How To Beat a Speeding Ticket

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How To Beat A Speeding Ticket

OK, So you got a speeding ticket recently,I know it's no fun at all, but it happens. So now you want to know how to beat a speeding ticket Open in a new window

. What should you do?

Well, let's put it this way. If you pay the fine you not only are out the ticket fine but you also have a very good chance of your insurance increasing not only once but every year for 3 years. In the end it could cost you over a thousand dollars when you include insurance hikes.

Or you could go to court and fight. You have every right to fight this ticket. Even if you lose your fine is still no higher than if you just paid the ticket.

What To Do When You Get Stopped

1. Stop in the safest spot that is nearby and do it as quick as possible. This is just being courteous to the officer. Many officers have been hurt just standing at the side of somebodies car. this may go a long way to getting started on the right foot with the officer.

2. Stop the car and Stay in your car.

3. If at night, turn on your interior lights and put your hands on the steering wheel at the 10 and 2 o'clock points. This will put the officer at ease and let him know you are fully cooperating and have nothing to hide.

4. Get rid of any bad attitude. On the contrary, you want to be as polite as possible.

5. Do Not Admit Guilt. If the officer asks you if you know why you were stopped. Say "no sir, I don't." If you give excuses you hurt your chances later. Say as little as possible While answering his questions politely.

Remember you want to make the whole process as unmemorable for the officer as possible. You don't want him to write a bunch of notes that will most certainly be used against you in court.

If You Get a Ticket, What are the options?

1. Pay The Fine - Definitely not what I would recommend. You not only pay your   ticket fine but you will also pay in higher insurance costs, as much as 50% higher per year for the next 3 years. As well as higher points on your driving record and possible suspension of your license.

2. Take Defensive Driving- This only works if you have not taken this course already in the last 12 months. It is educational and can help you brush up on your driving rules which is always good.   The ticket does not show up on your driving record. But you will still have to pay some fees that many times comes close to the original ticket amount and it can take a lot of your time and can be boring. Check into the requirements, they vary by state.

3. Plead not guilty and go to court - This is what I did and if you are informed and have done your homework then there is a good chance you will beat your speeding ticket.

Other Methods - There may be other methods of forgiveness in your city or state. Check into them. for example sometimes they will dismiss the ticket if you have not had any other tickets in the last few years. Or they may put you on a probation period where if you don't get any other tickets in a certain amount of months then they will dismiss it. Again it varies by state and city.

How to Beat A Speeding Ticket

1. Delay the court date as many times as possible. the farther out your court date the less the officer remembers. The officer may also move or retire. If this happens, your ticket is dismissed because you have a right to face your accuser.

2. Send a letter of request for Discovery. It is your constitutional right to see all the evidence against you. But you have to ask for it ahead of time.

This should include copies of the front and back of ticket. Any notes the officer has pertaining to your incident, As well as information about witnesses if any. You should also ask for the maintenance and calibration records of the radar unit that was used to detect your speed. Also ask for the accuracy of the tuning fork. If the officer was moving while using the radar then you should ask for a speedometer calibration certificate.

This is called the Discovery Process. Ask the county clerk about what the process is for that particular court.

The main thing I want to get across is that you do have options. You don't have to just blindly pay the ticket. Get informed and do your homework.

Disclaimer: This is only for educational purposes, and no results are guaranteed.

September 26, 2007

WED

SEP

2007

How To Beat A Speeding Ticket - A Speedy Trial

By Nancy Hults

When I went to the court I chose to plead not guilty and ask for a trial by jury.

I did this because I have always heard that you have a better chance among an unbiased jury because the Judge knows the officers and trusts them and is more likely to believe the officer over you.

So when they called my name I did just that. I asked for a trial by jury.

They told me to go see the court clerk to set the date.

I did that and it turns out that they set the date for 8 months from that day I was at court.

Is that considered a "speedy trial"? Not in my book.
From what i have researched a speedy trial is no more than a couple months out max.

I called to ask why so long for the trial? They said that Webster Texas (the city I got the ticket in) has a traveling judge and that is the next available date for the trial.

Well I intend to look into this further. If you know of anything about how this works, please leave me a comment.

Meanwhile I plan on doing a lot of research on this subject. One of the ebooks on the internet that has been highly and repeatedly recommended is Case Dismissed Open in a new window

stay tuned on how this all pans out.

3:21 PM | Permalink | 3 comments

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