Pay the speeding ticket and go on, or go to court...

[gontleman 0]

pay the ticket, pay the court fees, and pay for driving school to keep it off my record.

13 over, 53 in a 40. I wasn't even aware that I was speeding at the time (tired, on my way to work in the morning) and it's my first time being pulled over for speeding in this state since I started driving. (pulled over in minnesota 3 years ago in a hurry to mount rushmore during a road trip)

If it's not going to bump my insurance up that much if any than I'd rather not deal with the whole mess. Does anyone have a ballpark idea on how much it would go up? Just looking for the best option for the time/money involved.

[quade 4]

Traffic School wins everytime.

quade -
The World's Most Boring Skydiver

[1969912 0]

Here is an online school for $19.95. Might need permisson from your local court, though:

http://www.simplefastfun.com/

Another:

https://secure.funtimetrafficschool.com/english/home.htm

Gotta love the names!

EDIT: Try the free preview on this one!:

http://www.cartooninteractive.com/

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[gontleman 0]

Quote

Here is an online school for $19.95. Might need permisson from your local court, though:

http://www.simplefastfun.com/

Another:

https://secure.funtimetrafficschool.com/english/home.htm

Gotta love the names!

The real question is if I go to court, what the hell do I say and how do I say it? Hah. This is all new territory for me.

[upndownshop 0]

There is another option. Read the back of the ticket, You pay a fee, dont get another ticket for six months and it is dismissed. Done it many times. Usually cost about 100.00 bucks but no record.
No class no courts.

[1969912 0]

Check the website for the local court and/or state. In many states, the traffic school programs are well-established and they have a list of approved schools. If you want to use a school that is not on the list, I'd just ask them. Search the internet for schools for your state. If there are any online ones, that would be best because you might be able to blaze through it and not have to sit in class all day.

"Once we got to the point where twenty/something's needed a place on the corner that changed the oil in their cars we were doomed . . ."
-NickDG

[akjmpplt 0]

Quote

The real question is if I go to court, what the hell do I say and how do I say it? Hah. This is all new territory for me.

Having been to traffic court many, many times as an officer I can tell you what a lot of people do..they don't dispute that they commited the offense, they give an excuse why they did it or why the court should excuse it...neither of which is the judge really interested in.

If you go to court do one of two things...fight the ticket or ask the court for mercy and request an alternate method of "payment" such as traffic school.

SmugMug

[FlyingJ 0]

Sometimes it's worth it. My very first ticket - 17 years old, Driving on I-75N out of midtown Atlanta I got a ticket for going 95 in a 55, with a note on the ticket that I was paced over 5 miles at a top speed of 102. Mom's Buick speedometer only went to 80, how was I supposed to know! I still wish I had asked the cop why he let me drive for that long before flashing the lights.

Anyway, obviously my license was yanked until I went to my required court date. At court I guess the judge was just having a good day, but she gave me defensive driving in return for erasing the ticket completely. When I took the defensive driving course I made a copy of the certificate that I gave to the court and sent it to my insurance and they lowered my rate approximately the same amount as the class cost me.

Not a bad deal if you ask me.

Killing threads since 2004.

[FlyingJ 0]

Quote

If you go to court do one of two things...fight the ticket or ask the court for mercy and request an alternate method of "payment" such as traffic school.

Right - don't go in and plead not guilty if you just want alternate means for paying for your error. Plead No Contest and then ask about what might be possible. Big difference between trying to get out of it, and admitting your error and looking for alternative forms of settlement.

Community service is always an option, and it doesn't necessarily have to be picking up trash on the highway. While working in state parks in Florida we had folks call up and come in all the time to do community service hours. One guy that was a mechanic came in an afternoon or two per week and did upkeep on park equipment to pay off his hours. When we would get someone that seemed like a pretty good person I would even take them out with me to do trail maintenence or water monitoring, the latter of which required spending the whole day canoeing out on the lake.

The last ticket I got I was forced to postpone the court date twice because I was deployed with Red Cross for a couple months following a hurricane. I explained why I had to postpone twice and when I asked about community service hours the judge suggested that we just call it even and let me off the hook.

Make sure to investigate your options!

jason.

Edit to add:

If you do go the park route, make sure you keep in mind that it's extra work for the park staff to deal with your lousy ass, and that it's them making the opportunity available to you. More than a couple people that gave me attitude ended up knee deep in shit helping to fix broken septic lines in the campground instead of spending the day canoeing on the lake.

Killing threads since 2004.

[skydiverbrian 0]

Always go to court - it's a win-only situation for you. They cannot make your punishment any worse than it already is, but they can make it better.

Explain your extenuating circumstances (of course you had extenuating circumstances: you're a law-abiding citizen who would never have been speeding if it weren't for a completely understandable and forgivable reason) to the judge. Ask for a reduced punishment and see what happens.

In a world full of people, only some want to fly... isn't that crazy! --Seal

[warpedskydiver 0]

Getting the ticket dismissed by the ASA is your best hope.

[ntrprnr 0]

Just took a $300 fine and 3 points to $130 and no points. Go to court. By showing up, you've got a good chance (especially if it's that minor) of beating it.

_______________
"Why'd you track away at 7,000 feet?"
"Even in freefall, I have commitment issues."

[DougH 270]

Go to court, wear something nice, and plead to a lesser offense that gives the local town more revenue through a bigger fine.

They don't care that you were speeding, they don't give two shits about motorist saftey; they just want your money.

"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

[Jib 0]

I don't know about where you are, but in Florida, I'd go to a ticket attorney for $75-150 and let him deal with it.

--------------------------------------------------
the depth of his depravity sickens me.
-- Jerry Falwell, People v. Larry Flynt

[Scoop 0]

You guys have afucked up system if you can just get away with the offence. Over here if you go to court and still found guilty you'll incur court costs and probably a more severe punishment.

[gonzalesna 0]

Go to court and tell them that you were speeding because you didn't know it was a cop and you were freaked out because you thought some psycho was following you.

Some people refrain from beating a dead horse. Personally, I find a myriad of entertainment value when beating it until it becomes a horse-smoothie.

[squirrel 0]

check the requirements for the traffic school. after doing many many traffic schools online, here in southern cal. it is now required that you go to a testing facilty to take the actual test, after you have done the class online. no more drinking and testing and the same time.

________________________________
Where is Darwin when you need him?

[Fast 0]

Quote

You guys have afucked up system if you can just get away with the offence. Over here if you go to court and still found guilty you'll incur court costs and probably a more severe punishment.

In the county that I live in, if you pay a traffic attorney to go to court for you a ticket on the highway will go up by about $100 and be changed to a non-moving violation which doesn't affect your insurance or cause you demerit points. It seems to be working pretty well at generating revenue.

~D
Where troubles melt like lemon drops Away above the chimney tops That's where you'll find me.
Swooping is taking one last poke at the bear before escaping it's cave - davelepka

[pfloyd 0]

Just say NOT GUILTY, get a court date, postpone the court date once or twice, show up to court. I bet the officer forgot all about it at this point and wont even show up which means you don't get a ticket and your record is clean. This worked for me 2 out of 3 times

My drinking team has a skydiving problem