OT: First Ticket Ever - need advice!
08-16-2010, 12:53 AM
#31
Rennlist Member
If you're in CA, go to court and hope your officer doesn't show up. If you can't get out of the ticket than take the online driving school. It looks like it will take a full day to complete but I did it in less than one hour. I think there were about 10 chapters. There's a 10 question quiz after each chapter. Final test has 20 questions. There's no limit to how many times you can take the quiz. I was able to page through the lessons and take the quiz. Passed most quiz's with one try. Learned the new recommended steering hand position is 4 and 8 o'clock and passed the final test all under one hour.
Last edited by daddyscar; 08-16-2010 at 01:39 PM.
08-16-2010, 12:55 AM
#32
Race Director
Call the clerk of the court. Ask if you can plead no contest. Pay the fine but ask for no points. Most states give you two life time no contests. At 42 - you can use one.
or just go to court with your driving record in hand from the state. Tell the judge that you stopped long enough for conditions. Take pictures of the intersection on the same day of week and time and similar weather. Show traffic and visibility. Remind them that you are innocent until proven guilty and there is no proof other than the officer witnessing it from <fill in the blank> feet away.
Usually - just your effort alone will cause them to dismiss it (as most State Patrol officers are not required to be there).
Good luck.
or just go to court with your driving record in hand from the state. Tell the judge that you stopped long enough for conditions. Take pictures of the intersection on the same day of week and time and similar weather. Show traffic and visibility. Remind them that you are innocent until proven guilty and there is no proof other than the officer witnessing it from <fill in the blank> feet away.
Usually - just your effort alone will cause them to dismiss it (as most State Patrol officers are not required to be there).
Good luck.
08-16-2010, 01:07 AM
#33
Rennlist Member
Call the clerk of the court. Ask if you can plead no contest. Pay the fine but ask for no points. Most states give you two life time no contests. At 42 - you can use one.
or just go to court with your driving record in hand from the state. Tell the judge that you stopped long enough for conditions. Take pictures of the intersection on the same day of week and time and similar weather. Show traffic and visibility. Remind them that you are innocent until proven guilty and there is no proof other than the officer witnessing it from <fill in the blank> feet away.
Usually - just your effort alone will cause them to dismiss it (as most State Patrol officers are not required to be there).
Good luck.
or just go to court with your driving record in hand from the state. Tell the judge that you stopped long enough for conditions. Take pictures of the intersection on the same day of week and time and similar weather. Show traffic and visibility. Remind them that you are innocent until proven guilty and there is no proof other than the officer witnessing it from <fill in the blank> feet away.
Usually - just your effort alone will cause them to dismiss it (as most State Patrol officers are not required to be there).
Good luck.
Something like this sounds good.
08-16-2010, 01:28 AM
#34
Three Wheelin'
Every state is different on the no contest. I plead "no-lo" and just had to pay the fine. This was about 15 years ago. Got me out of a ticket...I couldn't afford my insurance to go up back then. Funny thing was I never got a ticket on my sport bike, but I got this ticket in a Toyota Tercel ! Go figure.
Either way, you can call the clerk of the court and see what they say.
Either way, you can call the clerk of the court and see what they say.
08-16-2010, 02:34 AM
#35
Rennlist Member
Just pay up online, get traffic school and be done with it.
I am an economist and I know that the state of California is in deep trouble. But the ticking time bomb is the defined benefits retirement programs of state employees, and trust me, no amount of additional ticket writing will solve the problem. There may be some extra effort on writing tickets, especially for parking violations. I see the moral hazard problem here as well; if there are no tickets, these employees cannot be kept for long.
However, when it comes to moving violations, it is best to view the officers' efforts as simply enforcing the law. You admitted that you were not paying attention and slowed down. But you did not come ot a full stop. End of story. I do not understand the suggestions by some to "fight it". Man up and get it over with and develop the habit to stop fully, regardless of the environment. The stop sign is not meant to "stop if you must, but if there is noone around, go ahead and just go safely without stopping".
I got three speeding tickets in my 30+ years of driving and I consider myself very safe (and lucky). I did go to court once to see what it was all about. My trip to the court took 2-3 hours of my time; commuting, parking, waiting in line to get in, going through airport-like security, waiting for the elevator to go up, waiting to find out the where the courtroom is and what the schedule of events looks like, etc. Then, I saw the officer who had given me the ticket (they make overtime when they have to go to court so they have an additional incentive, other than to nail the "bad guy" to be at the court), quickly pleaded guilty and took traffic school.
Given your safe driving history, it may be another 25 years for your next ticket. Good luck and safe driving.
