So I got my first speeding ticket...
 

As the title states, I got my first speeding ticket. I have had clean driving record for many years. I'm basically seeking your insight on the best way to proceed with this.

Sidenote: I was not in my x5, I was driving my e90 M3.

I was on my way to cars and coffee in the am, and yeah I was driving a little spirited here and there, but nothing over the top. I do not have a radar detector and I normally use the Waze app. However, my Waze app stopped working a few months ago, so I been driving around without any detection.

I was in the middle lane doing about 65 mph, but this annoying dude in a Mini Cooper that was following my every move started playing me too close, so I sped up and moved to the right maybe around 75 mph at that point, and then I noticed the state trooper from a distance off to the right shoulder facing forward. I dropped a gear opposed to hitting the brakes. As soon as I passed the trooper the lights lit up and the squad car proceeds to pull out. My gut feeling told me it was me, and my gut was correct. The trooper slowly maneuvers up behind me and tells me to pull to the right. She comes up to my passenger side window and asks, "do you know why I stopped you?" I replied I'm not sure. She replied "you were doing 80mph" "Do you know what the speed limit is"? I told her I was unaware that I was going that rate of speed. She asked for my license and registration. I hand her everything, including my PBA card( long shot)After 15 minutes, she comes back and hands me the ticket. She proceeds to tell me that she reduced the speed to 70 mph, and something about if I pay it early the fine maybe less. I was annoyed at this point so I did not even pay attention to what to she said about the fine. I politely mentioned out of curiosity, how come no warning? She replies how about being honest about what you were doing.

My concerns are the four points that will be on my license if I plead guilty and pay the fine. How will the points affect my insurance? What's the best way to proceed? Traffic lawyer?

Lawyer up!! Pay a little more upfront, but it doesn't go on your record and insurance won't be effected. Used them many times, always been dismissed.

Yeah, I will end up going that route. I will have to research a traffic lawyer.

If possible, can you NYC guys chime in if you can recommend one?

Thanks.

In WA, you can defer one ticket every 5ish years. It sits there in limbo and if you get another ticket, it comes back into play. Maybe NY has a similar law?

FWIW, I always try to be non-committal when pulled over. Last time, the interaction went something like this and I got a warning.

Do you know why I pulled you over?
No

You were going xx MPH in a yy zone.
Ok

License, registration, proof of insurance please.
Ok

Any reason you were going that fast?
Not particularly

I see you don't have a front plate.
Ok

I was actually after that guy in the white car but you got between us and also was speeding.
Ok

Etc...


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Traffic lawyers will do nothing but take money from you. Your only hope is going to traffic court and state trooper messing up testimony which is highly unlikely. Just pay the ticket and move on. Traffic courts are kangaroo courts where only way you win if you have solid video/factual proof of no offense being committed which you don't. I write these for a living and haven't lost one yet.

I assume you are in law enforcement. thanks for being honest.

A few years ago I was "paced" going "95" in a 60. received a $422 ticket. Called a lawyer that i found on a car forum website; he said "no problem send me the ticket". he charged $350 (2 violation ticket). I got a call back from him after court and he said it was "DISMISSED". not sure how he did it, or what he did. I didn't have the pay the ticket, only the $350 lawyer fee. Ended up being cheaper to hire a lawyer than it was to pay the ticket.

I have used this lawyer on many occasions (10+) throughout the years for my family and I. they have always been dismissed.

FYI: lawyer has a 1000hp porsche and a lambo. i'm sure he does more than traffic tickets, but using him has worked out for me.

the last 3 times i've been pulled over i have been given a warning. my opinion is that it is due to having a spotless driving record.

old picture but check this out; his license plate says dismissed.. haha

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...1&d=1342664315

If you have the money, just like any other instance in life, you will be fine going with a lawyer I'm sure.

Cops are just doing their jobs so I try to be as polite as possible. I try to never look irritated and always keep hands on the wheel to put them at ease until they ask for something. Don't get pulled over often, but been warnings only since I was in my early-mid 20's.

