If you fought a speeding ticket in court....

[vettechick99]

Did they reduce it cost? I got my first ticket in 10 years a few weeks ago for going 71 in a 55. Really not that fast, being that it was a state road that hardly anyone lives on. Anyway, I'm quite sure it's going to be a pricey ticket and wondering if it's even worth going and asking for a reduction.

 

[OK!]

I've gotten all of mine fixed for probably the last 10 years or so. Yeah, it costs more, but it's worth it not to have any points slapped on me. My last speeding charge was reduced to "excessive vehicle noise."

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

It was 1988, and I was in the Army. I was speeding, no doubt (78 in a 55 on I81S). I went to court because the cop was a jerk, not to fight the ticket. I wanted to tell the judge how the police officer acted.

The police officer showed up, I told the judge what happened while admitting my guilt. The police officer went off on me in front of the judge. It was strange, because I was there, in uniform, and he was talking to me like I was 3 years old. Let's just say that his behavior was very unprofessional.

The judge reprimanded the officer for his behavior, dropped my fine to $15 (yeah, $15 for doing 23 MPH over the speed limit ) and I got no points on my license!

If you have been wronged, fight it. You never know...

 

[Gabes_mommy]

My mom got a speeding ticket recently. She hired one of those ticket attorneys for $70 who got the charges dropped and no points on her license. She highly recommended it.

 

[N.Bailey]

Look at your ticket. I'm not sure how it might be written in your state, but when my son got one in the not so distant past, it said right on the ticket that radar picked up the speed, and it had the date on the ticket when the radar equipment was last tested.

Those radar machines can malfunction, but for the most part, it's hard to fight it unless it's been a long time since it had been tested last.

If you change tire size on your vehicle from the standard the manufacturer had on the vehicle, your speedometer can be off by as much as 10 MPH. I don't know if that's the case here, but I think it's something everyone should be aware of.

 

[vettechick99]

He was a nice officer so I haven't been wronged. I just don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket when I have a baby on the way (and a Disney trip ). He did ask me if I wanted him to check the radar and I said no.

 

[mjkacmom]

Here you don't fight the ticket, you plead guilty to the prosecutor, and usually your points come down. Edited to add, didn't vote, because I still had to pay the fine and court costs, but here in NJ, you don't want points.

 

[kimblebee]

I fought mine in court and had it thrown out. It was a red light camera that caught me speeding. I went to court and said that I was keeping up with the speed of traffic. The judge said ok, just be mindful of the speed. I was going 13 km over the speed limit so the ticket was around $180 I think. I've had 2 speeding tickets in my lifetime. One I paid and the other one was thrown out. Not bad except for the fact that I don't even own a car

ETA- I didn't get any demerits on my licence because with a red light camera they can't tell who was driving the car. They send the ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle and they can figure out who was driving at the time.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If we get a ticket we hire someone. We have never just paid a speeding ticket.
You don't have to do anything. The lawyer you hire negotitates the charges beforehand and that is it.

Now you have to cough up the money but for us, we prefer not to have a speeding ticket on our insurance record.

 

[2binak]

Dh recently went to fight a speeding ticket and before going into the courtroom, was met by an assistant DA who offered him a deal. It saved him a few hundred $$$ and some points. I say plead not guilty and go to court. It doesn't hurt and it might even help!

 

[dhcoffey]

I know I don't live far from you and work in the court system here where I live. I know here you can go to court, talk to the solicitor, and usually they'll work with you pretty well to keep you from having points. Not many people here hire attorneys for speeding tickets since you can just talk to the solicitor yourself. You may can even call the solicitor's office before the court date and talk to them and then just pay the ticket to keep from having to go to court.

Good luck and congratulations on the baby!

Heather

 

[bballmom56]

I got a ticket on a road like you describe - open, no houses, farmland actually, beautiful, clear sunny day. Yep, I was speeding - 65 in a 50. What was I going to fight? The cop (a state trooper) reduced it to careless driving and it was $85.

I couldn't in good conscience fight anything. I was speeding and I accepted the consequences. And it probably helped since I gave up my lead foot so that I didn't get another ticket!

 

[CathrynRose]

He was a nice officer so I haven't been wronged. I just don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket when I have a baby on the way (and a Disney trip ). He did ask me if I wanted him to check the radar and I said no.

Let me tell you a story - which has nothing to do at all with your question, but you reminded me of it.

I was maybe 19 - got pulled over for speeding. My father was a lifelong police officer, and generally the "I'm so sorry, my father's a police officer" sent me on my merry little way.

This guy goes "What'dya think you're special?" Well, kinda yeah, since I haven't gotten a ticket yet when I say it.

But the thing was - I was not speeding. I swear on my Mother's grave, swear on my kid's lives, swear on everything - I super duper swear i WAS NOT SPEEDING. So, I asked this clown to see the radar - he told me he didn't have to show me that. My butt.

So I went to court - told the judge my whole story and said - I asked to see his radar, and he refused.

That jerk lied. He flat out LIED. "No, she did not, sir" ! ! !