Best wishes,
Selo
I am an economist and I know that the state of California is in deep trouble. But the ticking time bomb is the defined benefits retirement programs of state employees, and trust me, no amount of additional ticket writing will solve the problem. There may be some extra effort on writing tickets, especially for parking violations. I see the moral hazard problem here as well; if there are no tickets, these employees cannot be kept for long.
However, when it comes to moving violations, it is best to view the officers' efforts as simply enforcing the law. You admitted that you were not paying attention and slowed down. But you did not come ot a full stop. End of story. I do not understand the suggestions by some to "fight it". Man up and get it over with and develop the habit to stop fully, regardless of the environment. The stop sign is not meant to "stop if you must, but if there is noone around, go ahead and just go safely without stopping".
I got three speeding tickets in my 30+ years of driving and I consider myself very safe (and lucky). I did go to court once to see what it was all about. My trip to the court took 2-3 hours of my time; commuting, parking, waiting in line to get in, going through airport-like security, waiting for the elevator to go up, waiting to find out the where the courtroom is and what the schedule of events looks like, etc. Then, I saw the officer who had given me the ticket (they make overtime when they have to go to court so they have an additional incentive, other than to nail the "bad guy" to be at the court), quickly pleaded guilty and took traffic school.
Given your safe driving history, it may be another 25 years for your next ticket. Good luck and safe driving.
Best wishes,
Selo
08-16-2010, 06:25 AM
#36
I don't mean to insult anyone here, but much of the advice in this thread is either based on other states and therefore irrelevant, or misguided at best. A plea, either "no contest" or guilty to a moving violation, gets a point on your record in CA. No exceptions.
Quite frankly, your chances of "beating the ticket" are practically nil. You didn't stop and both you and the officer know it. If it comes down to your word versus the officer, who do you think the judge will believe? It's almost always the officer. This was a very straightforward matter, hardly subject to misinterpretation by the officer.
Many courts in CA will give you the option of signing up for traffic school at arraignment, and will sometimes cut the fine to some degree in the process. Your judge might drive a Porsche (or two) but most judges will look at the ticket, see what you were driving, and cut you no slack whatever. If you opt for a trial (hoping the officer will be a no show) and the officer does show up - it may be too late and many judges will no longer let you have traffic school as an option. Not every judge does that, but many do. Their goal is to settle as many cases as possible without a trial. If you go to trial, take up court time and lose, there's a good chance they won't give you another shot at traffic school. So it's a crap shoot whether the officer shows up, but if you were that lucky a person you wouldn't have gotten the ticket in the first place! The CHP gets OT to come to court statewide, as do many local agencies as well.
It might make sense to fight a ticket if you're not eligible for traffic school, since there's nothing to lose in that case, but now? Sign up for traffic school and keep the ticket off your record.
UNLESS. There may still be a few counties in California that don't participate in traffic school. I hope you're not in one of them!
DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S
Quite frankly, your chances of "beating the ticket" are practically nil. You didn't stop and both you and the officer know it. If it comes down to your word versus the officer, who do you think the judge will believe? It's almost always the officer. This was a very straightforward matter, hardly subject to misinterpretation by the officer.
Many courts in CA will give you the option of signing up for traffic school at arraignment, and will sometimes cut the fine to some degree in the process. Your judge might drive a Porsche (or two) but most judges will look at the ticket, see what you were driving, and cut you no slack whatever. If you opt for a trial (hoping the officer will be a no show) and the officer does show up - it may be too late and many judges will no longer let you have traffic school as an option. Not every judge does that, but many do. Their goal is to settle as many cases as possible without a trial. If you go to trial, take up court time and lose, there's a good chance they won't give you another shot at traffic school. So it's a crap shoot whether the officer shows up, but if you were that lucky a person you wouldn't have gotten the ticket in the first place! The CHP gets OT to come to court statewide, as do many local agencies as well.
It might make sense to fight a ticket if you're not eligible for traffic school, since there's nothing to lose in that case, but now? Sign up for traffic school and keep the ticket off your record.
UNLESS. There may still be a few counties in California that don't participate in traffic school. I hope you're not in one of them!
DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S
08-16-2010, 06:32 AM
#37
08-16-2010, 10:01 AM
#38
Racer
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Houston, TX
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Here in Texas, traffic school costs about the same as paying the ticket so in he end it's 4 hours of your time vs the points on your license. There are many versions of traffic school - I did the online one which wasn't that painful and if you break it up and do half an hour a day, it lessens the pain.
