I got pulled over early this morning by highway patrol on an empty highway ahhh. He claimed 70 in a 50 but my speedo said 63 (it is off slightly due to larger tires but not 7mph). Anyways I was still speeding regardless. Then to top it off I hadn't grabbed my most recent insurance card from the house to put in my wallet so that was an additional $362 fine on top of the ticket (hopefully will be dismissed in court, but I have heard around here that they still make you pay the fine). To top it all off, I went to bed at 1am lastnight because I was up studying for a test I have tonight, so I overslept a little. Well my eyes were kind of red, so he asks how late I was out lastnight because my eyes were all "blistered" implying I was out partying last night. He was a dick after that. I have friends that might can help out....but the problem is the officer never told me his name and the ticket is illegible so I can't read his name on there either. If I don't know his name then they have no way to help out! It is too faint to see almost any markings on it at all. I can't even read my court date. Anyways, I had a nice shitty start to the day that I felt like ranting about.
I'm speaking from experience you usually have 30 days to respond as to whether you want a hearing in court or just pay the fine. I would definitely challenge this have have your day in court. They will routeinly lower the dollars and the points which are especially critical in getting cheap insurance. If you can't read it then call or go to the courthouse and ask them for a better copy and how you go about getting your court date...tell them you are going to court. oh and you don't need a lawyer...in my area you actually talk to the DA and work your deal before you see the judge.
I agree - if you have the time, it can help going to 'court'. My most recent incident was in a smaller town and I had a meeting w/ the DA and judge. They asked what I was contesting and I just told them the truth - didn't realize I had been speeding, willing to pay the court fees, but would like ticket changed to a non-moving violation. They agreed and off I went w/ a tail light out. At insurance renewal time, the insurance did not flinch over it. The ticket is not going away, so if you have the time, go to court that day and see if they will work with you. Just make it clear you are ready to pay court costs that day, you just want it changed to a non-moving or something small if possible.
I gotta speeding ticket just last week in FL. Got clocked doing 16 over in a construction zone. I knew I was busted the moment the cruiser started pulling away as I passed. So I immediately slowed and pulled way over to give the officer more room from passing cars. I had my window rolled down with DL, insurance and rental agreement in hand by the time she got there. I politely nodded at her spiel on speeding. She went back to her car and wrote me up for only 9 over and no mention of construction zone. She thanked me for pulling over in a safe place smiled and let me on my way. My ticket was less than 1/2 what it should have been.
Mine was about $485 but the actual speeding part was only in the $230 area which made me feel much better if I can get them to correct the insurance charge. I will go to court for sure, I should be eligible for traffic school which will keep the charge off my record and should reduce my cost a little bit Maybe. It might be handled differently around here than for everyone else I am not sure, but the one time I got a speeding ticket from a city cop here I had to go to court and if I wanted to try to fight the ticket I had to pay a fee and then reschedule my court date. They make it a big inconvenience to fight the ticket that is for sure. But I think my best bet will be just to go to court and see if I can just go with traffic school and get the insurance charge dropped since I am actually covered of course.
FCx, all you need to do is provide proof that you were insured at the time of the traffic stop. No state in the union can fine you when you're legally insured at the time of the stop.
The easiest going state troopers ive ever encountered (knock on wood) were Mississippi Highway Patrol.....I think it is more than likely because they have bigger fish to fry than speeders. I rarely ever saw them pull anyone over even when going quite a bit over the limit.
That is encouraging at least. When my wife was in high school a few years ago, she got pulled over and couldnt find her insurance card. Well when she went to court she said they made an announcement that all insurance charges would not be dropped after a certain date and that if you were written a ticket for it that you would be fined regardless of you providing proof you were covered at the time. I wasn't there to hear that so I don't know their exact words, but I know she had to pay like a $100 fine on top of her ticket for the insurance even though she was actually covered. The THP officer said "USUALLY" the judge will work with you if you bring your proof of insurance to court that day. I sure hope so!