To start off I'm 18 and have had a perfect driving record. Well afew days ago I was cruising down North road following the person infront of me when I see a cop standing in the street, he signals me into a parking lot. He got me doing 46 in a 30 (16 over) from 888ft away with a laser. He asked me why I was going so fast and I said that I was just cruising along. I am trying to figure out how I am going to handle this. My court date is Oct20 so I need to figure it out soon. The ticket is $186 which I find ridiculous. I have heard that if I pleade guilty they might lower the ticket 3 mph, which won't take any points off my license and I think won't raise insurance, and the ticket won't go on my record I have heard that I might be able to call the judge and he might lower it for me. I have heard to plead NOLO, but then I still pay for the full fine and I have heard that I should save that plea in case I really screw up because you can only plea that once every 5 years. Also my brother seems to think that there might be a stipulation that the cop can't park within X feet of the road and in my case the cop was right next to it and we have a picture to prove it. I have a hard time believing some of this and am asking for your advice, should I plea guilty or not guilty. In hopes of reducing the consequences or should I just suck it up and pay the fine. Thanks for any and all help, Aaron
none of us are lawyers, so don't bother asking us. you will lose in traffic court. especially being 18. not saying it's right, that's just how it is. you could try and negotiate with the solicitor: trade a guilty plea for a few mph knocked off so it doesn't go on your record. with 16 over, however, there's not a lot of points involved. if you go into court, don't base your defense on 'my brother thinks ...'. you need the law and FACTS on your side, otherwise the judge will just laugh and find you guilty. you are at a HUGE disadvantage in traffic court, and it is designed this way. the procedures involved are designed so that the common man cannot easily defend himself. remember, the tables are turned against you here worse than they are in vegas. if you have a hard time believing it, welcome to the real world.
I'm in your exact same position...last week I was hanging out with Nicad until 4am and got busted coming home (61 in a 45, but the cop was sitting right where it turns from 55 to 45). First off, admit you're wrong. I was more pissed off at myself than anything else (I was less than a mile from my house, too). I'm 26 with a perfect record...I asked around, and the best response I found was go to the DA BEFORE you go to the judge on your court day and explain you have a clean record, it was a stupid mistake and blah blah blah...hopefully they'll drop it the 2mph to get to 14mph over so you won't get points and raped by your insurance company.
Just pay the fine over the phone and be done with it. Your insurance won't change most likely unless you get into an accident, or you actually call them and tell them you got a speeding ticket. The points are minimal. The most you will get is 3 points, if even that. I would recommend just paying the fine, accepting responsibility for your mistake, and be wary not to let it happen again. I have gotten 2 speeding tickets in the past 4 years, and my insurance rate has not changed. As long as you don't give your insurance company a reason to research your background again, they won't know about the tickets.
I got pulled doing 16 over on 75 at 3:30 in the morning in Cobb and had to go to traffic court in Marietta. I didn't even ask the lady handling my ticket to drop my speed, she volunteered it and the judge was very reasonable. I'd say just plead guilty, pay the fine and talk to whom ever is handling your ticket about dropping the speed.
NOLO will not put points on your license and increase your insurance...well worth it especially you being 18. Just wait 5 years before screwing up again. GL
Ummm you were speeding excessively and got caught. And that charge is excessive? I don't think so. I speed myself and I have gone stupid myself....I won't deny that. But when I get pulled for speeding then so be it. I have yet to get a speeding ticket.....but I have been pulled for other things and to this day only had one ticket (noise ordinance....thanks EWG). You being young I would just plead guilty and let him know you made a stupid mistake. Don't use your NOLO on this.
agreed - nolo should not be used on your first offense, ever. You're still pleading guilty, so you're paying the full fine and your insurance will still be effected. Nolo should only be used when you're points are going to hurt you to the point of taking your license Read this
THIS^^^ the points will drop off after 2 years. i had 14 points, lost my license and had gobs of fines all before i turned 18. my insurance never went up a dime. in fact it didnt change till i got in my wreck when i was 22 and then the insurance company said WHOA look at this record!! the record really means nothing. other than every time you get pulled over a cop sees that you have points and pins you as a habitual offender and will not go easy on you. lesson here: dont get pulled over again so as long as you dont get in any accidents, you're fine. /thread
I have never had to use my Nolo and I've probably had 20 speeding tickets, go in talk to the solicitor and see what they will do, they will usually drop it a couple of miles an hour as long as you agree to pay the original fine.