And I was thinking you're a car thief 
08-16-2010, 11:03 AM
#39
Racer
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Seal Beach, SOUTHERN california
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Just pay it and forget it. 2 years from now it will be forgotten. all you lose is your good driver discount for a while. not worth the time in traffic school or in court. IMO
08-16-2010, 11:13 AM
#40
08-16-2010, 01:32 PM
#41
Race Director
I don't mean to insult anyone here, but much of the advice in this thread is either based on other states and therefore irrelevant, or misguided at best. A plea, either "no contest" or guilty to a moving violation, gets a point on your record in CA. No exceptions.
Quite frankly, your chances of "beating the ticket" are practically nil. You didn't stop and both you and the officer know it. If it comes down to your word versus the officer, who do you think the judge will believe? It's almost always the officer. This was a very straightforward matter, hardly subject to misinterpretation by the officer.
Many courts in CA will give you the option of signing up for traffic school at arraignment, and will sometimes cut the fine to some degree in the process. Your judge might drive a Porsche (or two) but most judges will look at the ticket, see what you were driving, and cut you no slack whatever. If you opt for a trial (hoping the officer will be a no show) and the officer does show up - it may be too late and many judges will no longer let you have traffic school as an option. Not every judge does that, but many do. Their goal is to settle as many cases as possible without a trial. If you go to trial, take up court time and lose, there's a good chance they won't give you another shot at traffic school. So it's a crap shoot whether the officer shows up, but if you were that lucky a person you wouldn't have gotten the ticket in the first place! The CHP gets OT to come to court statewide, as do many local agencies as well.
It might make sense to fight a ticket if you're not eligible for traffic school, since there's nothing to lose in that case, but now? Sign up for traffic school and keep the ticket off your record.
UNLESS. There may still be a few counties in California that don't participate in traffic school. I hope you're not in one of them!
DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S
Quite frankly, your chances of "beating the ticket" are practically nil. You didn't stop and both you and the officer know it. If it comes down to your word versus the officer, who do you think the judge will believe? It's almost always the officer. This was a very straightforward matter, hardly subject to misinterpretation by the officer.
Many courts in CA will give you the option of signing up for traffic school at arraignment, and will sometimes cut the fine to some degree in the process. Your judge might drive a Porsche (or two) but most judges will look at the ticket, see what you were driving, and cut you no slack whatever. If you opt for a trial (hoping the officer will be a no show) and the officer does show up - it may be too late and many judges will no longer let you have traffic school as an option. Not every judge does that, but many do. Their goal is to settle as many cases as possible without a trial. If you go to trial, take up court time and lose, there's a good chance they won't give you another shot at traffic school. So it's a crap shoot whether the officer shows up, but if you were that lucky a person you wouldn't have gotten the ticket in the first place! The CHP gets OT to come to court statewide, as do many local agencies as well.
It might make sense to fight a ticket if you're not eligible for traffic school, since there's nothing to lose in that case, but now? Sign up for traffic school and keep the ticket off your record.
UNLESS. There may still be a few counties in California that don't participate in traffic school. I hope you're not in one of them!
DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S
). The OP got the ticket in Mountain View, in Contra Costa County, which does allow traffic school including the on-line version.
08-16-2010, 01:36 PM
#42
Burning Brakes
Not sure if its true or not..but in bankrupt CA they are handing out tickets at an alarming rate. However, because the cities/counties are broke they don't want to pay overtime so fewer and fewer cops are showing up at court hearings. The state/cities figure they just make up the difference by the volume of tickets they write. Soooo, fight the ticket and hopefully the cop does not show up.
abe
abe
08-16-2010, 10:57 PM
#43
Could be worse, atleast you didn't get a million dollar speeding ticket:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10960230
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10960230
08-17-2010, 01:23 AM
#44
Instructor
Thread Starter
Ah yes, those pesky "income-based fines". Wonderful liberalism in action. You gotta love it. It's only fair, right? I have a feeling the further behind governments get on their pension payments the more our traffic enforcement will target higher-end cars for violations as the chances of those people not paying or protesting are lower than others.
Sorry guys, just had to say it because that's what I see. Unemployment leads to more people willing to fight a ticket as they have more time on their hands and less $ to "spend" on taxes.
Sorry guys, just had to say it because that's what I see. Unemployment leads to more people willing to fight a ticket as they have more time on their hands and less $ to "spend" on taxes.
08-17-2010, 05:29 PM
#45
Drifting
I got a "running a red light" ticket a few years ago in Fremont, and considered it a BS ticket because the light was broken and the left turn light was never turning green. I looked both ways, and turned anyway and cop nailed me. He said I should have turned right and then done a u-turn, not run the light.