Mirth

Hey guys and gals, I just got a citation because I "Failed to stop at red light before making right turn." As soon as I got on the highway, I noticed cop cars scattered different places, and one of em went for me, with the beautiful flashing lights. I knew I wasn't speeding, but I pulled into a parking lot, thinking maybe they are just doing a routine check or something.

He asked for my license, registration, and insurance card, which I provided for him. He asked why I thought he pulled me over, and I said "I'm not really sure, officer." He's like, "The other cop by the intersection of so-and-so saw you not come to a complete stop" and asked if I did. I said, "Well, I might have done a rolling stop, but I'm not really sure..." and I asked him what the proper way to come to a stop was, he explained, and I told him I'm not really sure if I did that or not. (I tried being as honest as I could, because when I got pulled over by a Highway Patrol guy for speeding, I was honest and he let me go, which is very rare in the state of Florida.)

So anyways, he goes back to his car, I'm thinking, "He can't really write me a ticket for this crap...". In the meantime, I'm seeing other cars getting pulled over for God knows what, one after the other. Anyways, he comes back and gives me the ticket, tell me, 1) I can pay it off and get points and insurance goes up, 2) I can go to traffic school, insurance won't go up, no points, but I have to pay the fine still, or 3) Go to court against him, if I'm guilty I could get up to a $500 penalty, insurance goes up, and points, or if innocent, walk away scotch-free.

So, I don't really know if I should choose door #2 or door #3. Does anyone know how easy it is to fight these things in court? Will I have to go to court against the officer that "SAW" me go through the red light, or will it be against the officer that pulled me over, and if the latter is true, would I have a better chance getting out of it since this guy litterally didn't see me do it?

By the way, the cost is $198.00. I think that is extremely excessive.

ubertuber

What's the justification for paying more than twice as much if found guilty in court?

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cj2112

Read what the officer signed, typically it says something about him witnessing the infraction. Does it say anything like that? If so, what are the exact words?

ngdawg

If you choose to go to court, I know in most places, you have to state so and the ticket issuing officer is supposed to show up-if he doesn't, you get the ticket voided. So, you could bet on him not showing.
I'd pay the $198, chalk it up to experience and go on my merry way.

Tully Mars

The short answer is you're fucked. Hate to tell you this but it's just the truth. It's a scam LE uses to raise funds. There's a couple Fla towns that are famous for this scam. It was/is? they're only source of revenue in some cases. Going to court and fighting it with out video evidence of your innocence is going to be a waste of your time and your money. It doesn't matter who the cop is that shows up. 99% chance the "judge" (if it is a real judge and not a justice of the peace officer of the court) is going to take the cops word over yours every time. Go to school, pay the fines. It's the less costly solution of all your choices.

Here's an article of how the scam works:

OAAA - News

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Mirth

The only things that it says, other then my personal info:

WITNESS: W. Webster (and lists a number)
FAILED TO STOP AT A RED LIGHT BEFORE MAKING RT TURN.

Other than that, just info, and the fine cost.

Yeah, I'm not sure if I should risk him showing up or not. If it were $100 or less, I'd pay it, but $198 it outrageous, in my opinion.



Oh yeah, I know it's a scam, but I was maybe hoping that they see it this way: The other people who got pulled over will pay without question, easy money. The ones that want to fight it in court, don't waste our time and let the person go.

And I should say, "YOU show me video evidence, and if I didn't stop, I will admit it".

Jinn

My bet:

You won't actually make it to court. The district attorney or their assistant will see the ticket, read the back (the officer's comments about your behavior), and reduce your ticket to something without points or penalty. In return, you will agree to plead guilty.

I say this out of experience because I've been to court three times for moving violations:

1 - Ticket: 118mph in a 65mph zone, reckless driving
14 points and a $600 fine

Went to court, met the DA and it was reduced to a "Careless Driving" ticket, 4 points, $112 fine and traffic class, which cost $86 and was an AWESOME time - I thought it was fun doing the exercises we did.

2 - Ticket: 23 mph in a 10 mph zone (University roads are 10mph campus wide, uggh), 1 pt and $170 fine

Went to court, met the DA and it was reduced to Defective Headlight, no points, $87 fine

3 - Ticket: Illegal U-Turn (Failure to Obey Traffic Control Sign), 2 pts and $200 fine

Went to court, met the DA and it was reduced to "Obscured View" (cracked windshield), $21 fine and no points

As for the fines being ridiculous, they're the "market rate" state to state, in my experience. They're meant to be punitive. Be thankful you don't have a city which also charges muncipal fees for each mile over. In Colorado Springs, its the ticket fee + $10 for each mile an hour over. A 30 mph over is fee + $300, for example.

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levite

Pay the fine and go to traffic school. You just got fucked by the hosebeast of government, my friend. Fighting doesn't help. We all have to lay back and take it, some time or other.

You might as well at least keep the insurance premiums down by wasting a day in traffic school. Who knows, you might even be able to find an entertaining one: around here, at least, they have traffic schools run by stand-up comedians and improv artists, musicians and hip-hop artists, even topless traffic schools ("Don't stare into the oncoming headlights")....

Just accept that it sucks, and accept our condolences on the suckage, and pony up....

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Bear Cub

Go to court, be honest, they'll probably reduce it to a non-moving violation. No points, cheaper ticket, and you're outta there.

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Tully Mars

I'll bet there is no video, unless you happen to have one.

The whole thing it set up to give the option to pay a lesser fine, get no points. If choose another option then that... well, the term "bend over" comes to mind.

