got first speeding ticket. should i go to court?

[FR-Shred]

Originally Posted by PNW FRS

That said, going to "Remediation" (aka Traffic School) might (might) help keep the "points" off your driving record - and possibly keep your insurance premimum from raising IF your insurance company catches the infraction during one of their random sweeps of court data.

Going to traffic school takes points off your license for your state which has nothing to do with insurance. Insurance goes off MVR and that speeding ticket will still be on the MVR traffic school or not. UNLESS the court says that traffic school will dismiss the ticket of course.
Also by law you are required to tell your insurance company if you have had a ticket or accident or so on even if its not on the MVR. But lets be honest, who does that..

Originally Posted by eSOLOR

Got my first ticket ever and it was for being on the phone I had someone on speaker and a highway patrol flew past me and saw the phone in my hand... Anyone know if it'll affect my insurance?

Should be a "minor moving violation" and SHOULDN'T have too much affect on it but it depends on your age/accidents/area/ and so on.

[86geek]

Originally Posted by eSOLOR

Got my first ticket ever and it was for being on the phone I had someone on speaker and a highway patrol flew past me and saw the phone in my hand... Anyone know if it'll affect my insurance?

I also got a cell phone ticket but I seriously didn't know having the cell ph on my lap was in violation. I was on speaker phone. Anyways it doesn't generate points on your insurance but when I bought my FRS, GEICO saw the cell ph ticket and jacked up my premium by $40.00 more. I told GEICO it's not a moving violation and no points were given. She stated it didn't matter.
The cell ph laws in Hawaii are strict now. Anyone getting a cell violation while driving now has to appear in traffic court. Before it was just pay the ticket.

[FR-Shred]

Originally Posted by 86geek

I also got a cell phone ticket but I seriously didn't know having the cell ph on my lap was in violation. I was on speaker phone. Anyways it doesn't generate points on your insurance but when I bought my FRS, GEICO saw the cell ph ticket and jacked up my premium by $40.00 more. I told GEICO it's not a moving violation and no points were given. She stated it didn't matter.
The cell ph laws in Hawaii are strict now. Anyone getting a cell violation while driving now has to appear in traffic court. Before it was just pay the ticket.

Like my post above states, points do not matter to insurance companies. motor vehicle report is what they use. Also tickets/accidents NOT reported but pulled up on your MVR will cost you more than ones you report, just a heads up.

[jaime3]

Go to court and fight it, if the cop doesnt show then you dont pay anything. worst that can happen is that he shows up and you have to pay the fine, but yes, do take the course (traffic school) theres online traffic school that doesnt take that long to complete and you only pay about 20 dollars for it. after that , you take the printable certificate to the court when you finally pay your ticket and it wont show up on your record

[Jaden]

Originally Posted by dtrop

Just curious....

if you take it to court and the cop does show up......what is your defense......?


also, even if the cop doesn't show up, they may have a placeholder person, which depending on your state is likely to happen.

It has to be a witness to not be considered hearsay, I had a 105 in a 70 thrown out because it was aircraft radar that clocked me and I wasn't speeding when the cop pulled me over that wrote the ticket.

Of course, I didn't even go to court in california, you can do what's called a trial by written declaration. I just wrote on the form what had happened without admitting guilt and the ticket was thrown out and the bail amount refunded to me.

You would have to check state law, but there are ways out of speeding tickets even if you WERE speeding and admitted it AND the cop comes to court.

The biggest is speed traps. Different states have different laws regarding what a speed trap entails, but many have to do with the period of time since the last road survey was done on that road. A typical amount of time is 5 years. If it has been more than five years since the last road survey it is considered a speed trap. Many roads go unsurveyed for decades.

I mean, your first ticket with the option to go to traffic school, just go to traffic school. If you've already gone to traffic school and it's your 2nd 3rd, fourth ticket, Research speed trap laws in your state and go to the county records office and get the records for the road surveys, subpoena the officers radar gun calibration records (there's usually a set interval they are required to have them calibrated) and do everything else you can to have a decent defense.

Don't go to court hoping the cop doesn't show up with a "duh, ummm, I speeded..." response if he does, especially if you have the option to go to traffic school. Often times, fighting it in court takes away that option and if you lose in court, it WILL go on your record.

Jaden

[eSOLOR]

Originally Posted by 86geek

I also got a cell phone ticket but I seriously didn't know having the cell ph on my lap was in violation. I was on speaker phone. Anyways it doesn't generate points on your insurance but when I bought my FRS, GEICO saw the cell ph ticket and jacked up my premium by $40.00 more. I told GEICO it's not a moving violation and no points were given. She stated it didn't matter.
The cell ph laws in Hawaii are strict now. Anyone getting a cell violation while driving now has to appear in traffic court. Before it was just pay the ticket.

It jacked up your premium by $40 every six months or every monthly payment? I have to pay $162 for the ticket. Paying it is not the problem, I was more worried about my insurance going up. Here in California it's not considered a moving violation and doesn't add a point either, but I heard that starting June 1, it'll be a point on your license.

[86geek]

Originally Posted by eSOLOR

It jacked up your premium by $40 every six months or every monthly payment? I have to pay $162 for the ticket. Paying it is not the problem, I was more worried about my insurance going up. Here in California it's not considered a moving violation and doesn't add a point either, but I heard that starting June 1, it'll be a point on your license.

I had a different Scion car before my FRS and had DTRIC insurance company. When I got the first quote from GEICO it was $438.00 for 6 months. Then when I decided to change my insurance to GEICO the premium the price went up to $478.00 for 6 months. GEICO said because of the cell phone violation. GEICO was way cheaper for me than DTRIC which wanted $1500.00 a year for full coverage.

[Devante]

Guys, look at my post on the previous page.

You do NOT have to go to court.
Trial by written declaration.

Fill out a form, submit it, if they find you guilty, then you still get a chance to start over by going to court.

[Higher Being]

Just show up to court and be prepared to plead guilty if the cop is there. Dress decent, say "yes mam/no sir" whatever applies and ask that you take the class if the cop shows up. Most judges wont fuck you as long as your not trying to rock the boat. Being polite goes a long way, these people deal with fuck heads all day long who are trying to cheat the system or be ultra petty so as long as your willing to play ball they will give you breaks where they can most of the time.

Also! Have all your info ready to go: Ticket, Drivers license, insurance, and maybe even money if your state requires court fee's and what not. do 20 minutes of research on your requirements.