When you get a ticket and go to the court to just pay it. Say its a speeding ticket and its $120. Does its still go on your record or does it not show up as a moveing violation or what? I got my first speeding ticket and am not really sure what to do. This is in Brazos County in Texas if anyone is familer with that area.

 

here in Georgia, even if you pay it off and dont go to court, it does still go on your record.

 

You can just about bet that in every state it DOES go on your record unless you go to court, fight it and win.

I have State Farm and I am allowed a one freebe that stays on my record for 2 years, if I get a second one before the 2 years is up I lose my safe driver discount plus pay extra. It then takes time to get back the total discount I have.

After that 2 years is up it comes off my record and now I am ready for another freebe...

If your lucky you may have the same thing with your insurance. If so be careful for the probation period and you should be fine.

 

Well, around here if you are under 18 they have a thing called TEEN COURT. And the penalties are a lot less severe and it doesnt go on your record. I've been there once.

 

offroadmaniac- What state do you live in?

 

offroadmaniac:

Well, you must be VERY lucky to live in a state that will let the worst offenders off easy and not put anything on their record. Not that I don't believe you. I believe they may have a court just for teens and I could believe the court giving the teen ONE chance or freebe but I dought very much that someone between 16 - 18 is NOT going to have any tickets on their record. That would just be completely insane. Would be telling all kids between 16-18 go ahead speed, race, drive drunk etc. none of it will be on your record.

Your state may give you ONE free shot , but I bet if you check into it the next time you go to court for speeding, or what ever moving violation you will find that it WILL go on your record.

 

Unless the ticket is for speeding 25(?) mph or over, you can take defensive driving and they will dismiss the ticket in Texas.

There will be an entry on your DL that says you took a drivers safety course and the date.

Regardless if you pay the fine by mail or in court, it will go on your Drivers License record if you don't do defensive driving.

Moving violations show on your DL return for 5 years in Texas unless it is a DWI (stays on forever unless expunged).

Insurance companies are only supposed to consider the last three years of your record.

Hope that helped.

 

First of all, realize that the ticket is simply a speed tax. The state / county / police / court is only interested in your money. Also realize that they are going to get your money no what you do. If you have the time and energy it is a good idea to fight the ticket. Most of the time you can suck up to the DA and get the ticket changed to a non-moving violation like taillights out or similar. This means they still get their $ via court fees and penalty but your insurance doesn't raise your rates.
TX also has the devensive driving classes. Again, they get their money via tuition and your insurance stays the same. Heck, you may get a discount for the class.
The worst thing you can do is to simply send the $$.

FYI. Here in New Orleans I ran a red light (yellow was less then a second and the cops was just happen to be there )
U$ 125 via mail-in. Went to court, pleaded guilty to equipment malfunction. U$ 25 fine and U$ 100 court costs. No insurance raise.

Fritz

 

Well, actually it all depends on the judge. But, i used to be apart of teen court. I used to do it cause my g/f (ex g/f now) was in it. And they sent many ppl there repeatedly, as long as they served their sentence. But, what do you mean by the WORST offenders. I dont feel that a speeding ticket means you are one of the worst offenders. But, since i havent been apart of it for awhile im not sure if it is still operative in my town or not, but i know there are many of them around, in other towns and states. They also trial teens that were cited for under age drinking and smoking. Now, if the teens that were sent to teen court get cited for the same thing many times, after they have gone to teen court, they wont have the oportunity to go there again. Oh yea, i currently have NO tickets on my record .
Oh yea, i live in AZ.

 

Teens 16 - 18 are some of the worst offenders as far as speeding and just plain screwing around in a car, hell I know I was one of them...

Not saying you are a bad person or anything so don't take me wrong but the fact is there are a good amount of teens, not all, but a good amount that are not good behind a wheel, I was one myself. Why do you think insurance rates are so high for teens, especially between the ages of 16 - 18. As I said a teen court may give them a chance or two but thats about it, after one or two times I can assure you it WILL be on your record.

We had the same kind of thing when I lived in Calif. when I was a teen, went to court for a speeding ticket judge gave me a break (not on my record), and a fine. Three months later I was in for an illegal left turn and didn't get the same chance, got a fine and parents insurance went up like $70 a month of which I had to pay for, along with the increase that happen once I turned 16.

Again I am not knocking teens, I was one of the ones that LOVED screwing around in a car, until I got caught and grounded and paying more money. I think its ok (depending on the offence) for a teen to get a break. If he/she is caught doing 70mph in a 35mph then no break and BIG time fine. For a court to give a teen continious breaks is absolutly insane and promotes bad driving habits by those that have no experience to begin with.

 

Yea, you're right about 16-18 yr olds being the worst. I personally, dont speed much at all. Sometimes i'm even cautious to do 5 over. But, i've been driving since i was like 12 or 13, so I dont do as many stupid things. But, sometimes taking my truck through a big mudhole thats near a parking lot is fun.

 

Whether you pay the ticket by mail, at the courthouse, or see the judge, it will still go on your record as a moving violation.

What I've found to work the best (assuming you were actually speeding) is to go to court and plead guilty first, then ask the judge if there's anything you can do to keep the ticket off of your record.

Judges seem to like this because after hearing 100's of excuses from others, they see you as taking responsibility for your actions, and you're not asking for a handout, you're asking what you can DO to keep it off of your record.

Everytime I've done this, or someone I gave this advice to tried it, the judge reduced the speed to make it non-reportable. The fine remained the same, but we all know the true cost of a ticket is not the fine, but the increased insurance rates.

There's no guarantee the judge will do anything for you, but you're certainly no worse off and its more honest than fighting a legitimate ticket. It also helps if you already have a clean record.

 

Well, sometimes in my City's jurisdiction, if you contest a ticket and the judge finds you guilty, you will have to pay the fine AND court costs resulting in more out of pocket expense than paying the original fine.....also in Texas, ALL moving violations are "reportable" no matter if you go 5 mph over or 30 mph over so even if he "reduces" the violation, you still get reported on your DL.

So, make sure you can beat the ticket before you go to court.
I am also aware of Brazoria County.......Good Luck

 

you pay the fine and you don't get a ticket for 6 months and it clears your record.....BUT...if you get a ticket within that 6 month period again...you pay the second fine and BOTH tickets go on your record....aces and 8's......ace's and 8's