I got a ticket today...

[elderlycoffee]

So I left Houston at 8AM today towards Oklahoma City which is part way to my grandfather's house in Kansas.

A little before lunch this cop pulls onto the interstate from the feeder and gets behind me, he doesn't put his lights on for about 10 seconds.

I pull over and he tells me I was driving 91 in a 70...
And I was really going about 74.

Now, I have two options.

A. Protest the ticket, Because he wasn't on the interstate and most likely got me confused with another car and figured it was me because I was loud and cool looking. Plus I have moderate proof that I wasn't going 91. My GPS system records max speed and it says my max for the trip was 78MPH...
Now I wish I would have thought of it then to show the officer but I didn't.

B. I'm elligible for defensive driving because he said I was 21 over the limit, If it were 24 I wouldn't be.


What should I do?

PS: Do I have to go back to the courthouse that is listed on the citation or can it be handled remotely? The courhouse is about 3 hours from my house in another city. And can it be handeled before the deadline or does it have to be on the given date as I'm supposed to be in Ohio on the date the office gave me.

 

[jomoyo069]

it's prolly an expensive ticket so i would take it to court.. if you take the defensive driving class you have to pay for the class and pay for the ticket.

 

[evilmonkeyMSP]

you will have to go to court in the county/state you received the ticket in...

 

[Wuz Ranger]

See if you can get some GPS readings (not sure if possibe) and take them with you to court. If you can get the readings, make sure they say the specific time and date. Not sure how your going to prove that it was your car and not somebody else's though.

Good Luck

 

[elderlycoffee]

I'll have to go to the actual courthouse of that town?

I don't mind paying the ticket with defensive driving as long as it wont kill my insurance.

Any tips?

 

[Speed3Max]

Just pay it. GPS is not a reliable peice of evidence to show that you were going just "4" over the speed limit. On the ticket it should say the procedure that he used to clock you. Either radar or pacing. If it says radar you won't win. Simple as that.

 

[Akaveli]

Seriously, If you know for a fact you wasn't doing 91mph and he got you confused with another car speeding....I'd fight it. No way I would take that BS if I know I wasn't going that fast in the first place.

 

[elderlycoffee]

it says radar, and he convienently state traffic as light. but there WERE other people on the road next to me.

I plan on paying it. And taking defensive driving so it doesn't kill my insurance.
With defensive driving, What kind of a bomb do you think I'll expect from my insurance?

If I want to pay it, Do I have to show up at the courhouse or can I mail it?

 

[Speed3Max]

If you want to pay it, you can mail it or call with a credit card number.

It doesn't matter if there is other cars, its the fact you got picked out of all of them. The court will not care if you think it wasn't you. it is a cops word over yours. I have much experience in the ticket feild. lol sadly.

 

[Young Roids]

YEa you probly won't win. Remember that all you have to be doing is 1mph over and you are guilty so you WERE guilty.

 

[jomoyo069]

in florida if u take the driving class it's not supposed to impact ur insurance at all

 

[BOOSTR]

Going to a defensive driving school and completing the course does not prevent the insurance company from surcharging your premium. What it does is eliminate the points on your license. This is really an issue if you are habitual traffic offender and facing suspension of your license due to accumulated points. If you do go to class, your MVR will show no points for the speeding violation. Some companies appreciate the fact that you went to class and will avoid impacting your premium. It really depends on the posted speed limit involved and how fast you were nailed at.

15 mph and over is definitely going to get you surcharged for up to 3 years from the date of the ticket. Under 15 and you may catch a break if you've been clean otherwise and have an acceptable claims history.

If you have a crystal clear record and no speeding violations over the past 5 years, then fighting it may be wise. The judge/magistrate will pull up your record and review while hearing your case. So if you have issues, don't waste your time fighting it. Pay it and take it like a man.

 

[elderlycoffee]

I've only had a license for about a year and a half. but my record is most definitely clean.

 

[BOOSTR]

So I assume based on that your between 16-25, which means your are already being surcharged for that age bracket. If that is the case, you may get cancelled or non-renewed by your insurance company or at the least switched in to a different tier that charges more money.

You can give the GPS thing a shot and base your case on your clean record. You might get lucky. Either way if you decide to fight it, call the courthouse and request a different date for your hearing due to a schedule conflict. They will work with you within reason.

 

[Rotary_Powered]

Fight it! I hate when people bend over for tickets (no offense to anyone), especially if the tickets are wrong/exaggerated.

 

[Falconx84]

try to fight it -- NC is cracking down big time on speeders since its like the #2 state ranked in fatilities due to speeding (something along those lines)

A friend of mine HAD to go to court b/c it was like 15 over. The court was so busy that day that the DA (or whoever handles it) met her in the hallway and said "let me hear your story" then dropped the ticket and all she has to pay was like $125 in court fees. Oh, and her story was that she wasn't paying attention to her speed, lol.

I was shocked that they let her off, and so was my friend who also happens to be a police officer specializing in traffic violations (it's good to know people, lol)

 

[numbnuts22715]

Going to a defensive driving school and completing the course does not prevent the insurance company from surcharging your premium. What it does is eliminate the points on your license. This is really an issue if you are habitual traffic offender and facing suspension of your license due to accumulated points. If you do go to class, your MVR will show no points for the speeding violation. Some companies appreciate the fact that you went to class and will avoid impacting your premium. It really depends on the posted speed limit involved and how fast you were nailed at.

15 mph and over is definitely going to get you surcharged for up to 3 years from the date of the ticket. Under 15 and you may catch a break if you've been clean otherwise and have an acceptable claims history.

If you have a crystal clear record and no speeding violations over the past 5 years, then fighting it may be wise. The judge/magistrate will pull up your record and review while hearing your case. So if you have issues, don't waste your time fighting it. Pay it and take it like a man.

I got a ticket for going 43 over, 88 in a 45(i was being stupid, I know)but the cop marked it as 70 in a 45, and my insurance didnt go up or anything. I took defensive driving and that prevented everything from going on my record. I don't even think my insurance company was notified. I was like 19 at the time.

 

[elderlycoffee]

can you get in trouble for not notifying your insurance company voluntarily?

 

[MS3ICA]

dude if you where out of town just say screwit they dont serve warrents if its far away unless you did something reeeeally bad. you got nothing to worry about if it was out of town.

 

[AJ08]

no i went 2 yrs with out my insurance knowing i had 4points..lol now there all gone since its been 3yrs.. but there on your record for 5yrs.. well thats how it is in MD