^That said, I did use the "deferred adjudication" option a few times when I was younger. You pay the court fee, take defensive driving (and get insurance discount), and then are on probation and they dismiss the ticket.

These options are not available in NYC. State Troopers almost never give out warnings especially when they are on overtime (which they are when on patrol in five boroughs) and there's a tug of war between our mayor and governor. What op wants to achieve is not get any points on his license and for that he can go to court himself if he has time.

In CA we have "Traffic School" as an option. Used to be you had to go waste a day in "traffic school" but now with the internet you can do it on line. If you haven't had a ticket in the last year and a half you can do traffic school. You have to pay the fine and for traffic school of course, but it keeps it off your record. Which means your insurance doesn't get jacked up. Also means if you don't get a ticket for the next year and a half you get to do it over again after that. Clean record here thanks to traffic school.

Ask to give a charitable donation when appearing at court, if that doesn't work, get a lawyer and have him fight for you.

Can you do some kind of traffic school or points reduction course? I'm pretty sure NYC has those. When I got a speeding ticket in California (speed limit was 70, was doing 110, got written up for 90) I just did an online traffic course that was maybe like 3 hours long and my insurance didn't go up.

I also recently got a speeding camera ticket in the mail, but thanks to the laws in Phoenix I can ignore it for 90 days and it'll get dismissed.

Suggest considering local input only. Best if you get input from those that have gone to actual court, faced the same judge you will be seeing. That includes the decision about whether or not to get legal help.

Based on having lived in 5 different states my advice would be to pay the ticket and move on as have been mentioned but I haven't lived in NY.

Dude! You're lucky the CHP didn't cite you for reckless driving. That's CA law. Anything over 100 is "reckless." You lucked out!

The cop was really nice and I was super courteous, I'm sure that helped. Plus I had a clean record prior to that. I learned my lesson though, no more driving like an idiot.

Dealing with local NYTVB, don't waste your money.....even on the lawyer who has his office in the DMV. I would just pay the fine and move on. Pretty much guaranteed you're guilty with no plea options.

You have slightly better odds/options if getting a ticket in Westchester, or the like. brooklyn, on the belt. fuggedaboutit

Only trooper spots I've seen are west right after the VZ, and going east, either right off the rockaways --- to the stretch up Erskine.

"How come no warning?" Seriously, that's the question? Nobody owes you a warning for anything. 4 points? How many do you get before they take your license?

I'm missing something here. You dropped a gear as opposed to using the brakes, but the very next word is that you then passed the trooper. The trooper cannot see your brake lights when he's standing in front of you. You should have hit the brakes and gotten your butt back in line with what the trooper thinks should be normal and customary behavior.

The trooper had to tell you to pull over? Holy crap, you can be shot for that. When the red lights are coming your way, pulling over should be automatic, and immediate, especially when you have been doing something north of 70 and caught red-handed. You have several problems here that kept you from getting a warning. Asking about, why no warning is high on the list.

When the guy in the Mini Cooper was playing this game with me, he was really driving a Chevy Impala that is the same color as the Arizona Highway Patrol, and as I was mashing the gas to get away from him, the AHP pulled onto the freeway from a side road. When the cop caught up and said I was going too fast, the Impala was going by and I blamed my behavior on him. the cop said that he was gonna get us both, but I took off. I explained that this was the third time that the Impala was messing with me, and there were three in his car, and just my young bride and I in mine. The cop jumped into his car and went after the Impala. I had three different encounters with the Impala, the cop saw the last one. I was pulling away from the AHP at about 105 when the lights came on, and I only got a warning. I had a compelling case to make about my wife's safety, that helped.

