So I just got my first ticket. Any advice?

I'm mentally freaking out at the moment, and I have no clue how I am going to deal with this.

First of all, I've had my license for almost three years now, and this is the first time I've ever received a ticket, so don't think this is a regular occurrence for me.

Basically, I got caught coming out of town. It's 25 MPH in the city, and 45 MPH once you reach the city limits. My problem is that I was already going 45 MPH before I even passed the sign, so I was technically speeding. I drive this way all the time, and I've never had a problem before with it.

I for sure thought she was going to give me a warning because she seemed sympathetic at first, but after bringing my info back to her vehicle, she must have changed her mind after talking with the local department, because she came back and gave me a $160 citation.

Now I have no experience whatsoever with tickets or the court system at all. I'm not a criminal, and I don't go looking for trouble, so I don't know a damn thing about how to operate in the justice system or how the court dates even work. Is it like those cases on TV where you sit in front of the room and are asked numerous questions about the incident, or is it more of a one-on-one interrogation with the judge? I'm sorry if I sound ignorant. I just don't screw around with the justice system in general, so I'm completely clueless.

Also, if I go to court and get it reduced and I'm still unable to pay the fine, what happens then? I've heard I might have to perform community service, or worse, spend a few nights in jail.

Most of my family has said they will not help me pay it, leaving me out in the dark. One thing that pisses me off is that I have a friend who gets two or three tickets a month, but he has extremely rich parents that will bail him out every time by paying the tickets. I, on the other hand, get one citation, and it will screw up my insurance for a while as well as force me to scrounge up extra cash, and if I can't get that, there might be worse consequences.

I'm sorry for ranting here, but you guys are the best online community I've ever belonged to, so I'm looking for some advice. How have you guys dealt with tickets, especially your first one, and what advice could you give me to help me with mine?

Thanks.

 

Dress for a job interview. Go to court, admit you were wrong and beg for mercy, try crying poor and saying you have a good record and just didn't realize how fast you were going. It probably won't help but it might get you driving school instead of points. The fine, however, is lost, and don't even ask for a reduction

If you're really lucky the cop won't show up, but they usually do, despite what everyone says.

Don't. (*)(*)(*)(*)ing. Argue. Judges can actually increase penalties if they want to.

 

extremely simple, you broke the law, pay the fine...

if you can afford to drive you can afford to pay the fine...

where I live court dates are optional if you plan to plead not guilty, if guilty I can send in the fine by mail for a reduced amount...

 

Eh, it's not as simple as that. I'm actually living at home while I go to school. Plus my hours got cut at work, so I'm only able to pay for the few essentials as far as bills go. I'm able to get by like that, but I have no extra money for coincidences like this.

 

sell the car...ask for community service or go to jail for non payment...it's all very simple...

 

You don't get it, do you? What am I supposed to do after I sell the car? It's not like I'll have any money to buy another one, even a used one. It's all very simple for people who have lots of money.

 

Borrow the money if you must....but pay the fine by mail if possible, or at the clerks office.

You have no case to plea in court, and the judge will not likely give you a break......you were speeding, and got caught.

 

Personally I just pay up. It's the easiest way.

On the other hand the squeaky wheel gets oiled. Dress nice, go to court early, plead your case to the prosecutor. Whine enough with sincerity and they may tear it up and send you home. There's no quarentees in the justice system.

I know a guy that just got his second DUI accident involved.He showed the prosecutor enough contrition they nollied it.
And that's in a state with mandatory minimums. I was shocked they just dropped it.

You won't get jail time. At worst they'll give you some time to come up with the money.
Best case the docket will be full and the prosecutor will want to get home on time. Ticket goes in the garbage.

 

Are you serious? Do you know what people mean whenever they say phrases like "first world problems"?

 

Consider yourself lucky. Over here we're pulled over at any time, for a random breath test, where they force you to give a reading of your BAC (via a breath tester), without any cause or suspicion whatsoever. They frequently (daily) set up road blocks to do this to hundreds of cars - queuing up traffic as they go. We have cameras all over our freeways that give millions (not even joking) of people expensive tickets for going 65mph instead of 60mph on a straight, 5 lane freeway with no traffic and 20m of banked free space on either side of the road.

Politicians can't be bothered going through the effort of raising taxes, so they do everything they can to charge motorists. All so they can provide disincentives to work with the massive welfare system we have, and fight America's wars for America's interests.

Consider this the next time you have to sing the alphabet backwards.

 

Go to court and ask for forgiveness, there will be a crowd of people behind you doing the same, and the ones who make the judge feel the most superior about his/her position gets their ticket wiped off.

Judges have inferiority complexes, so they take jobs with power to compensate. You have to humiliate yourself in order to get their compassion, say you had the runs and speeding was necessary to get home and its surely going to work.