It still ticks me off to this day, and I'm 36. Completely lied.

Anyways - because I didn't plead guilty and took up more court time, my fine was actually more. If they offer you a plea - that's what I'd do.

 

[livie1205]

The ONLY reason to fight a ticket is IF your not guilty...if you were speeding pay the ticket and move on...if you can afford a wdw trip you can pay the speeding ticket if you were in fact speeding. I am NOT trying to be hard about it but if you do not want to pay for it just slow down and dont speed.I am 33 yrs old and have never ever gotten a ticket for anything...I just do not want to pay for a traffic ticket. so I drive safe and under the limit.I have seen alot of people (not OP) say "the guy was a jerk I was NOT speeding"...I have never gotten pulled for not speeding, maybe I am just lucky.

 

[Inigo]

So I went to court - told the judge my whole story and said - I asked to see his radar, and he refused.

I don't think any of the US states requires an officer to show the radar to the person, even if they ask nicely and say please. It's a safety issue. Besides, the officer is trained to gauge speed visually. The radar is just to verify his visual determination of your speed.

 

[CathrynRose]

I don't think any of the US states requires an officer to show the radar to the person, even if they ask nicely and say please. It's a safety issue. Besides, the officer is trained to gauge speed visually. The radar is just to verify his visual determination of your speed.

Actually - they are (or were then, perhaps) per my Father.

Besides - why wouldn't the judge or officer say that, in court? He didn't. He said I didn't ask.

 

[Shutterbug]

The ONLY reason to fight a ticket is IF your not guilty...if you were speeding pay the ticket and move on...if you can afford a wdw trip you can pay the speeding ticket if you were in fact speeding. I am NOT trying to be hard about it but if you do not want to pay for it just slow down and dont speed.I am 33 yrs old and have never ever gotten a ticket for anything...I just do not want to pay for a traffic ticket. so I drive safe and under the limit.I have seen alot of people (not OP) say "the guy was a jerk I was NOT speeding"...I have never gotten pulled for not speeding, maybe I am just lucky.

Its not fighting the ticket perse as much as getting it reduced which I see nothing wrong in. Points usually means more monthly insurance premiums or possibly getting dropped all together.

So if you can go to court and get it reduced with no points then there is no reason to just accept it all up front.

And dont get me started about drivers who drive under the limit are being safe....

 

[vettechick99]

The ONLY reason to fight a ticket is IF your not guilty...if you were speeding pay the ticket and move on...if you can afford a wdw trip you can pay the speeding ticket if you were in fact speeding.

Sorry, I don't agree. I am guilty and will ask for leniancy. As I said before, I haven't gotten a ticket in 10 years so obviously I'm not a major hazard on the roads. Just going a little too fast on a country road.

My insurance agent just emailed me and said my insurance could go up 25%. That's insane. Of course I'm going to fight it. I'd be dumb not to.

 

[C.Ann]

The ONLY reason to fight a ticket is IF your not guilty...if you were speeding pay the ticket and move on...if you can afford a wdw trip you can pay the speeding ticket if you were in fact speeding. I am NOT trying to be hard about it but if you do not want to pay for it just slow down and dont speed.I am 33 yrs old and have never ever gotten a ticket for anything...I just do not want to pay for a traffic ticket. so I drive safe and under the limit.I have seen alot of people (not OP) say "the guy was a jerk I was NOT speeding"...I have never gotten pulled for not speeding, maybe I am just lucky.

I pretty much feel the same way - although I probably wouldn't word it exactly like the quoted post..

My theory on speeding tickets is that if you don't want to pay them, you make sure that you don't drive over the speed limit.. I'm 60 - and I've never even had a parking ticket.. LOL.. There's a reason they're called "limits" - and a reason that you get a ticket if you exceed that "limit" - right?

Personally, I couldn't stand in front of a judge and try to wiggle my way out of something - knowing full well that I was "guilty".. I would just pay the fine, take the points (if you get them), and consider it a life lesson.. That's how we learn some of the most important life lessons - the "hard" way - and it hits pretty hard when it's a dent in the wallet..

Unless you make a habit of speeding, I would just do the right thing and consider it a "lesson learned"..

And congrats on the new baby-to-be!

 

[livie1205]

Its not fighting the ticket perse as much as getting it reduced which I see nothing wrong in. Points usually means more monthly insurance premiums or possibly getting dropped all together.

So if you can go to court and get it reduced with no points then there is no reason to just accept it all up front.

And dont get me started about drivers who drive under the limit are being safe....

I did not say drive way under the limit but norm there are min/ max speeds I try to stay under the max speed and if I do not and I am caught I would pay the fine.When someone who KNOWS they are guilty fights a ticket in court the LEO has to go to court (even on their day off) and being married to a LEO I know how it feels when my dh has to go to court on his day off because someone who is guilty of the traffic violation fights it....if they are guilty the judge here still makes them pay the whole fine.
I can not tell you how many times my dh has had to miss a family outing to go to traffic court.