Advice on speeding tickets

[Iowadiver]

Some of you may remember my post a month or so ago about the third day with my 08' and I got clocked going 127 in a 55.... officer was nice enough to write the ticket for 85mph, but I still had to go to court to it.

So, I go to court this week anticipating a $300+ ticket cost plus court costs and several years of crappy insurance rates. Long story short, I left the court room after three hours of waiting, only having to pay $212 in court costs, charges dropped, no points on the license, and all I had to say to the judge's "you are charged with unlawful speed, how do you plead?"... I said "no contest". And that was it.

What did I learn this day? The first 8-10 people of the 60 people in the courtroom waiting to have their charges heard, were lawyers representing people who were not present for speeding tickets and other violations. Almost all the lawyers got up, plead "no contest", the judge had them pay court costs, and dropped the ticket. I didn't catch on to this right away. Then we sat through two hours of people who had previously pled "not guilty" and tried to win thier case outright. The only people that got off were the two who were lucky enough for the officer that wrote them their tickets not to show. The others had really crappy arguements and lost, being found guilty of charges and having to not only pay court costs, but also the tickets. FYI: THE COPS IN JACKSONVILLE HAVE THEIR SH#T TOGETHER....ALL DOCUMENTATION ON RADAR DEVICES, LOGS, ETC.... SO DON'T THINK YOU'RE GOING TO GET OFF ON A TECHNICALITY.

Then it was the turn of the people such as me who were planning on just admitting the guilt and get it over with.... this is the important stuff. The judge said that as long as you were not speeding in a school zone, putting children in danger, or going more than 30mph over the posted speed, he would pretty much let you off with out any judicial action, points on your license or cost for the actual ticket... you would just pay court costs. 95% of the people who went up and plead "no contest" got exactly that... even me... and I was exactly 30mph over the speed limit.

So....lesson learned...if you get a ticket, just show up at the court date, plead no contest, and regardless of your speed, you will probably get off and just have to pay court costs.... $212 was much better than the $300 ticket and years of increased insurance rates.

Just thought I'd share.

 

[kairles]

I wish it was like that in CA. I've plead no contest and guilty to speeding tickets both less than 25mph. they droped the fine a little on both and I got a point for both

 

[dangerous dave]

here in Pa. and NJ procedure goes like this .
.Call before court date and tell em you'll be pleading not guilty. They'll ask if you want to speak to prosecuter about reduced or amended charges.
You sit down with prosicutor and he offers you a deal that involves a fine but no points .Then they get you in front of the judge and you admit guilt to the new ,reduced charges.
It works well for both parties.
I dont care how guilty you are or even if you admitted guilt at the scene ,they just want your money and for you to go away.
Proving your guilt might involve some work on their part. They hate work.

 

[Dobieman]

Thanks for the info Iowadiver  

The lucky part is the cop didn't want to arrest you for the real speed you were doing, too much processing and impounding your bike etc.

I think you need to run around in "C" mode a while to make up for your speeding sins  

 

[Suijuris]

The minute you cop any plea- you are gonna pay something. Asking questions, instead of going to a plea, works for me. Ever heard of Marc Stevens? Go to you tube, type in his name, and watch his two vids on the subject. All judges are going to handle things in different ways. Food for thought.
Oh yeah-- always- always be civil to the officer- you could ask for verification of his speed reading(nicely), thats how I got out of one- cause he was guessing- and I was sure he didn't clock me.

 

[JuiceSC]

Get a lawyer. Go to court. If the LEO shows up, have the lawyer postpone the hearing. Come back to the later hearing. There is a good chance the LEO won't show up the second time, charges will be dismissed. your out a lawyer's fee.

I've had this exact thing happen to me. I did something stupid in the stang and didn't see the cop...... I was out $275 but none of it went to the state donation. I hate lawyers, but I hate points on my license even more.

 

[SnapAttack]

The minute you cop any plea- you are gonna pay something. Asking questions, instead of going to a plea, works for me.  Ever heard of Marc Stevens? Go to you tube, type in his name, and watch his two vids on the subject. All judges are going to handle things in different ways. Food for thought.
Oh yeah-- always- always be civil to the officer- you could ask for verification of his speed reading(nicely), thats how I got out of one- cause he was guessing- and I was sure he didn't clock me.

