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I Got My First Speeding Ticket...

SamIchi

SamIchi

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Aug 1, 2004
2,716
137
:( This stinks. I was goin 81 in a 65. Well anyways, the officer said that he could lessen the charges, but I forgot what he said after. This is my first ticket and I don't have any points off on my record. Should I plea not guilty? My friend said I should get a lawyer, I don't know if that's neccesary though. Sorry if I sound like a noob, but I've never gotten a speedin' ticket.
 
I don't think it's worth fighting... you were speeding. Plain and simple.

Go to Traffic school so that the point is NOT on your record (ie get too many points and you get your license suspended not to mention the horrible insurance increase). I'd definitely recommend that you just go to traffic school.

Glad that I'm 21 and still traffic ticket free. :eek: Whew.
 
SamIchi said:
:( This stinks. I was goin 81 in a 65. Well anyways, the officer said that he could lessen the charges, but I forgot what he said after. This is my first ticket and I don't have any points off on my record. Should I plea not guilty? My friend said I should get a lawyer, I don't know if that's neccesary though. Sorry if I sound like a noob, but I've never gotten a speedin' ticket.
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You should plead not guilty if you are... well... not guilty. Which you aren't -- not not guilty, that is. Contesting a ticket you know you deserve in the hopes that the officials won't show or somehow mess up, is IMO an abuse of the process and a waste to make the officer attend and testify when they could be doing their real job.

Take it like an adult and take your lumps without complaint. And slow down.

Lawyer - #@%#. Spend $500 to beat a $75 fine? Friend suffers from rectal-cranial insertion.
 
Pay the fine and do traffic school to ditch the points. Well worth it. We don't have that option in Iowa. No points. Just the mark on your record for a couple of years and the occassional insurance hikes.
 
since 17, I'm 21 now. It's crazy how I was thinkin' that same day that it's great that I've never gotten a speeding ticket, and we were discussing this at work, then that day leaving work I get one. I thought I was invincible or sumthin'. Well I've learned my lesson.

But anyways, the officer said that he could lesser the fine. But forgot if he said to plea guilty or not? :confused: I was pretty startled just cause I was pulled over, even though I know I was speeding.
 
I haven't gone personally, but what the numerous people around me have told me is that the judge will usually ask (as it's your first boo-boo) if you'd rather do traffic school. Just do that! Do not bother w/ guilty or not... but if you absolutely must declare, then say, "No contest." because that neither admits fault/innocence.
 
devilot76 said:
I haven't gone personally, but what the numerous people around me have told me is that the judge will usually ask (as it's your first boo-boo) if you'd rather do traffic school. Just do that! Do not bother w/ guilty or not... but if you absolutely must declare, then say, "No contest." because that neither admits fault/innocence.
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No contest? Umm ok.

Well I asked a couple of other friends and they said just plead not guilty and goto court and they might just reduce it cause it's my first one.
 
Go to court. Ask judge if the police officer that have stop you has a valid certificate for using that radar. There is also a chance -although very slim- that the officer might not show up and the charges will be dismissed.
 
I haven't gotten a ticket yet, either. I've only been tearing around town for a while, but I have a keen sense of where cops are and aren't.

IE:
Can speed through Westbury, Meyerland, but NOT Bellaire and West University.

Also, cop cars in Houston are really easy to spot in your rearview mirror. Before I put pedal to metal, I always do a cursory check.

...I will get caught HARD someday.

:(
 
If the fine isn't all that much I would probably just go ahead and pay the fine. Whether to fight or not would depend on if you have the time to spend at court. Some are successful at throwing out the ticket if you have some good evidence.
 
SamIchi said:
No contest? Umm ok.

Well I asked a couple of other friends and they said just plead not guilty and goto court and they might just reduce it cause it's my first one.
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All depends on the rules where you live.

Here, pleading not guilty and requesting a trial -- means you lose out on the traffic school option.
 
Depends on the local laws.
Here I would challenge it because you have nothing to lose. Hear tickets are sent to a traffic court with a mediator (not a judge).

If the cop doesn't show up, the ticket is thrown out. If he does, make up a good story to try to get it reduced.

Its not the fine that kills you, it will be the points that get added to your license and the subsequent increase in insurance costs.
 
While I agree that you should not plead "not guilty", I tend to disagree with people who feel that you did wrong and shouldn't try to get away unpunished.

In truth, speeding tickets are primarily a method for municipalities to raise revenue and for insurance companies to raise rates.

