Speeding Ticket options..

[Dennisfly]

I received a ticket for 70 in a 55 MPH in Louisa County, VA. I also have +5 points (good record). I talked to the court clerk about traffic school, but she said the judge doesn't believe in it. She did say that the judge would remove 2 MPH from the fine for every year that you have been ticket free. I decided to go to court rather than pay by mail, hoping that the officer wouldn't show and the charge would be dropped, or that I could reduce the fine for my good driving record. My officer did show up and I sat in court for about three hours, since my officer was last of several to present his cases and my name starts with a "W", and they went alphabetically. After the officer presented his evidence (radar) the judge asked how i wanted to plead and I said "nolo contendre" which means I don't contest the charge but I'm not admitting guilt either. The judge asked about my driving record and I gave him a copy of the record which I obtained from the DMV that showed my last five years ticket free and +5 points but told him I think I had a ticket in another county about six years ago. The judge asked the officer if he had any other input and the officer said no.

The judge thanked me for my candor and dismissed the charges based on my good driving record. I shook hands with the officer and paid the clerk the court costs which were $60. So, my three hours saved the fine which I believe was about $120 and the points for driving record and insurance.

I think each county and judge will be different and have their own policy.

I did ask my Nationwide insurance agent if paying the ticket would increase my rates and he said no. He said their policy is to give one "freeby".

 

[Lava Rancher]

Nothing wrong with exercising your rights and this time it paid off.

 

[Bird]

from talking to more than a couple ppl, at least here in VA quite a few localities will offer traffic school and then dismiss the ticket upon successful completion..

I need to call the locality and see what their standard policy is.. It sounds too easy to be honest..

A few ppl have said that a lawyer can do the same thing by making a few phone calls..

Brian

That is probably true about the traffic school. It's probably similar to what Texas does, so you might find this site interesting: Traffic Tickets and Violations in Texas | DOT

Incidentally, even though I was qualified to teach defensive driving many years ago, I can get a 10% insurance premium reduction if I take a defensive driving course once every 3 years. So even though my wife has never received a traffic citation, and my last one was in February, 1963, we both take a defensive driving course every 3 years, and it's a good refresher.

We used to go in person to a class somewhere, usually put on by AARP. (They asked me to become one of the volunteer instructors, but I never did.) But now AARP, AAA, and I don't know who else have an online version. We have AAA auto insurance, but the AARP course is geared toward older drivers, and the cost of the AARP course is less than the AAA course, and of course AAA insurance accepts the AARP course, so it's the one we do. We did the last one on June 4, 2010, so we'll do it again in about a year. They mail a completion form and I give it to my insurance agent.

I don't know if all the states and insurance companies give the insurance premium reduction but since you can take the course online, at your own pace, I can't understand why everyone doesn't do it.

 

[Danno1]

You were speeding...end of discussion...thats what the judge will say too.

Not necessarily.

Was the 45 zone at the bottom of a long steep 65MPH hill? Was it obstructed by tree limbs/leaves? Was it around a blind corner? Was it just a random speed limit change for no apparent reason? I've seen all of these situations.

There could be many infrastructure related reasons to fight this ticket.


.

 

[Eagle09]

I'm a retired Law Enforcement Officer now but I still work part time in the court system in NC. I'm speaking from more than 34 years of experience in and out of the courtroom with daily interaction with Attorneys, Judges and Prosecutors. The best advice I can give you is to speak to an Attorney in your jurisdiction about the ticket. He/She will understand that you have a safe driving record and simply want to avoid the hit on your insurance and driving record.

The fee for the Attorney isn't that bad and much less than the fees you pay for the ticket, insurance increase, time away from work to attend court etc. Any quality Attorney will know the "ins and outs" of the court system in your area and know if driving school is available as well as what benefit it may provide you. In many jurisdictions, ours included, a driver with a clean record can attend the 8 hour driving school, present the certification of completion to the court and the court will dismiss the citation. For us here, this option is only available once every three years so that's something to consider also.

A few minutes consultation with an Attorney should give you the information you need to make an informed choice of what to do. Many Attorneys will give you a short (15 minute or so) consultation free so that may be an option for you in VA too. Not trying to be critical, but I suggest that you not start calling the Officer, Prosecutor or Judge as that is viewed here as highly inappropriate. I doubt that any of them would agree to discuss it with you anyway, but no sense in making a pest of yourself or risking being labeled as such.

It may not seem like it to you but a routine traffic citation for speeding is a relatively minor thing to the Court System. The people who hold your fate in their hands are real people too who understand what you are trying to accomplish. Either having an Attorney represent you or if you represent yourself in Court, being respectful and displaying a professional appearance in Court goes a very long way. Good luck in whatever you decide, and I hope you will update this post whenever this situation is resolved.

 

[Bird]

One more suggestion. If you do consult an attorney, and pay an attorney to take care of it for you, get a receipt. When I worked the streets, I don't know how many people I took to jail for "alias tickets"; i.e., failure to appear in court, who told me they paid an attorney to take care of it. When I was a watch commander in the jail, I had officers bring in many people with the same story. I always asked who the attorney was and did you get a receipt. EVERY ONE OF THEM without exception said they paid the attorney in cash and did not get a receipt. Now I assume that most of them were lying to me, but every one of them?????

 

[thatguy]

8-15-12 update

talked with a lawyer and he basically said that the local judges do NOT believe in using traffic/driver improvement class for a reason to dismiss the charges.. His fee would be $400 PLUS he would want me to have the speedo dyno'd (not sure how much) and take a driver improvement class ($70 + a full day of my time - AND if i am found guilty it wont help add points back to my license). IF by doing all of that and showing up in court with a copy of my clean driving record he thought at BEST the judge MAY lower it to 9 mph over the limit (a $54 savings).

I am going to do what the poster from Louisa (in VA) did and got to court with my driving record and see if the judge will cut me a break..

brian

 

[bucktaker]

just went through this in miami county ohio. i do not have a clean record as I drive about 45k miles per year and average a ticket every 24 months. Not proud of it but it is what it is. Was recently clocked 64 in a 55 construction zone... not a real construction just a spped trap on I-75

Pled my case to the Prosecutor who lectured me and everyone else who was planning on pleading not guilty.. Was reduced to 59 in a 55 no points and $25 fine. Go to court but try to talk to the prosecutor to try to reduce your offense.

 

[Pitch1]

I would think any advice given here would be jurisdiction specific. Here in NY(upstate) tickets are issued answerable to the town the violation occured in. You have a choice to either pay the ticket or appear in person to contest it. An asst DA will be at court, you ask the DA what he is willing to offer. Most of the time if you are not a habitual offender,or your offense wasn't especially over the top,he will let you plea to a lessor offense,usually "Failure to obey a traffic control device,(the speed limit sign)". This carries no points,but the fine is close to the same,court costs are set by the state so no negotiation there.
I have never personally heard of sentencing to traffic school as a sole remedy for a ticket although it may happen.
I wish we had safe driver point here in NY. Every one here is treated the same no matter what the drivers record is.

As an aside, Radar detectors are legal in NY in a non commercial vehicle,BUT most counties have a policy that if you get pulled over for speeding you MAY get a ticket,if you have a detector,you WILL get a ticket.

 

[Gator6x4]

Most police, DA's and the courts look at a speeding or other traffic infraction as a lapse in mental control. Most Insurance companies look at all traffic tickets as a revenue enhancer. Most insurance companies charge an elevated premium for three years for policy holders that receive a traffic citation. And they don't care if you have been driving fifty years without any type blemish.