And the cops sitting back hoping and praying you choose to plead NG. Know why? Because that's probably his main source of overtime pay- showing up in court as a witness for the "State." I worked with a lady who made 50% of her salary from people fighting tickets she wrote. We nick named her "the bullet catcher."

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LoganSnake

From what I know, if you show up to court, the fine is usually reduced by at least half whether you are guilty or not.

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abaya

In WA state, I go to court and the ticket usually gets reduced--but that's for speeding. It still goes on my record, though, which sucks for insurance.

I had a different violation when I had a rental car in California one Thanksgiving day--I turned onto a one-way street (in a new town--had no idea) for about 10 seconds before realizing it and turning around. Yep, apparently a cop saw it and wrote me up, and gave me the traffic school option as well. I didn't want points on my ticket, or for my insurance to go up--so I paid the fine, ordered the DVD of the traffic school thing, and flew back to PA.

It really didn't take much effort for me to complete the traffic school. Watched the DVD, took the exam online, and it was over. I recommend doing that, if you have the option.

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Mirth

I don't care about the traffic school part, It's just that $200 is a lot to pay for something that I feel I didn't do wrong.

But I'm getting mixed results from everyone here on just paying and doing traffic school or going to court, hehe! Tough decision for me to make...

Tully Mars

If you go to court and try to say you're sure you didn't run the stop sign you can bet the officer was taking notes when you said:

.

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Vice President Starkizzer Fan Club

Mirth

Yeah, you're right... I think I'm just gonna pay the stupid thing and do the traffic school.

Huge bummer... =(

jorgelito

Suck it up and pay the fine. Own up to what you did wrong and obey the law. This is what big government is all about.

Cheer up, there are worse things in life. At least you didn't hit a car or kill somebody.

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thingstodo

I agree with everyone giving thise advice.

From my experience, if you have a clean record most areas will allow you to plead no contest after first pleading not guilty. No contest means no judgement, your fine is usually reduced and, even though it will be in the record, it won't go to insurance and you won't get any points.

The best bet is to check around locally to see what usually happens. You could even ask when you first go to court to plead.

Most courts don't want to tie things up any more than needed.

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Xazy

One thing on top of what everyone else said, do not take the court date they give you, reschedule. They give you the court date the cop does all his tickets, so he will be there if you change the date you have a better shot of the cop not showing.

Poppinjay

Next time, ask nothing, offer nothing. Be courteous, but don't ask why, don't admit to even being unsure. Take note of every circumstance. Were there trees between the cop and you? Anything that could obstruct his view? Anything he may not remember? A like colored car beside you? The only reason to ever pay a fine is for speeding captured on radar.

I'm not saying make shit up, but the best chance you ever get is when a cop says in traffic court, "I don't recall.."

Other than that, traffic school can be fun. You get a neat certificate.

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dirtyrascal7

I got pulled over for speeding in FL and chose do to traffic school to reduce the points and fine. I just did it online... took less than an hour, and was no big deal.

However... I've also gotten pulled over a few other times and gone to court for those. Every time, I've asked to talk to the prosecutor before submitting my plea... and every time, they've voluntarily given me a much-reduced sentence/penalty. I didn't even have to ask for it or explain my side of the story.

So my advice is... GO TO COURT. ALWAYS. They will ask you how you plead before you even get in front of a judge... just say that you wish to meet with the prosecutor before deciding. It is HIGHLY probable that you will get a better deal by doing this... and if not, then you can still simply choose to pay the fine and go to traffic school. You really have nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain.

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MSD

This means they were out there looking for a lot of tickets to make a lot of money. Your best bet is to do what won't put points on your license.
If the officer who wrote the ticket wasn't the one who saw it and he put his name as the witness (assuming that means he's the witness to the infraction and not to your signature,) your best bet is to request the recording of the traffic stop where he says the other officer saw it and challenge the validity of the ticket for it. You have to get it dismissed on procedural violations because judge isn't going to believe some guy over a respected, honored protector of the community (even if he was out raising money instead of actually protecting and serving the community.)

Rekna

A little off topic but when I tried to fight a ticket in Utah I found out that Utah doesn't allow you to go in front of a judge....

cj2112

MSD just made the point I was getting to. You have to figure how much it costs to fight the ticket....how much do you lose by missing work to appear in court...

Mirth

Well, I work part time because I go to college to, and make about $250 a week, so missing one day of work wouldn't hurt me all that much, as opposed to having to work a whole extra week to pay this stupid thing off.

I switched my mind about paying it, and am reconsidering going to court. I just don't know what to choose...

johnklien

Hi,

is there anyone who could tell me how online traffic schools work?
and also suggest me an online traffic school which sould be cheap ...
easy and ofcourse fast too...

I am in hurry...so please response quickly...

thanks

The_Jazz

You need one approved by your state. They'll be able to give you a list, and they should have with the paperwork for that option. If you complete an unapproved one, it won't be counted by the court and you'll just have to pay for another one.

Hope that helps. If you want to share what state you're in, I might find a list for you with my google-fu.

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Strange Famous

The simple fact is its easier to just pay up.

I dont mean it in a sarcastic way, but life isnt fair. If you fight the case you just get the fine plus another couple of hundred costs.

I got a parking ticket once for £30 and had to pay another £50 because I took the ticket off my car and flipped it into the face of the traffic warden and drove off. I suppose at the end of the day I deserved it, but the guy ticketed me for being parked at 8-10am when the restriction started at 8am

Its petty, they are worthless human beings who serve no function in their work but to tax and swindle ordinary people with petty rules... but the law is the law.

Unfair, stupid, petty, pointless... there's still no point in fighting it.

Turn the other cheek, and find some way to cheat the state of the same amount they fine you.

Or dont do the last part, since that would be illegal.

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