I am so dumb. Need advice.

[CharlieD]

I recently got a speeding ticket, couple of month ago. And have been trying to drive carefully and with in the speed limit. i do not know what happened with me today, but I was going 75 on 55 and of course i got stopped by a cup. Now the first ticket was not going to be on my record as long as I wuld not have any tickets with in one year, but now I am screwed (can I use this word?).
What can or what should I do? Do we have any lawyers here?

 

[pacanis]

Yes, you can use "screwed" when talking about multiple speeding tickets.


I have no idea what your state law is. Way back when, when I used to collect speeding tickets like some do parking tickets, all I had to do was re-take the test. Oh, and pay through the nose for insurance for a while.
It sounds like you were speeding, so I don't know what a lawyer would do.

 

[medtran49]

It sounds like you were speeding, so I don't know what a lawyer would do.

They can challenge the radar gun (if that is what was used), whether it was operated correctly, calibrated correctly, a brand with documented issues in the past, etc., or so I've heard. Also, if the cop doesn't show, the case can be dismissed, or both cops if it was one that clocked you and the other chased you down and gave you the ticket, or if it was surveillance from the air. But you still might lose. You can always google lawyers in your area, see what kind of record they have. Initial consulations are usually not too expensive and/or free. No, I haven't gotten a lot of speeding tickets, 1 in my whole life actually, just used to know people that did.

 

[pacanis]

Around here if their equipment isn't calibrated they give you a ticket for reckless driving instead. The police do not like to lose and everyone just sucks it up and pays them, rather than challenging, when it comes to speeding.
I challenged a drag racing ticket once, along with the other guy (my buddy). Now had the cop charged us with speeding, he would have won, but we weren't racing... technically...

 

[Andy M.]

As the old Starkist TV ads used to say, "Sorry, Charlie."

Your best bet is to pay the fines and drive slower.

 

[Aunt Bea]

You better hope the judge does not hang out on DC when he is on break

 

[GB]

Your best bet (and it is a long shot) is to take it to court and hope you get a sympathetic judge. Do not lie and say you were not speeding, but say you made an honest mistake and would like to find an alternate way of taking care of it. If you luck out then the judge could go for that.

 

[Uncle Bob]

State, County and Municipal Governments are strapped for cash ~~ Get out your check book and hold on...You may even get a letter from your Insurance company explaining your increase in premiums for the next 3(?) years ~~ Lastly, in some States, or other jurisdictions,.... 3 moving violations in a 12 month period can cause your license to be suspended for a period of time....Time to slow down me thinks.....

 

[Zhizara]

Yes, you can use "screwed" when talking about multiple speeding tickets.


I have no idea what your state law is. Way back when, when I used to collect speeding tickets like some do parking tickets, all I had to do was re-take the test. Oh, and pay through the nose for insurance for a while.
It sounds like you were speeding, so I don't know what a lawyer would do.

Cost more money!

 

[pacanis]

Cost more money!

Yep. Sometimes it's just better to bite the bullet. Better to write one check than, two

 

[Bigjim68]

Your best bet (and it is a long shot) is to take it to court and hope you get a sympathetic judge. Do not lie and say you were not speeding, but say you made an honest mistake and would like to find an alternate way of taking care of it. If you luck out then the judge could go for that.

That's what I would do. Go into court well dressed and not looking like the rest of those there, plead your case, but don't claim to not have been speeding, and hope you have a sympathetic judge. In Va, two speeding tickets, at least one 20 over, could mean a suspension.
Judges have the option of reducing the miles over, or send you to driving school, at least in Virginia.

FWIW, a 20 over within 2 months after a judge cut you slack on another speeding ticket doesn't sound like trying to drive carefully to me. I doubt that a judge will see it that way either.

 

[Kayelle]

Yep, get out your checkbook Charlie. A lawyer will just cost you more money. If you have cruise control on your car, it really helps by keeping that lead foot off the accelerator, and saved for the brake.

