i got a speeding ticket! what can i do? :(?

It has been many years since I received a ticket, so I may not be up on the current law.

However as I recall, in California the fine for speeding was much less if you were not doing more than 10 Miles Per Hour over the speed limit.

You say that you were cited for 61 in a 45.

Is it possible that you were actually going 55 Miles Per Hour or less?

If that is the case the fine will probably be dramatically lower than the fine for going 16 Miles Per Hour over the speed limit.

I recommend that you start interviewing Attorneys who have a great deal of successful experience defending speeding tickets.

Tell them about your case and ask them what are the possibilities.

Even though your finances are tight, I recommend that you hire the Attorney that you think is best for you.

I remember many years ago, back when I was in College I received a speeding ticket that was clearly in error. As it turned out I was actually driving several miles per hour under the speed limit.

Also the Police Officer who gave me the ticket was an arrogant jerk.

I was absolutely furious. Even though I really could not afford the money, I hired an Attorney who had a great deal of successful experience defending traffic tickets.

In fact my Attorney was a former Police Officer who had quit the Police Force and went back to law school.

My Attorney got the money to get his law practice going primarily by defending traffic tickets in court.

My Attorney proved, in court, that the Police Officer who gave me the ticket had been very negligent and was in error in determining my speed and showed the Court that I was actually traveling several miles per hour below the speed limit.

My Attorney won that case for me.

That was approximately 40 years ago.

Winning that case is something that I am still pleased about to this day, even though it is 40 years later.

To this day, I am glad that I spent the money on the Attorney, even though I did not think that I could afford it at the time.

I think that you will find the same thing, if the Police Officer that gave you the ticket made any errors.

The best way to find out is to interview some Attorneys and see what they say.

Where did you get your ticket? School zone, residential area? Was traffic heavy or lite? Was the road wet or dry? These conditions may effect the amount of your fine. Performing Community Service hours actually reduces the fine by the number of hours worked. I don't think it reduces insurance rates.Why would you go to trial? If your guilty you don't have to go to trial. If you go to trial you must plead not guilty. If you are proven guilty, the judge may not like the fact that you tied up his court with a trial when the evidence clearly shows that you are guilty. He may order you to pay more money on your fine and probably will not grant you community service. If you plead guilty, the judge will tell you the amount of the fine. Then explain your financial situation and ask for community service. Be polite and no whinning. Tell the court you are sorry and you'll get up earlier. An that's exactly what you need to do. Get up earlier, leave earlier and get to school on time. Getting that ticket also took time so you were late any way and it cost you money.

Cops off duty get speeding tickets all the time, some officers will give a off duty cop some allowance, but if it is really over, even carrying a badge will not help you. And to some officers, if you are a officer, they beleive you know better, also often there are issues between city and county officers, and they look for a chance to write up one of the other officers. Very seldom would a officer on duty get a ticket, but it could happen, I have seen a on duty officer have a wreck in his patrol card and get a ticket for something. ** and I have seen them fixed by the police cheif calling the other departmetn also.

It's possible the judge could lower the fine, since the majority of the fine is fees and assessments.

I'm not an expert. I don't know how your having two tickets within one year would affect your request. Also, some insurance companies will wait until a second ticket before they use the points against you.

Appear in court as indicated on your ticket. At that time you have to ask the judge for any considerations other than paying the fine.

Asking to perform community service is an option in my own jurisdiction and I'm sure in yours as well.

In the meantime...SLOW DOWN!!!!

Plead not guilty, wait for court date. Go to court, dress well (shirt and tie or a nice dress and blouse). Meet with prosecutor, ask for some leniency, hopefully they will grant it, but judge has to approve. Be respectful, and good things happen.

Pay It