By Eric Peters on 10.6.08 @ 12:07AM
You can't afford not to contest it -- and there are ways to do so.
Traffic court's a lot like buying a car -- because there's lots
of haggling involved.
Or should be -- if you're smart.
Most people either just send in the fine -- or go to court and
make no real attempt to bob and weave their way out of the
ticket.
Cattle do the same thing on their way to McDonald's.
Even if you have a perfect driving driving record, each and
every ticket is worth fighting with everything you've got.
Reason? The presence of a single "moving violation" on your driving
record -- no matter how minor (or bogus) -- can end up costing you
hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars over the three-to-five
year period it will be visible on your DMV rap sheet.
Your insurance company is all about maximizing the revenue
stream -- just like the cop who gave you the ticket -- and even
though your piddling 66 mph in a 55 zone "speeding" ticket doesn't
in any fair-minded way mean you're an unsafe driver, the insurance
company will use it as a pretext for claiming that you are -- and
will jack your rates up accordingly. If they hit you with a 10
percent surcharge annually for the three years most DMVs will keep
a moving violation "active" on your record, the dollars add up fast
-- and can end up being several times the cost of the actual fine
itself. Perhaps more than the cost of hiring a good traffic
attorney, even.
And the real catch is what happens if, during that three-year
period when the first ticket is active, you have the bad
luck to get pinched a second time. Now you have
two moving violations on your record -- and the "points"
that go along with them. While some insurance companies will not
mug you over a single moving violation, few leave you alone after
number two.
Which is why it's crucial to fight that first one -- no matter
how small it may seem.
SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Basically, your options come down to dealing with it yourself or
hiring a traffic lawyer to do it for you. The first option is
obviously cheaper -- and can work, too. But the second is more
likely to succeed, simply because an experienced lawyer knows how
the game is played.
If you want to go it on your own, you can do the following:
* Continuances: Many states allow any person
charged with a moving violation an automatic "continuance" -- which
means you can get the court to change your original court date to a
later date, often simply by asking that it do so. Why do this?
Several possible reasons:
One, let's say you got a ticket in fall and the original court
date is in November. By getting a continuance that pushes the court
date into the new year, you might avoid losing the "plus" point
that some states give drivers for going a calendar year free of
convictions for any moving violations.
Two, you might just throw a monkey wrench into the bureaucracy.
Paperwork does get lost; the cop might not show to your
second, "continued" court date. If either happens, the charge
against you might get dropped entirely.
Three, you have absolutely nothing to lose by doing this. It's
free -- and it's a good way to game the system, just as the system
is trying to game you.
* Driving School: Ask the judge -- or the
prosecuting/commonwealth's attorney -- about the possibility of
agreeing to let you attend driving school and/or pay a fine in
return for dropping the charge against you.
The critical thing is to avoid being convicted of a moving
violation, for the reasons explained earlier. Many judges will
"give you a break" (ha!) by allowing you to plead guilty to
"defective equipment" or some other non-moving violation, pay a
beefy fine or waste a Saturday at the DMV "driving school" -- where
you'll spend eight hours listening to (and pretending to agree
with) platitudes about the perfect virtue of all speed limits.
Any of these options is preferable to being convicted
for the original moving violation because your insurance company
won't have a pretext for a rate hike. In some counties/states,
certain charges aren't reported to the DMV at all -- especially if
it's an out-of-state ticket. Mostly, these include non-moving
violations such as "defective equipment" -- a common "lesser
charge" that's often assigned in lieu of the original moving
violation.
Even the beefy fine's not so bad, though -- because it's a
one-time hit vs. the ongoing fleecing you'll get for having even
one moving violation on your driving record.
In some states, it's even possible to take the DMV-authorized
"driving school" online -- which lets you avoid the hassle of
spending an entire Saturday re-living high school detention. See
trafficschoolonline.com for more information.)
Lastly --
* Hire a traffic lawyer: The cost to rent a
legal eagle to handle a minor traffic case (normal speeding, not
"reckless driving," DUI or a major charge that has a mandatory
court appearance and the possibility you might get thrown in the
clink) is typically between $300 and $700. It sounds steep, but for
all the reasons outlined previously, it can be money well spent --
especially if you get another ticket at some point during the next
three years.
It's pretty easy to find a traffic lawyer in most areas; just
Google the county/state in which your case will be tried and add
the keywords "ticket" and "lawyer." Look for one who has been doing
this for a while and who regularly appears in the court where
you'll be appearing. The best defense lawyers are former
prosecutors. Interview your prospect, ask him specifically how he
will handle your case -- and what his success rate is in getting
charges like yours reduced or dropped.
If he wins, you'll have the satisfaction of seeing the cop who
cited you turn beet red with anger as you slip the noose.
And that is worth a lot more than the cost of any fine.
topics:
Law
