb was to NEVER exceed the 15mph over rule, but my ass got busted going downhill and I was too cheap to use my brakes so I kept on coasting then all of a sudden BAM! Twin cherries behind me. Now I'm gonna modify my rule a bit and only do 10mph over so I can have some room for error. Then again, that's what we all say right?

Oh...BTW you dont get points if you attend traffic school. But you are only allowed to do it once.

 

All you can do it pay the fine and hope that you can go to traffic school.

 

I don't know about Cali., but I'm in NC right now and I got a ticket for 76 on 55. Anyways, I thought it was very worthwhile getting a lawyer, because they have ways of getting you off, or at the very least have it reduced. You can't do it yourself, but a lawyer can. In my case I'm going for a prayer for judgement or PJC. Usually the judge will grant it, as long as you didn't use a PJC within 3 years, and a lawyer puts it in for you.
As far as I know, that will put the ticket on "hold" for 3 years and as long as I don't get another one it'll go off the record. Plus it will probably never affect my insurance which is the most important thing. I know what you're going through, but don't let it get to you. Again...I'm not sure about Cali., but you really should talk to a lawyer that specializes in speeding tickets. Anything 20 mph or over I suggest a lawyer.

 

You attended traffic school on line?!?!?! How did you pull that off?!

 

Damn, where are those PBA cards when you need them!

 

HELLL NO>>>>do trial by written declaration.....if you do that you have 30 percent chance of winning and if you lose you can have another trial..........and best of all you dont have to show up to court...unless you lose and wanna fight it...here is a website that helped me...hope it helps you...

http://www.ticketassassin.com


i will recommend this site to anyone...its almost idiot proof and DONT GIVE IN JUST FIGHT IT>>>>>even if the judge refuses you traffic school you can come back a week later and request it from the clerks.....and you CAN take traffic school more than 1 time in 18 months my friend took it 3 times in a year!!!! look at this site it makes sense FIGHT IT

 

As long as you have the cash AND you haven't gone to traffic school in the last 18 months (1.5 years) you are eligible to attend traffic school. Fine will probably be 270 + court fee + cost of traffic school (mine was $25.00).

How do I know... well, let's just say that I recently got nabbed for the exact same speed on my way to Southern Cali (got nabbed near Magic Mountain going downhill).

I HAD to go to court, though. They wouldn't let me just phone or mail it in. It was a supreme waste of my time since I had to drive down from Sacramento again. Took an online class (webtrafficschool.com) and life is rosey again!

Good luck,

Vincent

 

i really appreciate the help guys, all the info are definitely helpful

asiankidd - i will read over the site you posted these two days, hopefully i can get some help from it.

vperkins2 - oh man i feel you... you got pm.

 

right here...

http://www.trafficschool.com/

 

you will get more than help...they want to make you pay 15 bucks for hte membership buts its done on the honor system if you win....they have all the forms and arguements that are possible for your situation for you to just copy and paste with a lil modification and just submit it to the court and your set!!! this of this site as a loop hole in the court system!!!

 

Here's a thought, try driving the speed limit. I guess the officer is a jerk for doing his job right?

 

wtf? yeah it's really useful advise, thanks.

 

Do a search for "speed limit" first, newbie troll. Or are you someone we all know who's too cowardly to use his real name? Get Real? Get real!

rominl: DO NOT JUST PAY THE FINE. Whatever you do, fight the ticket, get a continuance on your trial, and attend the trial hearing. Plea bargain with the District Attorney. Dress professionally and use every opportunity that comes your way.

I am an opponent of speed limits in general, and I believe that the primary reason for their existence is to collect an unfair tax from the 15% of motorists who drive above the preset threshold.

Unless you feel like paying an additional tax this year, and an increase in insurance premiums for the next 3 years, I suggest to try any way you can to get out of this predicament.

At the very least, go to your court session. Plea bargain. You can't lose. If the officer doesn't show up, you win. If he does, you don't pay any extra, and you get the pleasure of taking one officer off of Speed Trap Duty for an hour. :devil:

 

Get Real:
"Here's a thought, try driving the speed limit. I guess the officer is a jerk for doing his job right?"

Hey lamer...get real.

Austin519

 

yeah, he only has one post and it's against me. somehow my gut feeling tells me that he's already someone on the board with another username. i don't mind people trying to advise us to drive slow, but frankly i hate the bashing.

it was not like i was driving recklessly or endangering everyone around me. like i said i wasn't even going that fast.

and if anything come and face us with your real name get real. you were brave enough to come and try bash me but you didn't have the guts to use your real name? get real dude, one reason i could think of is coz' you speed as well

and i wasn't even attacking the officier. he was very nice and i really appreciate him on the road. i was just questioning his reasoning behind my speed. i didn't think he was a jerk, but i think you just made yourself one, get real

 

Here go here....:p http://www.norman-law.com/page5.html

 

Man we have some mean newbie's lately, huh?!?