In any case, your choice is to go to court and hope the trooper does not come, and the ticket will be thrown out. Go to the arraignment and plead not guilty, this will set a court date where the cop will testify against you. If you can get a continuance that moves this date then the odds favor the cop not being there for the hearing. You have a date, let's say Aug. 1. This is an arraignment where you plead to the charge. If you plead guilty, then you should simply pay the clerk when you walk in the door and be done. If you plead Not Guilty, then a trial date will be set, let's say it is 6 weeks later on Sep. 15. Contact the court on Sep 1 to tell them that you cannot keep the 09/15 date and ask for another. The original date (09/15) is made in part because the trooper has a court date on his duty schedule already, and you are trying to get a different date than he already has carved out for court appearances. this does not always work, but if you get a second date and the cop does not keep it, then your accuser is not there for you to confront, the judge tosses the citation. It's a snowball's chance, but likely the only one you have.

Pay it take defensive driving class online and move on. Nypd and Troopers are strictly monitored when it comes to court appearances therefore your chance of deponent not showing up are zero. PBA cards only work if trooper isn't a dick or you being disrespectful while handing them to him or NYPD.

I was curious about that part as well, but was giving the OP the benefit of the doubt. Never pays to appear short or irritated with LEOs. They are just doing their gig same as you or I. Seemed she was being professional and not discourteous. Why even ask the question?

If i get asked how come no warning it's guaranteed that you will be getting a summons. First two minutes of interaction determine the outcome of the stop. You also need to keep in mind that there are "performance goals" and sometimes Leo just want to get them out of the way.

:iagree:

Just don't drive like a dick with a BMW and obey the laws and you won't get a ticket.

Since use guys are honing in on this" "How come no warning?" While it was a bold question to ask, I think it was a fair question to ask. She had already written the ticket and handed it to me, so what is there to lose?? I said it in a polite manner. I have been pulled over already not related to speeding and I was always let off with a warning. Some of the cops were d*cks about it and some were very polite. Nonetheless, I was always given a warning. I know she's doing her job and is not obligated to let me off, however, I just wanted to hear her reason. The consensus from my law enforcement buddy is 9 times out 10 if you get pulled over by a female officer, she's going to busts your balls and you're getting that ticket.... He said "Even if you show her your d*ck print and she seems engaged, you're still getting that ticket"<-Cop humor.

"The trooper had to tell you to pull over?" Well, some law enforcement do tell you to pull over in conjunction with the flashing lights. I'm sure she can't shoot me for that since I was not actively trying to elude her. Also, my car is lowered with an extra low front lip so I was not trying to go over the rumble strips at speeds.

It was a natural instinct to downshift opposed to slamming the brakes.

Thanks for your input in any event.

Years ago, as I turned the bend, the Car in front slammed on brakes as LEO was right around the bend looking for a speeder. I was right behind him and downshifted, figuring why exhibit brake lights...Got chased down for lo and behold, following too closely. Can't win em all

Why is it a fair question to ask? Your having asked it gives the appearance it's an expectation.

Having said that I didn't see anyone touch on the insurance part of your question. No one can say what will happen to your insurance rates but it has been my experience, as someone who has received a number of tickets over the many years I've been driving but not an excessive amount, that the insurance company didn't do anything. Of course I didn't call them up and let them know about them either. I've even had accidents, for which they paid out, and my rates weren't affected. I suspect a lot of what will happen depends on so many factors that there's just no way of knowing. Things like your driving history (which seems very good), your age (are you a high risk age), offense, policy (some policies will forgive one infraction in some period of time), etc.

My advice is to minimize your damages. Hiring a lawyer makes little sense unless there is risk of losing your license or jail time (neither seems to be the case). It sounds as if you can obtain a discount if you pay early. Here in Colorado there is a "plea bargain" on the back of the ticket. Assuming you're eligible it will spell out what you can expect in point / fine reduction if you pay early. Another option is to speak to the DA before your court date to see if he's willing to work a plea.

Anytime my insurance rates were "adjusted" it would be when it comes time to renew the policy. Insurance companies have access to driving records and can pull up any accidents or tickets. I believe some companies have "accident forgiveness" but most will adjust the rates if there are any new tickets during the year. At least that has been my experience.