need legal advice for traffic ticket
 

never got a traffic ticket before in my life before I bought a Z lol

Need some advice from fellow 370z members here:

My situation: I got a rolling stop sign ticket in Texas 1.5 months ago, paid the fine and did defensive driving. Today, I got a speeding ticket 16 mph over the speed limit, but i thought it was less than that.

Whats the best scenario to go about this; i really don't want my insurance rates to rise cause it would be rather painful.

Hire an attorney

This and invest in a decent radar detector.

Lawyer up!

Just go to trial, if cop doesn't show up, you win, if the cop does show up, plead guilty with explanation and just say it was an honest mistake. You will get pbj and pay $50 and be on your way. You don't need a lawyer unless you were like going over 100 or something extreme

Use David Sprecher.

i would just pay the ticket, find a better paying job, and get on with my life.

What makes you assume he doesn't have a good paying job?

^^

my Z's rate is like 250 or something for 6 months.. and the rest of the 6months i suspend it during hibernation so $17 or something during that period.

so i guess i will look for a easier less paying job. lol

What, pray tell does that have to do with his job? Most people don't want their insurance to go up. That's not the mark of a crappy job.

You also don't live in Houston, the uninsured motorist capital of America. Your experience is in no way relevant.

it was a post to state 'dont make a big deal out of it.'

first tickets are always scary. dat's all. i dont need ur approval.

man, some folks just cant read between the lines.. :shakes head:

And some people are useless adding no value to any room they've ever stepped into. It's ok, Ken. We love you anyway.

nice

You're the guy who trolled someone who built his wife's Z as a tribute to her passing from cancer so hard he left the forum. Even after he told everyone the story of why he built it, you doubled down. You don't get to make snarky little comments like that.

http://www.the370z.com/wheels-tires/...r-my-370z.html

Give ticketassassin.com a try. I used them recently for a speeding ticket (95 in a 65) and got my ticket dismissed.

i got a 30 over in a 60 zone (kmh) right before getting my Z. i fought the ticket and it dropped from a major to a minor and fewer demerits. while i was fighting it talked to my broker about rates.

it would have been 1000 more had i not contested the ticket. all in all it cost me about half of wha i 'saved' for fighting it but the long term saving out weighed the cost.

since you have had 2 infractions in a short period of time it'll be a little harder to fight and get it reduced.

if you're affraid of your rate increasing drive like granny. don't excessively speed and don't be a dingle berry.

also when you say 16 over the limit... what is the zone you were in? 16 over on the highway isn't as bad as say... 16 over in a community.

good luck.

that's what i was paying last year a month (converted).... it dropped 20% this year :excited:

nice, wat was the reason for the 20% reduction this year mishuko? :D

no idea... i was so skeptical i called my broker to confirm my rate hahah.

i did have a clean year aside from the windshield incident. :ugh2:

humm... yah, ive seen a few percent drop every year, but not 20%. maybe they charged you incorrectly the first year? :ugh:
i also added roadside assistance on my G and Z as well which bumped the rate by a few dimes.

My advice is to put on your big boy pants, go to court, plead your case and then accept the consequences. Sure you can get an attorney and spend huge dollars -- you may or may not get a better outcome. Likely you won’t and you will be significantly poorer through the process.

Why are so many people who get tickets for legitimate reasons and then spend so much energy trying to get out of paying the price? Geez. Man up.

Dude your killing me, LMFAO :)

thanks JC. :tup: im trying to make it as comical as possible during a tuff situation for the op.

i know i was scared as hell when a cop pulled me over when i was 17 or something for my first speeding ticket.

:iagree:

I know someone who had 3 tickets dismissed using tickethitman.com

I'd give them a call

Do what you have to do to get the ticket decreased. Next time, set the dang cruise. It happens to everyone. When I was way younger, I was one point from getting my license suspended. Radar detectors just tell when you are getting caught. Your eyes are
you best defense.

You're talking to the (somewhat proud...but not so much) guy who lost count of how many speeding tickets received AND with a clean record.

