Need Help/Question on speeding ticket Plea bargain (1 Viewer)

[StephenK]

Hey all,

So, after 10+ years of spotless driving, I got a speeding ticket. I was cited for going 74 in a 50 on the Palisades Parkway in New Jersey. I'm a New York licensed driver. This would be a 4 point infraction.

So I contacted a few law firms that all said they could plea bargain this down to a zero point infraction, "unsafe driving".

I don't care about the fine, I'm concerned with the points and what they'll to me re: surcharges and insurance rates.

So my question is, is this a good move? Assume that I have neither the time nor energy to fight this. Also, I've heard the traffic court of the Palisades Pkwy is one of the worst in the country.

I'm basically looking to find out if having an "unsafe driving" on my record is better than having a speeding 24 over on my record.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Regards
Steve

 

[Patrick_S]

Why don't you contact your insurance broker and ask this question?

He'll be able to explain to you how each would affect your insurance payments.

 

[mylan]

Here in Georgia, I went to pay a fine for speeding, 62 in a 45 I think and the clerk told me that instead of paying I could appear in court, plead guilty, and pay the fine and the infraction would not appear on my record at all. This has been three years and there has not been any indication that my insurance has found out. What this tells me is that if you go through the extra effort to go to court you can avoid any insurance problems but what it also tells me is that speed fines are more about revenue than safety, of course, Y.M.M.V.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

yes, we all know it depends on how fast he was going

CJ

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I got nailed doing 60 in a 30 in a small village outside Albany. I showed up for court (which was also the police station), and the officer called me to his office. He saw that I had a spotless record, so he gave me the option to plead guilty to talking on a cell phone instead (no points; $100 fine)

I don't know if you'd be able to luck out like that, but it's DEFINITELY worth your while to show up at court. Just mailing in the ticket with a guilty plea is automatically accepting the worst possible outcome.

 

[Greg_R]

Most jurisdictions will give you no points + reduced fine for a 1st time violation. Many times this is handled by the court clerk and you won't even see the judge. I'd call them up and see what can be done (and be nice on the phone).

 

[drobbins]

Driving home from work on the Friday of Labor Day weekend, I forgot about the cops "favorite" spot on the interstate in KY. The speed limit is 65mph. When the cop pulled me over he asked if I knew why he did and I responded that I was driving a "little" fast. Being as I admitted my wrong doing, he wrote the ticket for only 79. That way I wouldn't have to go to driving school. I decided to go to court instead of paying the ticket. The judge looked at me wondering why I was there and reminded me that I was cut a break already. I told him that I hadn't had a ticked in over 10 years and just got caught up in the holiday traffic. He gave me a dirty look and reduced it to a warning. I just had to go a year with out another ticket. No points and no fine.
I figured it never hurts to try and it turned out OK

 

[Chris]

Yep, here in Kansas it generally works like this: Pay double the ticket, and they change the ticket to a non-moving violation (like a parking ticket) so a $80 ticket becomes $160, and walla, it's gone.

You can only do it once a year per county in Kansas.

 

[Kirk Gunn]

In Maryland, if your record is clean, you can plead "guilty with an explanation". Basically state "I realize I may have been speeding, but I was unaware at the time. My driving record is clean and I take safe driving very seriously".

No lawyer costs involved and they typically give you "PBJ" - Probation Before Judgement, essentially fine+court costs with no points if you are clean another year. Dress nicely in court and be overly courteous and professional in demeanor.

If Palisades is truly that bad, you should probably get a lawyer....

 

[Marc S Kessler]

For the future you should consider a radar detector. I am not a proponent for speeding but I feel most speeding tickets are issued for revenue purposes rather than safety. Especially here in Tennessee near and in small towns.

 

[StephenK]

Thanks for the tips, maybe I'll show up after all...

 

[PeterK]

i think speeding tickets come with way too many points. sure the fine is ok i guess. but really speeding in MOST cases doesn't make ones driving any more dangerous than obeying the limit.
Here in ontario you get 4 points for going 30km (19mi) over the limit. but only 3 points for things like, driving across the train tracks when a train's coming, driving the wrong way on a one way or divided road, driving on a closed road, or passing on the shoulder or on a hill....things that are ACTUALLY dangerous.
I'm bitter though, i got a 34km over ticket a bit over a year back. maybe i shoulda tried to fight it instead of paying it. now i got those 4 points for another year and half still :frowning: grrr