The reason? Speeding tickets are given for disobeying the posted speed limits, not for driving recklessly. Having driven for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles, I think that the average speeder is no more (and typically less) dangerous than the elderly person driving in the leftmost lane at (or below) the posted limit or the kid talking on the cell phone or the guy eating dinner in the car.

So I say: do all you can to get out of it.
 
remember my first speeding ticket, 2 days after i got my P's (provisional license) anyway i had to go 363 days with one point left on my license, needless to say i was careful, now i have the full 12 points and am locing it. I didn;t realise traffic school in the states cancelled out points how easy is that, you could go hog wild??? In oz we lose points for every offense depending on the severity, means you can lose your license in one go if you try.

Oh and pay the fine you cheapskate ;) you did the wrong thing sucker up speeding is far more dangerous than a lot of people realise (faster reactions times required anticipation etc, the limits of the car, it may not seem dangerous but it is.
 
barneygumble said:
Oh and pay the fine you cheapskate ;) you did the wrong thing sucker up speeding is far more dangerous than a lot of people realise (faster reactions times required anticipation etc, the limits of the car, it may not seem dangerous but it is.
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I'm with you -- having also driven for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles myself, as far as I'm concerned, it makes no sense to rationalize breaking the speed limit laws because somebody else on the road might be even more dangerous, and not least of all because you chose to be a scofflaw. When you get caught violating a traffic law, you've got to pay the man, just the same as when you get caught violating some other law. And if you let it be a lesson to you, you'll be a better person and a better driver for it. If you get all righteously indignant about it, you'll on the road (so to speak) to becoming a lousy driver who only thinks he's a good driver because he hasn't killed himself or anybody else yet.

In the scheme of things, a speeding ticket is a cheap lesson. Learn it! The next one could be far, far more expensive.
 
barneygumble said:
I didn;t realise traffic school in the states cancelled out points how easy is that, you could go hog wild???
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No. In California anyway, if you get another ticket within a certain time (a year?) you don't get the option of traffic school. Or something like that - I haven't had a ticket here so don't know the exact rules, but they don't let you go hog wild.

I've had one ticket, for speeding, in 23 years of driving, mainly because the SUV-type vehicle behind me was three feet from my rear bumper (ie. fender) and I let myself be intimidated into driving too fast. We were both pulled over and ticketed. I didn't fight it because I knew I was over the speed limit.
 
If I were you, I would hire a traffic lawyer to contest the ticket (if OJ gets away with that trial, I feel I would take full advantage of my legal rights for a pesky speeding ticket). If he can get a plea with the state/city/town (whichever jurisdiction your ticket is subject to) to a non moving violation, that would be a sweet deal.

Some jurisdictions have tough judges (usually small villages or towns which need revenues from traffic citations) and most of the lawyers you ask will tell you how confident they are about representing you. If the attorney tells you it is a toss up (no attorney should guarantee your win; if he says so, you should stay away from that attorney), then, it would be better to show up at the court by yourself. Usually, cops and courts team up well and set the court days so that all the officers will show up for a court day which is pretty much dedicated to the traffic tickets (so, don't count on no-show by an arresting officer). By hearing your previous cases on your court day, you can make a decision if you plead guilty or not. If you have a relatively clean driving record, a reasonable judge might give you a probation before judgement for 90 days or so (in this case, as long as you don't get another ticket during this probation, after 90 days, your ticket does not haunt you as it does not stay on your record).

Individual mileages vary. So the above comments are based on my experience and may not be applicable for your case.
 
SamIchi said:
since 17, I'm 21 now. It's crazy how I was thinkin' that same day that it's great that I've never gotten a speeding ticket, and we were discussing this at work, then that day leaving work I get one.
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the one and only speeding ticket i've got was the day after i was teasing my friend for all of his... I know how you feel :D
 
Ive had 2 speeding tickets. Just go to court, they will call your name youll go outside the courtroom and talk to the officer or prosecuter. Admit you screwed up and its only first offense, apologize maybe. The youll go back in the court and you say nonguilty for you original ticket and say guilty for the lesser ticket you get. Atleast thats how it was for me in 2 different townships. For me I had a 41 in a 25 (middle of country...i dont quite understand that speed posting, i guess its to make money) in which all points were dropped and was changed to something else which was still a fine and no points. The second i was going 81 in a 65 and had the penalty reduced from 4 points to 2 and lesser fine. Biggest thing there was no insurance hike. Eitherway just go to court what have you got to lose?
 
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