It might help to go to court, but don't count on it. I had two tickets within two months at the very same intersection for a yellow/red light camera. I went to court for both, arguing the yellow changed to red when I was 3/4 the way through the intersection. The two tickets were $1,000 and my insurance doubled for three years. I go around the block to avoid that intersection now.. and I never ever consider entering an intersection on yellow, even if I get rear ended from slamming on my breaks. Hard lessons learned.

 

[CharlieD]

Well, I'll just have to pray for the best. I don't know what got into me, I have not had ticket for years before these two. Thank you.

 

[Kayelle]

Well, I'll just have to pray for the best. I don't know what got into me, I have not had ticket for years before these two. Thank you.

Charlie, I had never had a ticket before the two I just mentioned, and that's a very long time. Remember we all deserve tickets, it's just that some of us get caught more often than others. Nobody can pretend to be guilt free.

 

[buckytom]

charlie, if you're not going to hire a professional bottom feeder (lawyer), you should at least know the statutes involved. you can always look them up online.

it's a gamble at this point, but you don't stand to lose any more than if you just pay it by mail.

if you state your case well and act politely saying you're very sorry, judges often reduce the points and/or fines that you originally received. but you won't get off scot free. one ticket and it's believable, two tickets and you might have a lead foot and need to be taught a lesson.

if you have the time before the court date, try to take a safe driver course and tell the court that you did it to prove that you mean that you won't do it again.

the worst that can happen is that you wasted time and still have to pay the full penalty.

i got two speeding tickets within 30 minutes of each other, both 25mph over the limits once. fortunately, they were in different towns in different counties upstate ny, so i just paid them right away and they never showed up on my record.

this was many years ago before the common use of computer databases, so i doubt you'd be as lucky as i was by just paying them off. if your state uses a point system for warnings and punishments, you're probably going to get points and that could affect your insurance when you renew it. the difference of 2 points (1 ticket) could mean hundreds of dollars over a few years, or even suspension. so it's worth it to just try to get the penalties reduced.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Iinvest in cruise control. (But don't use it when it is raining.)

 

[blissful]

I recently got a speeding ticket, couple of month ago. And have been trying to drive carefully and with in the speed limit. i do not know what happened with me today, but I was going 75 on 55 and of course i got stopped by a cup. Now the first ticket was not going to be on my record as long as I wuld not have any tickets with in one year, but now I am screwed (can I use this word?).
What can or what should I do? Do we have any lawyers here?

First of all, please do not get angry at me for mentioning a misspelling since I misspell things all the time. In fact, I think more fondly of those of us that misspell things occasionally because we are 'off the cuff' and not worried about what people think of us. It's more genuine. I like that.

When I envisioned you being stopped by a cup, I could not stop laughing. Because it is food oriented. Had you been stopped by a spoon or fork, it would have been unbearable.

If you do go to court to plead your case, don't dress REALLY expensively out of respect. They might remove your points, take it off your record and then make you pay more (because of all your money because of your nice clothes).

A friend of mine just did that. Dressed nice, had everything removed from his record but had to pay MORE. It's bribery to me.

So what did happen? Did you go to court and what did the cup say?
PS. Slow down.

 

[taxlady]

Iinvest in cruise control. (But don't use it when it is raining.)

Just curious, why is that?

 

[pacanis]

First of all, please do not get angry at me for mentioning a misspelling since I misspell things all the time...
...So what did happen? Did you go to court and what did the cup say?
PS. Slow down.

When I read cup, I just assumed Charlie meant the cop had a cup in one hand and a donut in the other.

 

[dcSaute]

>>When I read cup, I just assumed Charlie meant the cop had a cup in one hand and a donut in the other.

nah. probably a bad assumption - with both hands fully occupied keeping the "usual and customary suspects" under control, could not write a ticket.... (g)

I got a speeding ticket out of state in NY 1981'ish - on some "parkway" - I protested when I got stopped, told the cop "lookie see here - that's a radar detector, knew you were there!" to which he said - "yeah but I got you going away...."

now if you know anything about the doppler effect, you can't get "speed checked" moving away from the radar set. I did bring that up but the copy said "say dude, it's a $45 fine, we don't report to the state, no points, no nuttin' - just send in the check." he "got" me at 4.7 mph over the limit.... I think that's called a "toll"