NNY S2k

Just wondering where you got the ticket as we take quite a few trips on the ferry to the Green Mt. State. As far as what happened in court I probably would have done the same as you and not mentioned the plate. Under 20 mph speeding in NY is 3 points too.

REVS29K

NNY S2K,

I got the ticket in Colchester on Mill Pond Road. It's a quiet little cross road between Severance Rd and Main St. I've seen another car stopped there as well. There's a farm and a few houses on the road. Very few cars when I was stopped, but as someone else said, I was caught and that's it. Went to court just trying to catch a break.

klassyblue

If it makes you feel any better I'm getting ready to fight my first speeding ticket. I have a 25 year unblemished driving record and I was coming back from my sailing vacation this summer back in July and was being passed by a Bronco (a vehicle larger than me - I was in my Honda accord - thank goodness NOT in the S) and as we crested the hill the Bronco saw the trooper he slammed on his brakes making me look like I was speeding, as I went flying past him, when my cruise was only set on 63 MPH. But I got pulled and he gave me a ticket for 70 in a 55.

It's worth 4 points on my record and the fine is 129.00.

I have to drive 2.5 hours to court from here, (5 hours round trip), take a day off work, HOPE that the judge will take my driving record into consideration (which the trooper even mentioned as he was writing the ticket) His exact quote was "The judge will probably give you driving school because you have a perfect record". My comment to him was "Then why bother even giving me the ticket, can't we let this be a warning to me instead? Obviously I'm a good driver".

I don't feel I'm guilty and paying it makes me feel as if I've admitted guilt - I got a continuance from the last court date due to Hurricane Isabel since I had no power and lost 10 days from work it was impossible for me to go, and they gave me another court date for next week. BUT as QPhox4 said, by the time you calculate your driving time, time off work, etc... it's better to pay it. And I think that's what I may do.

Wonder why we get more points for something like this than you guys up north?

REVS29K

Wow, I thought 3 points was a lot! Virginia doesn't allow radar detectors, either, do they?

I don't know what the odds are for winning when you go to court, but even if they are low, I guess it's better than the alternative, except for the other costs. The points are the killer. My insurance company told me they probably won't raise my rates for one ticket, even with 3 points. I was relieved to hear that. You might ask yours what they will do. I assumed any ticket would increase the rates.

Good luck.

meriggi

I would have told of the no plate issue, just to catch the cop in a lie.

klassyblue

No, Virginia doesn't allow radar detectors. I think our troopers have detector detectors!!!

I spoke with my insurance agent (state farm) and he said it would NOT go up, unless they had a reason to pull my file (ie. another accident or claim) and found the ticket but they just don't do a random check of people for tickets. And besides they didn't actually PAY anything out for this but I guess they see me as a higher risk. And after 3 years it's wiped off my record anyway.

At least the trooper wasn't a jerk like some of them can be. He didn't act like a 'Barney badass' while he was talking to me.

I agree that I would have mentioned the 'no plate' issue to the judge to have caught the cop in a lie. Proving his credibility was questionable.

Bret

REVS29K, I think that you missed a couple of important things about "fighting" a speeding ticket. The first thing to remember is that it's almost all about the money. Sure, they write the tickets under the guise of safety, but the fact is that the people in charge wouldn't have the officers out there writing speeding tickets if there was no money to be had for the local or state government budgets. Also, "fighting" the ticket doesn't necessarily mean being found not guilty. It most often means getting the speed over the limit reduced. So, understanding that, what I've always done is go to court and talk with the prosecutor. You can do this at the pretrial hearing because the actual trial is usually set for another date. The vast majority of time they will agree to allow a guilty plea for a lower speed in order to avoid a trial. But, the funny thing is that they always insist on collecting the fine based on the original speed that you were accused of going. If they won't bargain, then you have to be willing to call their bluff and go to court, but the truth is that their willingness to bargain is mostly based on their case load. If they have a small case load, bad for you. If they have a large case load, good for you (and bad for you too because they are also pleaing real crimes like theft, assault, etc.). If you have to go to trial, things become much more difficult, but you can win so long as you are respectful. You should have definitely taken advantage of the front plate thing. You could have said something like "I think that the officer is mistaken, I don't even have a front plate on my car." This would have discredited his account and bolstered yours. At that point it would have depended on the particular judge. Most are impartial, but others have a you're guilty and how dare you contest this in my court attitude. I think that you're more likely to get the latter in small towns. In the end if you are found guilty, the fine is usually the same and you've only lost your time.

Now if your asking why fight a ticket just to get the speed reduced if it's still going to be on my driving record? This is where knowing your particular local laws becomes important. For example, in Georgia you have to be going 15mph over the limit for speeding to even go on your record. So, I always have tried to negociate the speed down to 14mph over the limit and have been mostly successful. I've had to pay the fine, but insurance doesn't find out and that's what can really cost you. So, know the particular laws in your area to figure out what your goals are before you start. Good luck in the future!

smyroad

My experiences at traffic court have usually been to plead guilty. As long as I'm dressed repectfully (suit and tie) and show respect to the judge, they have reduced the points and fine. Vintage drivers often have poor results with this because many times they speak as equals. The old "I'm a safe driver becasue I've been driving for 40 years without a ticket" speach usually angers the judge. The judge will usually ask you about your driving record anyway. Yes sir and No sir seem to produce the best results.

The only time I've been found not guilty was when I was guilty. I rear ended a man in a pickup truck many yers ago. He did not show up in court and because there were no civilian witnesses, the case was dismissed.

For the most part, traffic speed enforcement is about revenue. Rarely will you see a speed trap near a dangerous portion of a road. I just wish the points system was not entangled with it.

REVS29K

In my case, there was no pre-trial hearing. I had no opportunity to negotiate with the prosecutor. The only reason I went to court was to try and get the speed reduced and hopefully fewer points. At court, I was the only one in the room besides the judge and two cops. I was very polite and deferential to the judge. She didn't ask about my record, but I did tell her my record was clean for the past 14 years. I don't really know what I could have done differently except the front plate issue. I had to make a very quick decision on that and not knowing whether they could somehow turn that around to an additional fine or not, I decided to let it go.

I hope to have no more opportunities to improve my in court performance any time soon.

smyroad

Amen to that!