got a speeding ticket today, 75 in a 55. what should i do. pay it, got to court and fight it and hope the cop doesn't show. help

 

Fight what? You got caught...just pay it.

 

It generally pays in Maryland to go to court. Even if the Police Officer shows up the judge will give you some sort of break. As long as you don't act like you can "Beat It!"--e

 

Were you going 75 mph? If yes, then just pay it. If you didn't, then fight it. I got ticket two months ago. I was going 90 mph in a 70 mph zone. The ticket cost me $100. I didn't have to go to court, and there were no points on my driving record. The ticket will stay on my record for three years though. I haven't had a speeding ticket in 20 years until I got my vette.

 

Where do you live? If it's a state that allows traffic school to 'erase' the ticket, choose that. In general, unless you have some grounds to fight it or you have some explanation to offer, it's not worth going to court.

 

from minnesota, not sure if that is an option here

 

It really doesn't matter how fast you were going. Pleading guilty is for losers. The worst that can happen is that you are found guilty. It's likelly that just showing up will get the speed on the ticket reduced. I was going 80 in a 55 a year ago and got the ticket for 80 mph. By just showing up and being polite, the speed was reduced to 60 mph with no points and no insurance reporting. Was that worth it??? You bet!

 

It all depends on your driving record over the past 12 months.

 

1. Call or visit the court clerk, find out what options you have. Many states offer driving school, in return for no conviction, no points. $$ may be the same, but the no points/no conviction can be very helpful.

2. Think about an attorney. If there are ads in the local paper by lawyers advertising traffic defense, call a few, see what they charge. It will not hurt to ask. Some have group meetings once a week to explain what they do, fees, etc. If you are under 35, and since you apparently own a Corvette, keeping your record as clean as possible will help.

3. IGNORE war stories.

 

Plead not guilty & go to court.Stick to your story & dont change it at all.It also helps if this was your first offence.If so let the Judge know about your good driving record.It also helps to let him know if is a brand new car,and you are not quite used to it yet.Good luck

 

If you were driving the Vette, then you should be excused.
Tell the judge that you couldn't control the beast....

 

1 - If the cop asks "do you know why I stopped you"? The answer is ALWAYS "NO"!! Say yes, and the cop writes down that you admitted the offense at the time of the stop. Be polite & courteous - they've got a tough enough job to do, without some a$$clown giving them a hard time. A little courtesy goes a long way - cops write comments on the back of the ticket for the judge, and to remind them of the circumstances of the stop. If you're an a$$, forget about getting off easy. I always wish them a safe shift, after I sign the ticket.

2 - Get a local ticket defense lawyer with a good reputation - it's worth the $100-$150.
A - You save the time & expense of the court appearances. My billable rate is $130 an hour - it costs me 3X as much to go myself and try and beat/negotiate the ticket down.
B - Traffic Courts (at least here in Fl.) are manned by; attorneys, not judges (Traffic Hearing Officers). This is where to get to accrue and pay back favor to thier buddies.

I sat in traffic court last week, as a witness/victim in an accident. Despite photo's I shot of the scene, the guy who hit me got $75 and adjudication withheld (no points, no conviction) - because he had a LAWYER. I'm on the road all day (50K miles a year), so I get "caught" a little more often than the guy who drives to & from the office. My ticket lawyers is 8 for 8 dismissals in the last 6 years - worth every penny.

Though I have noticed the cops get a case of BCS (Black Corvette Syndrome), and give ME more of a hard time, than when I was driving a Suburban - even though I drove that just as fast as the 'Vette (not counting top speeds)...

Good Luck...

Rick

I agree with the guy further up the thread, only a LOSER pleads guilty. The last time I actually did plead guilty, the cop was a friend of mine (and HAD to write me, because his Sargent was on the enforcement detail). He wrote me for 4 miles over the limit (instead of 20) and a promise from me not to take it to trial...

 

DENY, DENY, DENY EVERYTHING!

 

Talk to the D.A. before you go to court and if you get the right one he will reduce it or change it to a non moving violation. My son has done this several times. He is a Ricer and still gets them reduced. Jimmy

 

So I get the 80mph in a 55 ticket and a lawyer contacts me. He wants $450 to defend me. The ticket says the if I go to court and am found guilty I can appeal the conviction. When you appeal, it's like nothing that has happened up that point has taken place. So you go to court and try it on your own. If you lose then you appeal and then get a lawyer. It costs you another $25 to appeal. Big deal. The only thing a lawyer did for the other people who paid the $450 was to get to the head of the line ahead of the people defending themselves. Nothing more. We all got off. The key to all of this is ALWAYS fight the first ticket. Don't wait for the second or third when your license may be in danger. Try to never let it get that far.

 

If you go before a judge, don't mention your forum handle!

 

Best advise. Invest some time you may get it reduced.

In VA, if you take your car to a shop that calibrates speedometers & have them write a receipt that your speedometer was off by say 7 MPH, the judge will change the offence to "Defective Equipment" - not a moving violation - no points. No bad insurance ju-jus

Good luck.

 

Ok..you showed up, were polite and said what exactly in order to get your speed reduced to 60? Could you be more specific here..who you saw, how long the whole procedure took and on what basis did you plead "Not Guilty" Surely..it didn't go something like this..........."Well your Honour, so nice to see you again, liked those two blondes I saw you with yesterday in the strip bar..by the way, hows the wife?
Now I was driving the crap out of my car...yep, 25 over and still in 1st gear, but I turned up..be kind.

 

LOL.. His response will be to control the beast from within

 

OK, I'm called by the magistrate. The ticket writing police officer takes me to the back of court room and says, "Well Walt what happened?". I had bought the books about defending youself and they say, question the calibration of the police cars speedometer, the radar gun etc. Instead, I say "I didn't realize how fast I was going." He says, "With new cars that's easy to do." Then he added, "If you will plead guilty to 5 miles an hour over the speed limit we will change the ticket to that and you will get no points and it's not reportable to insurance companies. I say "Great"! and that's what happened. I also asked him what the policy was on speeding. I mean how fast do you have to be going to get a speeding ticket since everyone is going at least 75 on this streach of highway. He said there is no formal policy but for him you have to be going 80 before he would pull you over. Said if it were any lower he would be pulling everyone over. That's 80 in a 55. I thought that was interesting.