I'll have to use this advice if i ever get past a warning with the officers... today's count (7) warnings in (2) years and (0) citations...

 

[bowwow]

Everytime I go to court, the LEO never shows up. Lucky me! One time the cop did show up, but it was several weeks after the incident occured. He couldn't even remember any of the details of what happened. Needless to say, because he didn't have his stuff together, and I did,I walked.

 

[Mr Bogus]

Everytime I go to court, the LEO never shows up. Lucky me! One time the cop did show up, but it was several weeks after the incident occured. He couldn't even remember any of the details of what happened. Needless to say, because he didn't have his stuff together, and I did,I walked.

Well not so lucky here... I had a seatbelt ticket I went to court on..

CDL drivers are required to use seatbelts at all times (this was way prior to any cager laws)


I know it sounds funny fighting a seatbelt ticket or even getting it removed but when you have a CDL, life operates on a different level..

the cop showed up, I ended up having to take the ticket and here is the kicker..

normal drivers license? $25 and no points, kiss on the lips and bye bye now....

W/CDL... $300 ticket, an "event" is logged to your license AND your insurance company considers any "event" a violation and they doubled my insurance for 3 years.. total costs for the seatbelt ticket was $1150

 

[dangerous dave]

Everytime I go to court, the LEO never shows up. Lucky me! One time the cop did show up, but it was several weeks after the incident occured. He couldn't even remember any of the details of what happened. Needless to say, because he didn't have his stuff together, and I did,I walked.

Well not so lucky here... I had a seatbelt ticket I went to court on..

CDL drivers are required to use seatbelts at all times (this was way prior to any cager laws)
 

I know it sounds funny fighting a seatbelt ticket or even getting it removed but when you have a CDL, life operates on a different level..

the cop showed up, I ended up having to take the ticket and here is the kicker..

normal drivers license?  $25  and no points, kiss on the lips and bye bye now....

W/CDL...  $300 ticket, an "event" is logged to your license AND your insurance company considers any "event" a violation and they doubled my insurance for 3 years.. total costs for the seatbelt ticket was $1150

that aint right.

I have to ask though. How do they know if you are belted or not when your way up in a cab like that?

 

[bowwow]

Ouch! That sucks. I ran a stop sign in front of a cop once. At court the cop didn't show up, so the judge changed the offense to "defective equipment". How in the hell is a stop sign defective? Was it spelled wrong? Did it have too many sides? Just another example of our wonderful justice system.

 

[Haya01B]

In NC you get one chance every two or three years to plead PBJ or something like that. It's just basicly saying this is my first offense and I wont do it again for another couple years or so and all is forgiven. However, if you do get charged with another offense you will also carry the weight of the first. The insurance companies also have a point system too.

Example: You get a ticket for carelss and reckless and you hire a lawyer to take care of it. They get it reduced to improper equipment and no charge on your license. The insurance companies run your mvr every year or so and when they see you got a ticket they find the ticket and read it. Then they charge you points from their system hence your premium goes up. Happen to me!

 

[topgun61]

The problem with new jersey, if you get stopped for any moving violation and you go to court, and have the prosicutor down grade the violation to a no point violation. It is usually the offense of operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner, statue number is 39:4-97.2 which is no points, but it is a $380 fine and a $33.00 court cost. But the kicker is you are only aloud to plea to that offense twice, and the next time you will receive the points for that violation, that's the way it work's here, but they are pretty lenient if you work with the officer and the prosicutor, I know because I am a Motorcycle L.E.O. P.S, I would never write a fellow biker, or forum buddy. Ride safe

 

[Dobieman]

I know because I am a Motorcycle L.E.O. P.S, I would never write a fellow biker, or forum buddy. Ride safe

 

[Mr Bogus]

Everytime I go to court, the LEO never shows up. Lucky me! One time the cop did show up, but it was several weeks after the incident occured. He couldn't even remember any of the details of what happened. Needless to say, because he didn't have his stuff together, and I did,I walked.

Well not so lucky here... I had a seatbelt ticket I went to court on..

CDL drivers are required to use seatbelts at all times (this was way prior to any cager laws)


I know it sounds funny fighting a seatbelt ticket or even getting it removed but when you have a CDL, life operates on a different level..

the cop showed up, I ended up having to take the ticket and here is the kicker..

normal drivers license? $25 and no points, kiss on the lips and bye bye now....

