bradyb

Got a ticket for running a stop sign on the way back from Carmel yesterday. Bah. In a quiet residential neighborhood in Mountain View poking along in 1st gear after turning out of a driveway, came up to a 4-way stop, tapped the brakes, signaled and slowly turned right while still in first. One other car at the intersection going the other way, empty street - no people, no kids. Cop was sitting 1/2 a block back and nailed me. I was respectful, said I didn't have any excuses and that it was possible I didn't come to a complete stop as he said but that I just wasn't paying attention.

Anyway, I figured it would be a warning but nope. So what to do? Fight it for fun or do traffic school? First "real" ticket ever - EVER - and I'm 42! I'm assuming traffic school will be the answer but I'm just curious to see what all of you with experience have to say....

Thanks!

RC713

Not sure if it's the same in CA as where I grew up in CT. Back East, one of my parents friends is a State Trooper and he told me that when they are over burdened with traffic cases where people plead not guilty to what they were accused of they would drop the smaller tickets (not coming to a complete stop, failure to signal a lane change, etc) first, and they would drop them in the order of shortest turn around time from the ticket being issued to it being returned to the court with a not guilty plea. Having said that, even if you do have to go to court, if you show up dressed well and are respectful and articulate they usually would knock the ticket down in price if not just drop it outright. Trust me, pretty much everyone on this board (I'm guessing) looks like boyscouts compared with the colorful characters these DA's deal with on a regular basis.

911SLOW

This is not a real ticket. Considering how nice and empty the setup was, real ticket would be to nail it pass the bend with opposite locked wheel 1st and 2nd gear pass filler from the cop car and be arrested at least 4 blocks later.

John

RollingArt

Wow, doesn't look good for you brady. Looks like you'll be spending some time in the "Big House". My advice is to try and make friends with the biggest, ugliest guy there!

That, or do traffic school. You'll be fine.



Phil
ps. What would your mother have to say about you turning to a life of crime at 42 yrs. old.

bradyb

Yeah, I know I'm a dork. I <do> drive my cars hard but I've just been lucky until now I guess. I wish it was at least a ticket I could be proud of but this is pretty pathetic.

henrysko

Whenever I get a ticket, I look back @ how many times I didn't.

Just do an on line trafffic school.

LlBr

IMO? Pay it and forget it. Forget it faster than this morning's BM.

It's not a nasty speeding ticket which would be justifiably sickening.

Sorry to hear that though, it IS upsetting to get nailed by a cop for any reason.

BTW, change your habit!!! ALWAYS Come to complete stop, LOOK CAREFULLY there COULD be a pedestrian somewhere whom you might injure: that'll ruin your life for a few years or more.

mdrums

brady...you are guilty...so just pay the ticket and get on with it. It sucks I know.....

Macster

Big crackdown on "CA" stops at stop signs and red lights, etc. No slowing down and rolling arond a right hand turn. One needs to come to a full stop. I know this and yet the other day did a CA stop. Residentail street. No traffic. No people walking but still. I'm trying to unlearn a bad habit.

Fine likely to be heavy. Mr. Roadshow in the San Jose Mercury paper has covered this several times.

Check but I think the ticket carries points. This can drive your insurance rate up and another negative to having points is if you get another ticket the presence of points makes it harder to fight the ticket. I've gotten tickets dismissed or at least reduced cause my license clean, no points.

Admitting you were not payng attention is a no no. What you said up to that time ok but admitting not paying attention is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. You will get the bull's attention. In this case you got the ticket. Now you might have gotten it anyhow, cause as I said there's a crackdown on this sort of thing.

Fight the ticket? I'd be inclined to speak with an attorney and see if there's any chance of getting the ticket reduced to no points -- traffic school might be required -- or even dismissed. (Or as I had one ticket resolved: dismissed due to lack of prosecution; citing officer failed to show in court.)

Best attorney is one located as close to courthouse where your case will be heard and one who specializes in traffic citations. Most of the time he or she will of course deal with the more serious citations, DWI, or a citation arising from an accident but lesser tickets are handled as well. These attorneys really know their way around the system and know the officers and such.

Do not fight and just pay the fine only if you must. As I pointed out above there are downsides to doing this.

Sincerely,

Macster.

csorrows

Brady - I know it seems easy to "just pay it and move on." I'd be tempted to do the same. 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. Whatever. I thought about fighting it, or just paying it, but based on some friends' advice, I did online traffic school instead and got it erased.

The thing about "just paying it" is...it isn't the fine itself that'll get ya. It's the points. If the ticket and the points get reported back to your insurance carrier and they find out, your rates could go up. And you don't want rates going up on the type of cars we drive

Traffic school was boring as hell, and totally useless. But I'd strongly consider doing it and wiping that ticket out. Or...go to court and see if the DA would wipe it out, or at the very least reduce it to a non-moving violation with no points. But I wouldn't just pay it outright.

bradyb

I don't remember exactly what I said but I didn't feel like making up any excuses. Regardless the officer later said there was nothing I could have said anyway and he already made up his mind. We actually had a nice chat and he laughed his *** off when I told him this was my first ticket.

Anyway, thanks for the advice, I had planned on doing online traffic school but thought I'd mention this to see what you guys had to say.

LlBr

How long have you been with your insurance company? Been with mine for more than ten years. I got two "serious" speeding tickets (67 in a 55 was one I remember). I paid the fine and forgot about it. The insurance company never bothered to raise my rates.

So? Just pay the stupid thing and forget it if you've been with the same company for a while.

I charge $500 for an hour of my free time (nobody will pay that though ) no way I'm sitting thru traffic school unless the stakes are that high.

Again, it's just a freakin' stop sign, not a speeding ticket, so you probably can just pay up and forget it.

Again: OTOH, seriously: don't mess with stop signs! STOP and LOOK. I DO remember once where I almost nailed somebody and was lucky I didn't! In a split second I ASSUMED everything was clear: WRONG LOOK LOOK LOOK!

Sorry for sounding like a cross walk guard BUT: no reason we Porsche drivers can't do the right thing at a stop signs, crosswalks and and traffic lights.

BE NICE when in close quarters traffic with people and bikes!

On the interstate? Passing lane? Speedwise? That's ANOTHER story!

DMoore

I work in the court system in California and deal with traffic cases daily.

Do traffic school. If you just pay the fine, you'll have one point on your record. I seriously doubt a single point will affect your insurance, but why take the chance? Besides, the fact that this is your first ticket is no guarantee that it will be your last one.

You'll end up paying the fine for the ticket PLUS a traffic school fee to the court. That won't pay for the school itself; you'll have to pay the school whatever they charge. You pay the fees, do the school, file proof of completion within the deadline, and DMV (and your insurance) never hear about the ticket.

You're not eligible for traffic school if (a) you have a commercial driver's license, or (b) you've already been within the last 18 months.

Consider this ticket a reminder to pay attention and a (relatively) cheap lesson. Do the school.

DMoore
'09 C2S
'10 P4S

911SLOW

Listen to DMoore as you can see he is a lawyer and a good one.

John

RollingArt

We need to organize an effort to bust brady out of the joint !!!




Phil