should i get my son a lawyer for his careless driving?

[Pluto 2]

my son has to go to court in the middle of next month for careless driving. he hit a tree. i wasnt thinking of getting a lawyer but than all these things came in the mail from lawyers explaining why he should get a lawyer. is it really worth while to get a lawyer?

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I got a ticket for careless driving in Florida. I live in NYC so I didn't show up for court. I ended up paying a fine and that was the end of it. I wasn't worried about points or anything, supposedly a lawyer can help negotiate that type of thing which may help so his insurance rate doesn't jump up.

 

[BeenHereB4]

Having worked for a municipal attorney in NJ (yup, we sent out those very postcards you've been getting), I can tell you that you can do the exact same thing the attorney would do. You have every right to try to negotiate down the points if he is given them. Typically though, the way you negotiate down the points is by paying a larger fine. So you'd have to weigh that against insurance increases after points set in, what you/your son can afford, etc.

He may get lucky and the cop may not show. Good luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

I'd do what the PP did and plead to the prosecutor. You might pay more, but avoid some points, which are nightmares with insurance costs and state surcharges.

 

[MM27]

I got a speeding ticket in October and the letters from the lawyers started pouring it. It was crazy. They don't have your best interest in mind. They are looking for business.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would say it strongly depends on whether or not your son is guilty. If he is, I think he should accept his consequences and move on.

If he feels the collision was unavoidable despite his proper driving--then get an attorney.

IIRC, you believe him to be a careless driver, so I don't personally feel that you should go the expense of the attorney.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'm not really a fan of the careless driving concept. Many times it's not so much careless, as inexperienced and not having yet learned the best ways to react. There's a definite learning curve as there is with anything, so why should a novice driver get this extra knock against them? If there is something extra like texting involved, I think that is a different case.