Speeding ticket returning from BRBS - Pay? Challenge? Improper Equipment?

Hey all... need to hear from the attorneys out there.

- Got an early start home from BRBS to NYC and got snagged doing 79 in a 65 on I-40. $218.
(Dumb... the highway was empty at 730am and I was a sitting duck... minivans were flying past me in traffic at 90mph a few hours later)
- A week later I had 5 letters/ads from attorneys familiar with my situation and offering their assistance
- From what I can tell, you can pay $363 (two quoted that exact number) and they reduce it from moving violation to "improper equipment"
- That charge goes on your record, but it's not speeding and no points are added to your license or insurance (although note that Geico said my rates would not increase; I've managed to avoid any other tickets)

So my simple question is, anyone been through this, is that how this works, and is it worth it to pay the $145 premium to reduce the charge?
Or is it a scare tactic/money grab for the courts and just pay the $218 and be a bit more careful?

Thanks

That's very interesting. I've gotten, um, a few tickets for driving a bit fast, but never have I received solicitations from lawyers to fight it. How did they know you got caught? Does the state get money from selling your data to lawyers? If you fight it, do you have to be present?

In terms of them finding me, I guess every speeding ticket must get written up in the country records for public viewing (doesn't appear to be published online thankfully).

And yes, it appears the state gets money... part of the +$145 is $50 that the state gets every time. Here is an article on improper equipment.

And yes Grant, it seems everything is more expensive in NY/NJ. Sigh.

... and costs a lot more than an extra $100. If its guaranteed, its a deal.

One night i sat and watched a parade of them.

Grant

Grant

gee-lenahan-at-gee-mail-dot-com

Thank goodness this is not a cash grab.

Are you saying Geico will not raise for rates if you're caught speeding or if charges (like improper equipment) go on your record?

the lawyer hands the assistant DA a stack of paper (they deal in volume) and the DA gets enough time to handle the really tough cases. I'd do it just for the insurance impact. Not to mention the potential impact of another situation where points get added to points and now you risk your license for a while.

@Guenter -- Geico seemed to indicate that a single ticket wouldn't raise my rates. The person I spoke with was super nice, but also seemed a little vague for my liking. I guess they check your rates no matter what every 6 months when they renew, and if it's one ticket, you're ok. Seemed to imply that accidents might be more of an issue. But if it were a trend or mulitple things within a 6 month period, then they'd probably go up.

@mikefocke -- which leads me to agree with your point. One ticket, 4 points on the license, no big deal. But if I get really unlucky and get a random 46 in a 30 in the city two months from now or a 65 in a 45 on the parkway next year (the points stay with you for 18 months), then all of a sudden that's 12 points or whatever adding up fast and then you're really in danger. And yes, when I asked how it was done (I was envisioning my lawyer arguing my case ala A Few Good Men), their reply was along the lines of "he just gives the DA the paperwork and they change it to 'improper equipment' and you're all set." No word as to whether that $50 to the state is presented in an envelope full of cash...

Hoppy,
You need to find out if NC points carry over to NY. In some states, the points do not carry over to your out of state license. I'm not sure how that will affect you if they do, I seem to remember NY has some funky pay for points penalty system, that even if you pay your speeding ticket, they come back after the fact and fine you a second time for the points added to your license. So, in theory, you could pay your fine in NC, get points, and then get a bill from NY for more money! When I got a ticket in NY a few years back, this scheme by NY is what made me drive the 3 hours back to fight the ticket. Talked to the prosecutor and they agreed to change it from a points carrying speeding ticket to a similarly priced moving infraction that carried not points. Ended up costing me maybe $250 + gas vs $250 speeding ticket + whatever the points fine was, and I remember it was not an insignificant amount.

Steve
Guards Red 1999
I'm not a race car driver, but I play one in 2nd and 3rd gear

My insurance was just cancelled and mid August, I go into assigned risk. You don't want that. I let two stupid tickets go figuring I hadn't had a ticket in a ton of years so my future was bright... so I thought. Then an claim that was my fault. I am screwed. A lawyer costs about 500 and you don't go to court, just wait, they deal with it, you pay a no points fine. Sign "innocent" and send in the ticket. In a few days, the lawyer letters will start showing up in your mail. Pick one, they are all the same as the system is just a machine.

Fight it? Really? You watch too many movies or listen to too many braggers.

From the land of "been there, done that, will be in assigned risk"
Bruce in Philly

If NY and NC exchange points info, I'd agree to paying the lawyer to get the charge changed to a non points fine. The potential increase in insurance fees or even worse, loss of insurance would be far more costly than the $145 "lawyer charge".

I don't know on what grounds you'd be able to fight the speeding ticket.

