No, not speeding. I accidentally turned down a one-way street late Wed. night, quickly turned the corner so I wasn't driving the wrong way, but a cop happened to be sitting near by. It was an honest mistake on my part, it was late and I was pretty tired.

I have an optional court date at the end of May. It's only a $70-something dollar ticket, but I'd like to try and get the points taken care of in court (which, from what I've heard, they usually will do if you show up) so my insurance doesn't go up. Question is, being that this will be my first time in court (only second ticket ever, the first was when I just started driving) how do I go about fighting this? Or do I just suck it up and accept what's happened?

Thanks for hopefully sound advice people.

 

I dunno what it's called in WI, but in IL it would be called "supervision". This would suspend the ticket for a year, if you stay clean it will be thrown away. You would have to pay fine and costs though. This is a lot easier to get than to fight and win.

 

Many years ago, points played a role for insurance purposes in Ontario. These days, points mean diddly squat. It's the conviction on your record that hurts, and that's for any conviction. Insurance companies will jack your rates for anything, points or no points.

 

I'm not sure if it's available in your state, but in Texas we have the option for taking defensive driving online, something like defensivedriving.com in order to dismiss traffic tickets.

Like I said, I'm not sure if it's available in your state, but it would be worth looking into, plus you'll have the possibility of actually lowering your insurance rate with completing the course.

 

I missed your home state, but in SC a judge can only reduce points on a speeding violation. All other moving violations points are set by state law and can not be altered by the officer or judge. A $70 fine is pretty low, so it must be the minimum fine already. By going to court, you can either plead guilty/not guilty of which you already admitted guilt, you can ask for a bench trial heard by the judge in which you prove yourself not guilty (not up to LE to prove you are guilty) and he decide's your fate or you can ask for a jury trial. Your state may offer other means of getting the ticket dismissed. You may be able to ask the officer to dismiss that ticket and write you one that has a larger fine but no points. I do that occasionally if th eperson I wrote was nice. Never hurts to go to court, just be polite and understanding. Most cops will work with you, but sometimes, you will get the one's that most people complain about here on these forums!

 

I talked to the insurance agency yesterday right away in the morning and she stated that it was the points that indeed mattered last - but then again, this isn't Canada

And harley, I'm in WI and that was where the ticket was. How do I go about asking to get the ticket dismissed for a larger fine / no points (like a non-moving violation I'd assume)? Go to court, plead guilty / not guilty / no contest? Just ask the judge as soon as she sees me "can you dismiss the points?"

Like I stated, I've never been there and I'm a little nervous about it - the big thing is if I can get the points off - the fine means nothing as I do understand what I did and accept all responsibility. Thanks in advance!

 

I would ask the person or persons who you "heard" this from what they did in court.

 

Actually, that's only in regards to Ontario, where we pay much higher premiums than many other provinces in Canada.

The insurance industry is legalized crime in these parts.

 

I got a speeding ticket a few months ago. First in 25 years.
On the court date I went to the town I got the ricket in.
I sat there for 2 hours and the judge had not even shown up. I had things I could be doing to make money, i ended up paying the fine and leaveing. I just don't have the patients required for that.
It hasn't had time to catch up with the insurance yet, but we'll see what happes

 

Ask that question on Officer.com in the "Ask a cop" section. My opinion just pay the fine.

 

On my cases, if the subject ask me before court and I don't have a problem with it, I tell them to ask the judge when their case is called.
Other point I forgot, if you choose to go to court and the actual officer that wrote the citation happens to be late and misses your call, or does not show at all, plead innocent. He (the offier) has to be present to present his case against you. Good luck!

 

Yeah, I def. will as soon as I can get ahold of them. Thanks for the reminder, though.

And I will check out officer.com just for the heck of it...

Thanks for the advice again harley

 

first my credentials I am from Wis, and with a name like Wildchild (given to me by friends) how many tickets do you think I've had?
first of all how many opoints did they hit you for?
I wish we were like Ill with supervision we're not.
If you haven't had a ticket in at least three years and you do not plan on getting another anytime soon I would pay it and not waste the time in court.
Best they will do is go down to 2 points. They will not lower the fine. Today most ins companies don't raise your rates for just one minor ticket. Don't call them and ask just let it go. I use both Amer Fam and State Farm, neither raises me for tickets.
I have gone to court for tickets many times, they will lower points but as I said it does no good if you're not prone to these things.
I have used an atty to get a couple dropped. They can get you down to zero points in certain areas. ie:Milw county but not the city. They are exp and you definitely have to check up and make sure the clerk of courts files the ticket the way it was reduced.
I was turned down on a job because a milw county clerk thought my ticket should stand as given.
If you need more help feel free to ask. I have helped a few friends with tickets. if you need a good atty in milw let me know. you know you're in trouble when you have an atty on speed dial.

 

I'd go to the court date, admit you made a mistake but explain that it was late at night and you were tired, and ask for leniency (did I really spell that right?). I would have to think that 9 out of 10 judges would at least wave the points, if not wave the entire ticket.

Just be careful NOT to argue with the cop if he/she shows up to the court date (it sounds easy now, but can be hard in person). Just stay calm, admit you were wrong, but emphasize that you quickly turned around when you realized what had happened.

Good luck!

 

In GA you can take a defensive driving class and they will knock off your points. Ive been in it 3 times now