 

you should be able to make payments. I don't know if you have to ask for this option from the judge or if it's just a matter of filling out a paper requesting a payment schedule and then waiting for approval.
It's probably varies depending on the state you live in. You could go to a courthouse cashier or just an info desk there and ask.

 

Seriously dude? The runs?

Look never lie to a prosecutor or judge. They've heard every fathomable line of BS the human imagination can come up with. They probably hear "the runs" at least twice a day, maybe more.
You want to get on their good side? Hit em with straight up honesty. They'll appreciate it and think more highly of an honest individual than someone with bowel trouble.
If you need to lie to them you need a lawyer.

 

First, stop the whining about your friend with the silver spoon in his mouth. Life isn't fair, get used to it.
Second, talk to the court/etc. about a payment plan, if you can't pay it all at once. Don't risk the judge, IMHO. The judge doesn't want to hold court for traffic tickets, so it's very likely you will get at least a $160 fine.
Third, check into traffic school. You can probably get over the insurance rate increase if you take a traffic school course.

 

Man...you're in big trouble dude. You don't pay that fine you'll end up in prison for the long haul. I'm sure you've heard the horror stories of folks who flaunt parking tickets and end up in the big house playing pass around (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) to some prison gang.


LOL.... Sorry friend, I couldn't resist....


RELAX. It's not that big of a deal. Plea it down if you can, and pay it. If paying it is a hardship, arrange to make payments. The court will work with you.

One thing that you do not want to do though is ignore it. Take care of it and do it promptly.

 

I always drive the speed limit so I don't have to concern myself with (*)(*)(*)(*) like this.

The main problem I have is (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)s tailgating me because the (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*) speed limit isn't fast enough for them.

I was doing 35 in a 35 just this morning and had some little (*)(*)(*)(*)er riding on my bumper and I could see him running his mouth at me a mile a minute in my rear view mirror.

Then he passed me in a no passing zone.

I shot the son of a (*)(*)(*)(*)(*) a bird as he went by.

So you got a speeding ticket.

Big (*)(*)(*)(*)en deal.

You want sympathy from me?

Look in the dictionary between (*)(*)(*)(*) and syphilis.

 

That's because too many people think the posted speed limit is the mandatory minimum speed.

The bird was made just for them.

I've of the mind that it's a free country, I'll drive whatever speed I'm comfortable with as long as it's within legal limits. I sure as hell ain't gonna drive fast just because some idiot behind me is in a hurry.

 

1 word , Mexico .

 

Tell the court that you're a minority of somekind -- native american or white Hispanic -- that oughtta do it.

 

Go to the Clerk of The Court. Explain that you are willing to plead guilty and pay the fine but that you lack the means to do so in one lump sum. Most courts are willing to set up a payment system. With the caveat that failure to meet the payment schedule will result in an automatic license suspension.

 

People speed all the time because they have a medical condition that requires immediate attention, diarrhea is a perfectly legitimate excuse, and it doesn't require a doctors note because of over the counter medicine.

If you're speeding because you're late to watch the game and that's the God's honest truth, don't bother going to court to fight the ticket then.

 

You and 40 other people go in a small court room with chairs, the judges calls you one by one, you talk to the judge for about 90 seconds, and then you leave. Since it is your first offense, with pleading no contest, you will probably get driving school and you might be able to arrange a payment plan if you explain your situation. They have driving school online. You can just copy and paste all of the course lectures into Microsoft word. That way on the tests you can just use word's search function to find the question's keywords.

 

You should be able to take defensive driving to keep this off your record. I've taken it a few times. So your insurance shouldn't go up.

As for the ticket, itself, just use this experience as an opportunity to grow. Opportunity usually comes disguised as hardship. You can contest it if you want, but personally I'd just pay it. $160 really isn't that much. Take a look through your finances and see where you can cut corners. In fact, this is actually a microcosm of what we talk about here on this forum in regards to economics. Cut the fat, slash the waste, and reallocate your finances. And once you've done all you can do there, look for new sources of revenue. Perhaps seek out a second job. You don't have to keep it. You can quit once you pay the ticket. Or perhaps you'll even luck out and find something you like better than what you are currently doing.

There are a ton of possibilities here. The key is to relax and open yourself up to every avenue at your disposal. I completely understand why you're freaking out because this is new, but I promise you it's not as bad as it seems. You'll get through this and you'll come out stronger for it. And depending on what you learn from it, you might even be grateful for it after the fact. I've learned some important life lessons through things that seemed awful at the moment. And even though the experiences, themselves, weren't pleasant, I sure as hell have never forgotten the lessons they taught me. In fact, the more unpleasant the experience, the more the lesson sticks. And thus the less likely you'll be to make the same mistake in the future.

Good luck, man. You'll be fine. You've got this.

 

[video=youtube;S-mnYLPxwtc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-mnYLPxwtc[/video]

The only advice I have.