W/CDL... $300 ticket, an "event" is logged to your license AND your insurance company considers any "event" a violation and they doubled my insurance for 3 years.. total costs for the seatbelt ticket was $1150

that aint right.

I have to ask though. How do they know if you are belted or not when your way up in a cab like that?

I was not even in a big truck, I had my 83 MB 500SL (grey market car) and was driving that (stored in OKC now waiting for me to restore it after 200K miles)..

CDL holders are held to a "higher" standard on driving issues.. In the trucks, they all have shoulder belts and are pretty easy to see from the ground. (I always keep that hooked)

 

[Haya01B]

Everytime I go to court, the LEO never shows up. Lucky me! One time the cop did show up, but it was several weeks after the incident occured. He couldn't even remember any of the details of what happened. Needless to say, because he didn't have his stuff together, and I did,I walked.

Well not so lucky here... I had a seatbelt ticket I went to court on..

CDL drivers are required to use seatbelts at all times (this was way prior to any cager laws)
 

I know it sounds funny fighting a seatbelt ticket or even getting it removed but when you have a CDL, life operates on a different level..

the cop showed up, I ended up having to take the ticket and here is the kicker..

normal drivers license?  $25  and no points, kiss on the lips and bye bye now....

W/CDL...  $300 ticket, an "event" is logged to your license AND your insurance company considers any "event" a violation and they doubled my insurance for 3 years.. total costs for the seatbelt ticket was $1150

that aint right.

I have to ask though. How do they  know if you are belted or not when your way up in a cab like that?

I was not even in a big truck, I had my 83 MB 500SL (grey market car) and was driving that (stored in OKC now waiting for me to restore it after 200K miles)..

CDL holders are held to a "higher" standard on driving issues..  In the trucks, they all have shoulder belts and are pretty easy to see from the ground. (I always keep that hooked)

Yeah they are very tough on CDL holders. My brother owns his own rigg and he tickles me to death when he drives. Like you say, you guys and gals with the CDLs have to be extra carefull because your license is your job. Not to mention traffic offenses on your record can make or break you on a job opportunity. Pass a stopped school bus and you may as well mail your license to Washington DC or somewhere.

 

[topgun61]

When it comes to CDL driver's, driving for a living to feed they family, I always try to help them out if they don't argue with me or denie the incident, some don't learn, but most are courtious, which always help's

 

[Suijuris]

CDL drivers are required to use seatbelts at all times (this was way prior to any cager laws)


I know it sounds funny fighting a seatbelt ticket or even getting it removed but when you have a CDL, life operates on a different level..

the cop showed up, I ended up having to take the ticket and here is the kicker..

normal drivers license? $25 and no points, kiss on the lips and bye bye now....

W/CDL... $300 ticket, an "event" is logged to your license AND your insurance company considers any "event" a violation and they doubled my insurance for 3 years.. total costs for the seatbelt ticket was $1150

that aint right.

..

CDL holders are held to a "higher" standard on driving issues.. In the trucks, they all have shoulder belts and are pretty easy to see from the ground. (I always keep that hooked)[/quote]
Yeah they are very tough on CDL holders. My brother owns his own rigg and he tickles me to death when he drives. Like you say, you guys and gals with the CDLs have to be extra carefull because your license is your job. Not to mention traffic offenses on your record can make or break you on a job opportunity. Pass a stopped school bus and you may as well mail your license to Washington DC or somewhere.[/quote]
If you get a chance to read most state traffic Law maunals-- or actual statutes - you will discover that a DR. Lic. is SUPPOSED to apply to commercially oriented functions. CDL's are definitely subject to the rules and regs set forth. Private traveling is not supposed to be subject- but we get a DL, and subject ourselves to commercial rules. Its a right that we have. NOT a privledge. BUT what are we to do with so many irresponsible drivers on the roads?
Also; I have a 9200 gvw P/u. If you knew the code- you would realize that there is a limit to the seatbelt laws.Trucks over a certain weight, arent required to use a belt. Unless they changed it, from last I looked.

 

[Suijuris]

.

 

[CAT3]

The No-Contest gig doesn't always work, I've tried several times, just depends on the judges attitude that day.

As for insurance premiums rising, I pay my insurance at least a year at a time, NEVER let it lapse and to date, my insurance has never raised due to tickets (< YES PLURAL FOR A REASON).