I believe it is 3 years for tickets to fall off. When you reach 16pts they suspend your license and after 30 days and a re-instatement fee your slate is wiped clean. I think this may have happened to you Jake. Now just listen to Matt and others, beg the solicitor to reduce the speed by 2mph so that it does not add points to your license (the violation will still show but with no points). Explain that you have a clean license (go pick one up for 7 bucks) show it to him/her and hope for the best. It couldn't hurt to take an online driver safety course, which is NOT acceptable for reduction in points or fine according to some code which I don't have in front of me that must be taken in person. But since we are only talking 2mph it is worth a try. If all else fails go to the judge with a guilty with an explanation and do the same thing as with the solicitor. Bottom line is don't use a nolo the crime is not serious enough and it can only be used once every 5yrs. If you fail at the above just pay the fine and move on.
Just use Nolo and be over with it. Trust me, I got 2 speeding tickets and they were both over 30. On the first one I used Nolo, on second one I lost my DL for 6 months. Since than, I never speed again. First ticket I was 18 second ticket I was 19.
BAD IDEA! Being under 21 and paying speeding tickets over the phone is a BAD idea. I had a friend who lost his DL from first speeding ticket just because he paid over the phone. He was going 60 in 45. He was 18 years old, first ticket ever. After he paid his ticket over the phone, like a week later he got a letter telling him he gotta bring in his DL for 6 months.
You have had some good recommendations here. Bottom line is the solicitor is in charge of what happens with that ticket. Most of them are pretty darn reasonable in my experience (5 years as a cop) and provided you were polite to the police officer he will not mind either (some of them ask the cop first...another reason to at least be polite even if you are angry). As for the so many feet from the road, etc, that is not going to work unless they have changed things in the last couple years. Provided he was not hiding behind a sign or something and was visible from at least 500 feet (he must have been if he got you from 800+ feet away), then he was doing his job correctly and the ticket will hold up just fine. Laser is a tough one to beat. It is deadly accurate and hard to get tossed. Try to get it under 14 over and pay the fine. I know at the department I worked at it was not reported to the state and did not go on your record at all unless it was more than 14 over. Drew as for your case, how close were you to where the speed changed when he pulled you over?
i think there is more to this story.... if you are under 18 and get pulled over for doing 25 or more over they can automatically revoke your license on the spot. so maybe it was 70 in a 45??
He had to have been going 20 over the limit. That's reckless driving if busted. Revoked license on the spot.
~1/4 mile, if that...I think the law is 500', though, which I was definitely passed. It was my fault...I used cruise control all the way home because I knew I was too tired to drive. When I pulled on Delk, I'm only a couple miles from home. It was a simple lapse in judgement on my part. I'm pretty sure he just pulled me over because I was the only person on the road and I was speeding, I'm guessing he was looking for something else (drinking, drugs, etc.). The frustrating thing about mine is it was on Delk road, which carries an I-285-ish speed limit. During peak driving hours, you'll get run over for doing under 70.
Thank you so much to everyone for your input. Am I able to call the solicitor before my court date or do I have to wait till I go to court to talk to him? I would really like to get things resolved ASAP, as this also puts me in a bad position because I'm trying to get my job set in the Airforce.
im not sure about NOLO but i think you can plead NOLO as many times as you want as long as its not DUI, which is only once every 5 years. might be wrong
this won't really effect airforce entry. they are more concerned with arrests. even tho they ask for all your tickets. i didnt tell them any of mine, no biggie
I would think it would be best to show up on the court date set on the ticket. Usually the only time to talk to the solicitor. I guess it depends on jurisdiction though.