I had a similar situation in Indiana. Got a ticket on the way home to SC. Got a few letters. Called one of them, and the lady said 'I cannot guarantee anything, but I've done 1000's of these over the last 10 years, and they have always turned out the same'. So, I sent the $250 (about $100 premium over the ticket), and a couple weeks after the 'court date', got a letter stating that it would be removed from my record as long as I didn't get another ticket in that county in the next 6 months. So, if it happens again, I'll do that again. I say it was worth it...

Quote
Mark from SC
I had a similar situation in Indiana. Got a ticket on the way home to SC. Got a few letters. Called one of them, and the lady said 'I cannot guarantee anything, but I've done 1000's of these over the last 10 years, and they have always turned out the same'. So, I sent the $250 (about $100 premium over the ticket), and a couple weeks after the 'court date', got a letter stating that it would be removed from my record as long as I didn't get another ticket in that county in the next 6 months. So, if it happens again, I'll do that again. I say it was worth it...

Since you live in SC, are you familiar with Society Hill? I got a ticket there for allegedly running a stop sign. I was lost, and may or may not have even stopped completely. He wanted to get me for speeding, but my radar detector picked him up miles before I saw him. He saw a Porsche with out of state plates, and I was a dead duck. However, being targeted was not the strange part. He gave me the ticket, and offered to let me "convert it to a local ordinance". All that means is that I could go to Society Hill city hall, which was about 200 feet away from where I got pulled over, and about the size of a fast food restaurant, and pay the ticket, and it would be wiped from my record, with no mention of it to anyone. It would then become a local ordinance violation, and they would handle it with regards to the state. He was even nice enough to point me to an ATM if I needed to withdraw money (it's cash only after all). I was given a receipt, and went on my merry way.

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

A good attorney (oxymoron ) in NC, who specializes in traffic tickets...His office can explain your options better than any of us.

Curtis Sluder

"A mile of highway will take you one mile. A mile of runway will take you anywhere."

Bottom line:
- Called a third and "best" attorney from the pile of letters (I "scientifically" judged their "competence" by how good their websites looked)
- He gave me the identical story and identical price as the other two lawyers and from what I read online (they all charge $100 + the $50 racket charge for the courts)
- I asked and he "didn't know" if NC shared point info with NYC, but it looks like they do (about 45 out of 50 states share info)
- Gave a credit card number and emailed him the form just to be done with it. My time is worth more than $150 so while not happy about the ticket and added cost to an otherwise awesome trip, glad to have it off the to-do list.

Thanks all for your feedback.

JH

ps... @bruce... this was a pretty clear case and would be tough for me to argue, but I have represented myself in court once and successfully had a ticket thrown out. I got a little lucky and basically parroted everything the expensive lawyer for the case before mine said, including making pre-trial motions and calling the accuracy of the maintenance schedule on the radar gun into question. I was quite proud of myself {takes bow}

pulled over and what he gets cited for. I've been threatened with jail for trying to politely object to the citations so I just keep my mouth shut and take mental notes about the situation for use later.

The law is great a "nabbing" people driving in my case a Porsche but here in CA 1 in 5 drivers are uninsured and you'd think they'd really crack down on that. Fat chance. The suckers, like me, with insurance pay for not only my insurance but the 1 in 5 drivers without insurance specifically by the item on the insurance bill titled Uninsured Motorist Coverage.

Don't get me started about tailgating. And I've been in 3 accidents in which my car was hit by someone on a goddamned cell phone. But I see so many drivers still using a cell phone while driving, some looking down at their lap texting no doubt.

So I fight every speeding ticket and either get the ticket reduced or dismissed..

"Dismissed due to lack of prosecution."

The most beautiful sentence I've come across. Shakespeare eat your heart out!

Served a subponea for maintenance records and officer training. They gave them to me at the hearing. I reviewed and gave them back to the police rep.. He closed his argument without entering the records into evidence (forgot). Judge dismissed the case right then. The crowd hushed. I took my things and walked out quickly. I had no chance since everything was in order.

I always at least try a trial by declaration.

they don't share points with your state, the insurance companies get em. $$$

We had about 8-10 cars and most of us got hit with speeding tickets. We had folks from MA(me and Juliette), NY, VA. I know VA and MA are reciprocal with NC so we all opted for the one of the attorneys that mailed offers to get it reduced to improper equipment. The consensus was that it was cheaper to go that route rather than carry the points. Very nice little operation they have down there

-Rey

Ah, I remember that but wasn't sure how all of you eventually resolved it. Yup, quite the system they've got.

there were about 15 of us going to BRBS. I'm just not going to explain why at this time; but the park police blocked the parkway and had us all turn into a viewing area. The officer only gave one of us a ticket and a long lecture to the rest of us.





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/19/2014 01:29PM by Harvey in FL. (view changes)