 

Hey Rominl,

If you don't want to fight, you're probably eligible for traffic school.

Going 93, you'll only be given 1 point.

Going over 30mph on highway is 2 points
Going over 20mph on city is 2 points

You're allowed to take traffic school for traffic violations every 18 months. Traffic school will eliminate 1 point. So after traffic school completion, try not to get a ticket for at least 18 months.

If you do receive a point on your record, it takes 3 years before it is cleaned. For example, if you get 2 points on your record, one for speeding and one for an accident, you can go to traffic school and now you'll have 1 point added to your record. It stays on your record for 3 years. If after 18 months you get another ticket, you can go to traffic school again, but only for that particular traffic violation.

Hope this helps clarify some things. Good luck.

 

Hey,
Sorry to hear about the ticket. Good luck whatever you do? Keep in touch.

 

Rominl--I assume that you a) were probably cited for CVC 22349a, and b) got the ticket in Alameda County. The first part refers to exceeding 65 mph and based on what you got cited for (93 mph) it is a $270 ticket; you may want to see exactly what you got cited for--hopefully it was just for plain speeding and nothing more serious than that. I mention the second part because if you happened to get that ticket in Santa Clara county (you're from SJ from what I can tell) then all bets are off as far as minimum fines are concerned--some counties are allowed to set higher minimum total fines, and SC county is one of them.

Just speculation on my part, but I'm gonna guess that the cop was using radar on you because 93 is an odd number to cite your speed as. Why? Because many cops will usually write you up with nice round numbers (75, 80, etc.). Also, there are different fine levels (I won't mention the different levels for speeding in construction or double-fine zones here but will say that they are higher) based on how much over the speed limit you're cited for; 1-15 over is $76, 16-25 is $135, and 26+ is $270--if only you were going no more than 80 mph (personal note: I got nailed for doing 95+ but got written up for only 75--as you can see, a big difference as far as the fine was concerned)...anyways, the cop could have just written you up for 91 mph and your base fine (and your infraction) wouldn't have changed one bit--it would still be $270. The fact that he put down 93 makes me think that he may have been using radar on you. Probably nothing to think about but then again...

My suggestion? You yourself admitted to going at least 80; if/when your Notice To Appear shows up in your mailbox--if it gives you the option to go to traffic school without having to ask a judge to request it, by all means do so; consider yourself lucky that you won't have to go to court and incur the wrath of the judge when you have to explain to him why you were going 90+. The only reasons I can think of as to why you would fight it are either you don't think you'll be allowed to go to traffic school and therefore not have the ticket show up on your public driving record and/or you don't believe in paying any fine at all, let alone $270. If you're gonna get a lawyer, I assume it would be to totally get out of the ticket; it would be a waste of your money to get one just so that you can go to traffic school. Something else to consider--some insurance companies like CSAA won't penalize you for one point as long as if it was your first point and you don't get another moving violation or accident for 3 years; if your insurance company is like that, you may want to go that route and just try not to get caught again if you can't get traffic school.

If you fight it and lose, that ticket will stay on your driving record for 3 years (edgalang--points don't stay on your record for only 18 months--the 18 months refer to how long you have to wait between taking traffic school sessions); remember, fighting a ticket is a double-edged sword--if you lose, you may wind up worse than what you would have gotten if you had just taken the plea-bargain (traffic school).

As far as the ticketassassin.com thing--stuff like that and those Fight Your Ticket books do offer really good advice but keep in mind that even they can't guarantee that anybody can get out of any and every traffic ticket; they rely on a combination of technicalities and sheer luck/chance which most people won't even bother to follow up on because the time and effort spent doing so outweigh paying the fine and/or going to traffic school. IMHO the only people who would go this are are those who've run out of options (e.g, can't go to traffic school) as far as lessening the impact of the ticket.

Regarding trial by written declaration--basically it allows you to have a trial without having to appear. What asiankidd said about it is true but there is one little but perhaps important thing that needs to be mentioned about doing so, and which is clearly stated at the bottom of the instructions for filing a TWD: "By filing a declaration in a trial by written declaration, you are waiving and giving up the rights to remain silent and not to incriminate yourself." IOW--this means you can't invoke the 5th amendment if you go this route--obviously so, because you have to plead your case if you're gonna do it in writing. Also, if you do file a TWD you have to pay the bail (fine) up front when doing so.