DMV only allows you to do traffic school every 18 months, or at least thats the rule in ever-so-liberal CA. So therefor another traffic school is not an option.

You have 2 options in fighting a ticket.

#1 You fight the ticket in person. 1st you will have an arraignment which tells the court they will need to subpoena the office. Then you will have your "day in court". 2 scenarios here:

A. The cop doesn't show up and you win automatically, or as the court says, your bail has been exonerated (refunded), one of the best phrases you'll ever hear lol

B. The cop shows up and you have to defend your reasoning as to why you feel you are not guilty. Usually the strategy in fighting a ticket is poking holes in the plaintiffs accusations. AKA creating reasonable doubt.

If you loose in fighting a ticket you can submit what is called a Trial de Novo (this is in CA at least). This is basically an appeal in which case a new judge will review the case and you and the officer will be called to appear in court once more.

Sometimes if the timing is right you can push back everything every step of the way to the point where by the time the case is officially closed, it has been another 18 months which makes you eligible for traffic school once more.

Option #2

Trial by Written Declaration.

This allows you to mail in your defense. You will then hear your verdict in the mail. If you loose you can also do a Trial de Novo.

go to court and speak to the prosecutor. ask if he can change the ticket to something that won't show up on your record when the insurance searches for it. if he says no, sucks for you lol. every time i went and asked they did it. i end up paying more for the ticket, but the insurance never sees it and i don't get any points on my license.

or you can plead nolo

Gotta agree with onzedge. I got popped this past weekend on the highway between Kansas City and Emporia. The speed limit is 75, the county sheriff got me on radar at 100+, as I was trying to get around a few idiots that can't seem to drive a consistent speed. :shakes head: Anyway, when I saw him roll out from the median, I figured I was hosed, so I cleared the semi and kept rolling. I let the car slow down to 80, then when I saw his lights (he was about a quarter mile back), I pulled over and waited for him. I had everything in hand when he tapped on the passenger window. He asked if I knew why he was stopping me, I said, yes, I did something stupid. Bottomline, he told me he could write me for 100+ in a 75 (which is 'go to jail' time & a $600 fine) but he gave me a ticket for 'basic speed' (Don't ask, I don't know what he meant by that)... It was a $185 fine, which I paid Monday. I was polite and respectful, and probably the veterans tag helped some too.

Pay the ticket, and chalk it up to being a little more careful in the future.

admission of guilt and showing some remorse is usually grounds enough for the officer to be more lenient. feign ignorance and or be a d1ck wad and you're going to get the thick end of the pole.

glad you didn't get sent to the slammer :tup:

even if you get the most expensive/self-proclaimed best radar detector, you're still f*cked b/c radar detectors can't detect lasers until it's too late. if anything, you should advise on getting a radar jammer (which btw is illegal)

damn, imagine if i only had to pay $17/month for car insurance....

and i swear, you always make the comical remarks in every thread LOL

not necessarily. admission of guilt = more for the officer to us against you if you took it to court and the LEO showed up.

btw, LEO's are paid to show up to court, so unless they have another important matter to attend to, you can expect them to show. also, the LEO will be more worried about whether the ticket will stick or be dismissed.

when i was in high school, i unfortunately got stopped and i was already annoyed about something. i flat out told the LEO to hurry up with everything b/c i didn't have time for his sh*t. of course, he decides to take his sweet @$$ time, so out with the questions to ensure all his i's were dotted and t's crossed. in the end, his radar gun wasn't calibrated prior to his shift, and that was what ultimately got me off at the stop (i.e. never got the ticket).

Tickets & Lawyers
 

I've been on a few juries for traffic court in Harris County . Almost impossible to beat. Like someone else said....Show up, plead guilty and ask if you can say something. Dress nice be polite....hope for the best.
Good Luck.

Where I live you only have to worry about laser on highways. And yes radar jammers are illegal but laser jammers (erm sorry "parking sensors") are not. They will get you into a lot of crap if you can't use it smartly though.