supraken

iTrader: (1)

Got pulled over during the weekend around Saratoga Springs NY, ticket was for 75mph in 65mph. A couple of friends told me that if I plead not guilty and by simply going to court, usually the officer will reduce the ticket by one "level" (e.g. 20 over will become 10, and 10 will usually become some b.s. parking ticket). The thing is, it's about a 4 1/2 hour drive from where I am.

Do you guys think it is worth it to make the drive and go to court? The thing is, I have a clean record and I really don't want this to be on my record.

On another note, if I do get the ticket convicted, if I take the defensive driving class and get the points removed, would the insurance still know about it?

Romeo8Juliet

If you get convicted.. it's going on your record.. and insurance will know about it.. enjoy higher rates.

If you don't want speeding tickets on your record, don't do it.

I speed all the time.. when I get caught, I suck it up.. pay the fine.. and go about my day.

EuRTSX

Car Talk.

FuriousGeorge83

Go to court and you'll get it dropped or down to a speedometer malfunction or something like that. Ive had 2 tickets for speeding that were dropped to the speedometer malfunction thing and you just pay the money.

imj0257

iTrader: (1)

really? what do you say to the judge? "my speedometer must have malfunctioned. i'll get it checked out"? and shes like "ok" and drops it so it doesnt go on your record and you just pay the ticket?

mn2trance

If this is your first offense, then you can plea no contest. If you plea guilty, be prepared to pay court fees, too, since you had shown up rather than mail in the payment.

Beelzebub

State Trooper?

If it is a county or local plead not guilty and go to court, they never show up. If it is a state trooper, plead no contest, they always show up.

WdnUlik2no

Its def worth the hour drive, I don't think you want sky high insurance rates for the next 3 - 5 years. Ins companies are already itching to raise your rates to begin with, don't give them a reason without a fight.

pleading no contest still goes on your record I think. Your best bet is to get it reduced or eliminated with traffic school you should be in good shape if its your first offense. But if its only 10 miles over it may not be reported to insurance anyway. Depending on your state, violations are not reported to insurance unless its a certain amount of points. In Georgia 4 point offenses are automatically reported 2 point offenses aren't and in Georgia 10 miles over is a 2 point offense.

About six years ago, I had a 28 over reduced to 14 over, by paying the fine and going to traffic school. Even better, my insurance never knew about it.

kosstick

Write a written declaration....

stright-(paint)balling

not always i got a speeding ticket 15 over. paid it .(200 bucks) for the next 3 years (it just came off) i asked my insurance agent about it. they said i get one freebie as long as the old offense has dropped off.
even if they totalled my car and i was "at fault" she said i get one freebie at any given time. so i was better off pay the 200 bucks than take a day off work and go fight it. plus it was a state dick so good luck getting out of that.

Shoofin

Wow, I can't believe you got pulled over for going 10 over....I would definitely plead not guilty and try to fight it. Get a lawyer if possible. I don't know how things are in that Part of NY, find out if they have a plea bargaining system, if so, cross your fingers that you are able to plea bargain it down to a non points violation. And the answer to your question is YES, even if you take a defensive driving course, the points will still show up on your license. You do get a discount on your insurance for having the course though...HOWEVER your insurance company doesn't just "find out" about a ticket the second you're convicted. As long as you don't alter your policy in any way, they most likely wouldn't pick it up unless they do a random audit on your policy, then they would pick it up, and depending on your insurance company, your premium would reflect the violation. Some companies forgive the first instance though...Good Luck!

mreh

if your record is clean, most places in new york ( outside of nyc ) will let you plea down... plea not guilty go to court and they'll drop the ticket to a non moving violation at worst so the speeding ticket wont go on your record, the small local courts up there just want money

supraken

iTrader: (1)

Looks like the general feeling is that I should be able to plea it down. Anyone have experience with getting a traffic violation lawyer, and how much they might cost?

vas25tl

I got a speeding ticket going 15 over about a year ago. Everyone told me to go to court and I'm glad I did. When I walked up they asked if I wished to dispute the citation. I said yes. They said they'll drop all the points and keep the fine at the same level (No points=no raising insurance). It ended up being an expensive parking ticket

I was there for literally about 5 minutes

cmschmie

I'll give you two of my scenarios.

1. Got pulled for going 12 over. Went to court, told the lawyer that was there that I just didn't want to ticket to affect my parents' insurance. Lawyer said some legal mumbo jumbo, Judge knocked it down to 9 over (no points/insurance issues there) and I paid the fine on the ticket. Had to pay it right there in cash (~$120)

2. Got pulled going 21 over (that's another story). Got a lawyer, paid his $360 fee, ticket was dropped but I had to do "Prayer for Judgement" and keep a clean record for 3 years. Again, no affect on insurance.
If I got another ticket in the 3 year period time, BOTH tickets would go on my record and insurance would skyrocket.

IMO, I think it would be cheaper to go to court where they'll knock it down a notch. You'll still have to pay the price on the ticket, but it won't be nearly as expensive as a lawyer.

cmschmie

Basically what he said

taitando

Don't know what the laws are in NY, but if I was in your situation in Cali, I'd just pay and do traffic school. Especially with this being your first incident, as traffic school wipes the point from your record thus equaling no insurance increase. You can do traffic school online, cheat, whatever, but to me that's better than hiring a lawyer and trucking it out to court still not knowing how the judge will rule. Courts here are slow and you gotta show up early along with a hundred other people.

wackura

Most people seem to be forgetting about the 4 1/2 drive both ways to get back to that jurisdiction for court. I can't fathom how this could posisbly be worth your time and the cost of gas unless you get some intrinsic pleasure from going to traffic court. Even traffic school, if it lasts more than five minutes is already more trouble than it's worth. That's DUI territory.

If you are under 20 or 25 y/o then obviously the insurance hit will be worse, if you're 25 or over you probably won't feel a thing, but in either case I think you'd be best served to pay the ticket online (if you're willing to pay the fee) and quickly put this unwinnable behind you.

Rounder

Ugh, I'm in the same boat. I got pulled over for a 55 in a 45 last night. Nassau, but it was a local town cop.

The cop basically told me to go in and talk to the DA and strike a deal. So, basically it sounds like show up, and they will reduce it to no points, but still a fine?

First speeding ticket

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Fight it, Fight every ticket! Use the system.

I never understood the comments of I speed but when I get caught I own up to it.

Our legal system is setup with tons of loopholes. Learn them & use them.

wackura

For whatever reason I've never got a ticket with 300 miles of my residence but if I'm ever within driving distance of the county from which I received the ticket I'll try fighting for the fun of it.

I used to follow the fight-a-ticket handbook and not give the cop a scrap to work with , but given that it's almost never worth driving 300 or more miles to fight a ticket, the next time I get a ticket (not an if) that far away I'll definately try telling the cop/state trooper what they want to hear 100%. Something like "I was speeding because I lost Jesus; but I'm finding His light now in this dark moment."

TS_eXpeed

Just pay it.



I think we should ban people who post threads about "Advice on Speeding Ticket" or "I ran into the backend of someone, can I get out of it.."

TS_eXpeed

wackura

Stop passing judgement. Not everyone who gets a ticket or in an auto accident necessarily deserves everything that law has to throw at them. There's no "one size fits all" in matters of justice.

supraken

iTrader: (1)

Well, I think I'm going to go with the plea bargaining route, hopefully my so-far-clean record can buy me some room to negotiate..