Daverman--in CA there is no DA in a traffic court trial (infractions only)...for one, it would be considered a waste of taxpayers' money...

ymckoon--there is nothing in the CVC that specifically states a point schedule based on how much over the speed limit you were travelling on a highway or city street. Many of the two-point violations that imply speed involve reckless driving and speed contest, both of which are misdemeanors, BTW. Getting cited for going over 100 mph is also a 2-pointer in CA (but not a misdemeanor), in case you CA speed freaks are wondering.

asiankidd--the reason that people can take TS more than once in an 18-month period is usually due to administration issues; the usual case is that you go to traffic school in one county, then get another ticket in a different county which may not have up-to-date info on your court record and therefore let you go to traffic school even though you had already gone at least once within the last 18 months. Going to TS does not hide your points (or when/how many times you went to TS) from DMV--it hides it from public agencies like insurance companies. Once DMV finds the time to analyze your complete driving record and notices the TS discrepancies, they will make the appropriate corrections. I know--back in my younger years I managed to go to traffic school twice within a year; I thought that I might have pulled a fast one but when I checked my driving record a year later--sure enough, only one of the points was masked.

Getting on my soapbox--now, it's your "right" to fight your ticket for whatever reason and if you do win, more power to you, but IMHO from strictly a morals standpoint I find it somewhat appalling that someone who knows he's in the wrong would try to totally get out of it. Like some people here have said, own up to your actions and take responsibility for them. Now, I'm not saying that you should necessarily take it up the arse--I'd be bitter about having to pay a $270 fine--but if you can plea-bargain your way to a lesser fine or something like that, that's cool. But for someone who is clearly guilty but decides he's gonna milk the judicial system for all it's worth and waste taxpayer money (and yes, it is taxpayer money when he's wasting judicial resources) just so that he can get out of it scot free--well, some of you peeps may think otherwise but for me, it's total BS.

Sorry for the extra-long post; just trying to be helpful and put in my two cents worth

Tony

 

Tdoh-

you're right about the speed contest and reckless driving.

I just wanted the CA people to know that speeding is not merely one point. If you go fast enough, it can be 2 points.

There is a different line that is drawn between highway and local. I just wanted to make a point that driving 21mph over on the highway is most likely going to be just a speeding ticket (1point). Driving 21mph over on a local street is speeding and reckless as well and you can get 2 points.

on another note: There's also a general ticket a cop can issue. I don't recall the exact name, but basically if the cop feels you were driving unsafely, he can give you that ticket.

 

thanks ymckoon and tdoh, you guys' comments and advices are very helpful. one question though, what's the difference between misdemeanor and infraction? i looked up the dictionary and they both mean a crime less than felony. i got circled on infraction but would like to know what it means.

tdoh, how do i know which county i got the ticket from? i was on 237E about 2 or 3 exits from 880 intersaction (milpitas) so i don't know if that's classified as santa clara or alameda?

on the ticket the officier did put down the radar unit and the patrol vehicle number, so i think he used a radar as well (also from the fact about the weird 93mph). but seriously i really doubt why i was going that fast. one major reason is that i was bringing my car to the dealer coz' i found out that when my car is going too fast and brake the car would shake badly coz' of the warpped rotor, so i made sure that i wasn't going too fast.

i know it couldn't be an official reason but that's my reasoning behind it. but it's still hard for me to believe that speed i was going.

but again i really appreciate the help from you guys.

 

Agreed...
I understand where you're coming from on this point--my response was to let people know that although speeding and reckless driving more often than not go hand in hand, they are not the same. One could theoretically drive only 10 mph over on a local street and get busted for both speeding and reckless driving, in which case you're getting 3 points--1 for speeding and 2 for reckless driving. Not only that, you now have a criminal record (unless you happen to be under 18) because conviction for reckless driving is a misdemeanor--unless you can get the judge to lower it to an infraction; plus you are one point away from a driver's license suspension. OTOH it is also theoretically possible to drive 21 over the limit on a residential street and get just a speeding ticket. I think that we both can agree in that exactly what you get written up for is up to the cop's discretion based on varying factors.
Yes--it's called reckless driving: CVC 23103(a); you definitely don't want to get busted for that! Otherwise you'd be wishing that you had rominl's predicament instead...

Tony

 

so misdemeanor is more seriously than infraction?

 

Hi bro.

I'm in northern cal and plan to get the TL-S soon. Do you know where can I get a good deal ? If you do, how much and the dealer location and name please. Thx ahead for your info.

Please email me if you dont mind : stevenguyen16@yahoo.com

Steve

 

??? who are you asking? and you asked where to get the tls in my ticket thread.....

anyway i got my tls in south cali

 

Hi all,

What is the lowest price you can get for a TL-S without NAV in california? Dealers or how to get it ,would be helpful. Thanks all.

SteveNguyen

 

tdoh:
"and yes, it is taxpayer money when he's wasting judicial resources"

Actually I don't think that's true. Last I heard the money to fund the traffic court etc was from ticket fines So they drain your blood...then use it against you!

