Never plead guilty or no contest, especially if it’s your first ticket. If you have a clean driving record, your chances of keeping it off your record are much better

If you’re on your second offense, you may have to fork a whopping $700 out of your pocket over the next three years because, on average, a driver’s insurance premiums can increase by 25% after a second violation. Most traffic courts rely on the fact that 9 out of 10 drivers will just pay their tickets and move on. Established to expedite cases quickly and efficiently, traffic courts serve as vital sources of revenue for many counties.Their desire to get you in and out can work in your favor when fighting a ticket.

Attorneys who specialize in traffic court cases have very high dismissal rates based simply on technicalities. In many cases, with a little effort and research you can obtain the same results.As a former courier that was “basically paid to speed,” author Alex Carroll has beaten 8 out of 10 of his tickets. Those who have successfully beaten a traffic citation all agree that one should never immediately pay the fine — it’s an automatic admission of guilt. Even those who are honest about their guilt will find that many counties offer special pleas for first-time offenders that will keep the violation off the driving record under probational conditions that can often include driving school.

• Carroll recommends going to the courthouse to file a discovery motion or a public records request. You can check the ticketing officer’s notes, calibration records for radar guns and verify that all data was recorded correctly. Many people are successful by simply contesting their ticket through the mail (also known as “trial by declaration“) with a detailed and well-thought-out defense.
• When faced with a court date, try to delay or postpone the trial as long as possible. In many courts, it’s not uncommon to have a court date three months after the offense occurred. At the very least, a postponement in the trial is postponing a conviction and the resulting increase in insurance premiums. Try asking for a trial by jury because it places a further burden on crowded courts and increases the chances of dismissal.
• Another advantage in postponing the court date is that it can significantly increase the odds that the officer will not be present during the trial. Because a defendant always has the constitutional right to question their accuser, most judges will drop the case if the officer does not show or submit testimony.  You always want to make it more difficult for them to show up. Never go with the date on your ticket. That’s usually a ‘gang date’ for the officer. Why does that sound dirty?  If you schedule for an extension that falls on a different day, chances are they aren’t going to come in on their day off just for you.”
• Camera-issued tickets are often the easiest to beat because a defendant has a constitutional right to question their accuser. Courthouses will rarely go through the trouble of bringing the video or picture to court, and even if they do, there is no human subject to question other than the officer who viewed the it. Most people just don’t have the courage go through with this. That’s why some of these cities are making millions of dollars per camera. They know you’re not going to bother.
• While one can always hire a lawyer, the fees aren’t always worth it for minor violations, especially when it’s a first offense. Texas, California, Florida and New York have thriving traffic ticket law businesses with low fees, but in most states, legal representation for minor violations isn’t cost effective nor worth it.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Automotive Articles, Personal Finance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.