I got a @#%@# ticket!

[radhak]

Traffic ticket.

A half-mile from home is a traffic light to turn left onto bigger road. It turned yellow just as I started the turn so I could not have stopped. Just my luck a cop coming behind on the bigger road pulled me over - 'it was already green this direction when you turned'. By all calculations, that cannot have been true; He was a pimply faced youngster - almost had not even started shaving. Another cop pulled up with him and from what I could overhear from them, I was his very first victim ! That being so, he must have been just looking to get somebody, and I gave him the excuse.

I was so pi**ed (mostly at myself, slightly at him) that I said nothing but handed over the paperwork and got more in return. I have seen in the past that arguing with a cop serves nothing.

Called up a traffic attorney - her fee $80, and I think the county fines will be around $230; might be worth it just to avoid the points, but that's serious dough I do not have . And I cannot let LOML know - will never hear the end of it.

[crokett]

Sorry to hear that. I've gotten 3 tickets. 1 was a setup like yours.

1. The points will likely cost you more in the 3 years of increased premiums than the fine+lawyer's fees. At least that was way the math worked for me.
2. If you don't tell your wife, when she does find out then you will be in trouble twice - for the ticket and for not telling her.

[cabinetman]

Technically, yellow means prepare to stop. They did get ya though.

But, I have good news. I've beat two tickets by postponing (for as long as possible), the court date. What happens is that they try to get that officers' tally in on the same day. Postponing does a few things. It creates a mess for the court in getting everybody together. By the time you get to court, the officer may not show or be on a different force.

If the officer doesn't show, there is a good possibility there will be a dismissal. One ticket I postponed twice, and the other three times. It has to be by the book...a letter to the court.

Disclaimer: What I said in the above, applies to my circumstances and may not be relevant to yours. In other words, I'm not advising you what to do. I'm just saying what I did.
.

[cgallery]

Can't you fight it yourself, w/o hiring an attorney?

I've had a little experience w/ this (when I was younger) and I think I was always able to swing better deals for myself than I saw any attorney get for their client.

[JR]

Can't you fight it yourself, w/o hiring an attorney?

Fight a traffic ticket? That would be a complete waste of time here. Cabinetman's tactics might work, but putting up a not-guilty defense would not work. In CA traffic court you are, by and large, guilty until proven innocent, and you can't prove yourself innocent.

OTOH, we have a system that allows the offender to pay the equivalent of the fine plus attending 8 hours of traffic school, without taking a hit on your record. You can only do it once every X years, but it's administered separately by each court, so if you violate once per jurisdiction you can get away with it for a long time. If you are so inclined.

JR

[Uncle Cracker]

Pay the fine and take the traffic school option, if you have one. Unless you can prove faulty equipment or LEO's misinterpretation of the traffic laws, you have zero chance in court, as it will basically be your word against LEO.

[sweensdv]

I was pulled over last year by your pimply faced cops twin brother.............I was completely innocent too

[jackellis]

My nephew is a Miramar cop, but he doesn't do traffic duty any more. Either he's investigating murders or picking up the really bad guys (SWAT).

[cgallery]

In Wisconsin, once you show up and indicate you're going to enter a not guilty plea, they start the negotiations. They'll do ANYTHING to keep the money machine running. They DO NOT want to go to trial. You can do 25-MPH over and get a 0-point equipment failure, as long as you pay the fine. And even that is negotiable.

[germdoc]

About 25 years ago I got ticketed for a minor fender-bender in Atlanta--there was a chain-collision of rear-endings that happened after a car stopped suddenly on an icy road. I decided to fight it.

The Fulton county traffic court, BTW, is a colorful place, to say the least.... When my case came up, the judge gave me about 2 minutes to state my case, then smiled and said, "You've got to be kidding me. That's the best you've got? Pay the fine on your way out. Next case!"

[herb fellows]

Presumably you've already done this, but check the ticket for ANY mistakes. Anything done incorrectly will probably get you off.
As others have stated, next best option is the classes to negate the points, although I think this only applies to your license, not your insurance company.

[woodturner]

In most states, be aware that you are legally required to report any traffic accident the police and your insurance company. You are also required to report any tickets to the insurance company.

If you do not report an accident, they typically automatically suspend your license, often without telling you. Had the misfortune to be hit by a woman in just this situation - so, in addition to the traffic ticket, she was cited for driving without a license and without insurance.

Had another friend who had not reported a speeding ticket and was then involved in an accident. The insurance company checked his record, found the ticket, cancelled his insurance back to the last renewal and refunded his premium. Thus he had no insurance - and was cited for such, in addition to having to pay out of his pocket for the accident.

[cgallery]

Had another friend who had not reported a speeding ticket and was then involved in an accident. The insurance company checked his record, found the ticket, cancelled his insurance back to the last renewal and refunded his premium. Thus he had no insurance - and was cited for such, in addition to having to pay out of his pocket for the accident.

I'm pretty sure that they can't do that.

Perhaps your friend forgot an important detail or two when telling you the story.

[cabinetman]

I haven't had a ticket since 1988. Before that in my wild and crazy days I never reported a ticket to the insurance company. Seems like they found out all on their own. No action as far as being dropped.
.

[Black wallnut]

Given where you live I'd be real careful about representing yourself and following the advice others have already posted. Each State and then each local jurisdiction is different in these things. Even with mostly uniform traffic laws the enforcement is vastly different. That said.......

If others you know have ever successfully won traffic cases on thier own you might consider defending yourself. You should have the right to interview the other Officer prior to trial and find out what his testimony will be. If you are an experienced driver with a clean record that may work in your favor. Time and document the light cycles at that intersection. If the yellow is too short that might also help you. If the red to green is also without delay that may also help you. Your job as a defendent in traffic court is to show that there is enough doubt that you committed the offense. However if traffic courts are a set up and forgone conclusion without an attorney then hire one, grit your teeth, and get to know all the local cops as who you are (in their world) may pay dividends down the road.