As for fighting a ticket you rightfully got...I dunno. In one sense yeah it's wrong if you were going 90 in a 60 and did it on purpose and were just hoping to not get a ticket...but I don't see it as wrong because I have a problem with the whole posted speed limit issue. Things like poor counties setting up speed traps...the same road having 4 different speed limits for 4 different counties with no change in road conditions...highway speed limits changing from state to state when you cross a state line with no change in highway conditions...it becomes painfully obvious that quite a few speed limits, in fact a LOT of speed limits (except for neighborhood ones and school ones and work zone ones...which if you speed there god help you is my opinion because I won't) are just a product of politicians, money grubbing counties, and activist groups who lobby for it to be higher here and lower there. It's apparent in a lot of places that the speed limit has nothing to do with safety and road conditions, in fact the DOT makes a distinction between driving over posted speed limit and driving recklessly....and I think the whole thing is stupid. Yes, there have to be speed limits, but they have to be more reasonable. And that's my 2 cents as to why I think it's perfectly moral to argue them in the first place.

Austin519

 

stevenguyen16:
And dude where the heck did your post come from??? It has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. I suggest you go post a new topic in the TLS forum asking that because you'll get relatively few answers here and just end up disrupting the friendly flow of opinionated comments

Austin519

 

I say just pay the fine and go on with your life. It is not worth all the trouble fighting for the ticket. I just got a ticket one month ago for going 55 in a 25 zone around midnight. The fine is around 300. It really sucked because I was doing 0-60 miles for the first time in my TLS, and there happened to be a cop car behind me. I didn't saw him until I stopped my car, and he said I could do that again so he can use a stop watch and his radar gun to measure my time. Of course I knew he was joking and he still gave me a ticket for 55 even though I was going a lot faster than that. However, they still let me go to online traffic school, which I finished in only one hour instead of 8 hours in regular traffic school. and my friend who was with me pay half of the fine for me. Be sure to ask the court if you can go to online traffic school.

 

I posted this once before for another unlucky board member, so here it is again:


"First I should say that I am a matrimonial attorney not a traffic attorney. Having said that allow me to offer some NY advice. Ask around and see if you can find out from the local bar association who is the king of traffic court defense. Don't just hire anyone, get someone who spends his day every day in traffic court. It makes a difference, they know the judges and D.A.s. They know the best strategy to try to help you.

Here in NY you can sometimes plead to a lesser charge, in other words a different moving violation.

What's the difference...well in NY if you get too many (3) speeds you can lose your license a lot faster than if you have a conviction for failing to signal a lane change.

There's an old saying which is always fight your first speed ticket, because you will lose your second speed ticket and then if you pled guilty on your first and decide to fight and lose your second now you have two speeding convictions.

The concept of constantly getting your case adjourned is also important, because police officers retire, get sick, go on vacation, take personal days or just don't show up. So if you know the cop is not there then you are ready. If the cop is there, you are not ready.

Hope this helps you."

 

What the? Start your own thread!

 

Tdoh-

I didn't know that it is 2 points for reckless.

I was wondering what that discretionary ticket they can issue was. Thanks for posting that.

 

This might be worth checking out? I got this a couple of months ago from a friend, i haven't tried it but it seems logical, but maybe if someone knew someone who works in the traffic court system they could find out if this really works. If you do decide to pay the ticket, this is worth a try:

If You Get a Traffic Ticket

Just thought I would share this with you, as I work in the ticket enforcement division and in the course of my investigation into "fines, their payment methods, and how points are assessed against drivers licenses we discovered something very interesting. If you get a traffic ticket, this has been tried and it works. I tried to send this to everyone I know. I know that for a fact this works, so if you ever get in this situation, you have an out. We discovered that this procedure works in every state. Read it and try it, you have nothing to lose but the points on your license. This is how it works: If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or whatever the case may be, and you are going to get points on your license, then there is a method to ensure that you DO NOT get any points. When you get your fine, send in the check to pay for it and if the fine is say, $79, then make the check out for $82 or some small amount over the fine. The system will then have to send you back a check for the difference! But, here is the trick!

***DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK***

Throw it away! Points are not assessed to your license until all financial transactions are complete. If you do not cash the check, then the transactions are NOT complete. However, the system has gotten its money and is happy and will not bother you any more. This information came to our attention from a very reliable computer company that sets up the standard database used by each state's DMV. Good luck and share this with all your friends and other family members."

--hey rominl, if you do try this and it works let me know, so i can do it too if i ever get a ticket!

 

Dude, tell him that there was nothing on the sign that said maximum speed. Tell him you thought it was the lower limit and you are sorry for the confusion. Play ignorent.

 

This has been posted time and time again here (and elsewhere) as another of the great Internet Urban Legends and it does *not* work in any jurisdiction. Just wishful thinking on someone's part....