First ticket
 

Got my first ticket tonight on the way to school. 42 in a 25. I didn't realize the limit was 25 where I got pulled over, I thought it was a 40. DMV online lists it as 4 points :( My court date is Oct 16 at 6pm if I choose to plead not guilty. On the front of the ticket it is listed as statute 39:4-98, which is the general speeding listing on the back. Online however the official statute for 15-19 over is 39:4-99, think that'll do me any good in court? Think I should fight it and try to loose the points atleast?

Plead your case to the DA first. Write a letter dripping with regret and pointing out that you don't have any points and you'd like to keep it that way. I've got a friend here that did that and it was "reduced" to a noisy muffler. No points but still a fine (revenue). I fought a "Driving on the Shoulder" ticked that way and won outright.

Collins
92 Pearlie

NJ is very forgiving DEPENDING ON your situation.

Me personally - my license is TRASHED. I got caught for doing 86 in a 65MPH zone.........wound up getting it reduced to a 2-point ticket and a $100 fine. The judge was pretty nice.

Whatever you do DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT plead guilty. Plead not guilty and when you go to court you WILL be able to talk to the prosecutor. When you talk to him he will be able to help you out with a reduction. I'm sure you will not get it as bad as you think.

Good luck.......hopefully the judge is cool. What district?

It's from the borough of Pennington in Mercer County. I will try writing the letter, what exactly is the DA? My parents told me to just accept it and pay, but those points would kill my insurance. Actually I don't know if I'd even be able to afford the insurance.

the District Attorney, He'll be prosecuting you. In my short and hopefully one time experience... If you don't try BS, He'll be more than fair. Especially on a first time ticket.

Collins

Steve,

Sorry to hear that. :( I haven't had any tickets in a long time so I am not much help here. Other than watch the speed limit signs and maybe, if you haven't done this, go back and check on the signs.

John

PS At least the officer couldn't wonder about the mouse in your engine.

As for your parents. Yes you did wrong and should be punished. :D , but you're not really fighting the ticket as much as pleading for lieniency (sp?) IT IS WORTH IT, a couple of stamps and maybe a court date to avoud points that will be there for 3 years or so. in the long run it could save you loads of money.

Collins

Steve, go to court and you are likely to get off if the officer does not show up, or get a reduced fine/points. The DA usually tries to plea bargain down to a lesser violation. A few months ago I got pulled over for speeding but the charge was decreased to a no point violation. Good luck.

Matt

Uhhh... who cares. You still have 8 points left, right? I have 4 left right now...

- Rob

What the heck are points? Is that some state specific thing or do I not know because I've never had a ticket?

Yeah what do you care it's not your driving record.:rolleyes:

I still don't know about the points either but I think I was pretty close to getting the maximum amount, I got a warning letter in the mail. My trick is to alternate, I drive alot in R.I. and C.T. and fortunatlly they don't seem to share information, somehow I'v had tickets weeks apart and the other state didn't know about the one in the other. ( exept for the time I had to go to court in R.I. two days in a row, I told the judge I had a pretty good driving record and he let me off the first day, the next day I just walked up and smiled at him and he told me to go pay the ticket.:D



The only time i'v ever got to talk to the DA before court was in C.T., when I was clocked doing 45 in a 45 by cops sitting at the 35 sign. The bastards were just standing on the side of the road pointing at cars to pull over and giving them tickets for exeading a speed limit they haven't even entered yet. I got off on that one but I wonder how many suckers just payed it?

Re: First ticket
 

is 4-98 for a less or greater amount of speeding, or is it for some other moving infraction?

Based on advice given to me by a practicing attorney, I would suggest to anyone to never plead guilty to anything unless a judge or DA has offered you something in return. Plead no contest. Some states take the same amount of $$$, but put no points on the record. With the wrong statute listed it may help your cause.

Well
 

On the back of the ticket 4-98 is the statute listed for all speeding infractions. Online however 4-98 is listed as 1-14 mph over and 4-99 is listed for 15-19 over.

P.S. What exactly does pleading "no contest" mean? I have never heard this term before.

It's some STUPID system some states adapted. This way, instead of doing things that actually prevent accidents, for instance pulling over inattentive drivers, people yapping on cell phones, or people who don't use signals, they can instead focus on revenue generating speeders. You have TWELVE points if you don't have any tickets. An average ticket is going to be 3-4 points (negative points). However, here's the catch. You get your points back, sort of. You cannot lose 12 points in any 1 year period. EX: I get a 4 point ticket on jan 5th, a 4 point in Feb, and a 3 pt in March. All good if I don't get any until AFTER Jan 5th.... because as long as I make it until then, I don't have 12 points taken away in any 1 year period.

its incredibly retarded.

- Rob

Rob You should sell your SVX it's not worth lossing your license. Get an Escort. :)

I recieved way more tickets in my neon than I did in the SVX.

- Rob

Beast

i am currently enrolled in a criminal law class and we actually did a little short thing of how to handle a ticket for driving offenses...

instead of getting into a long bs convo about why i think you should do this...i am just going to tell you, if you want reasons, pm me and i will explain, or i can just visit ya at work and hand you the book

since this is your first ticket, go to court...go see the prosecuter and tell him that you are a student...working...living at home...tell him about your finances and how that you know you did wrong and you are not denying that, you just need a little break...the more honest you are, the better your chances of getting some points taken down are. then do what he tells you, which is to probably plead guilty and the judge will give you the lesser of the charges. dress nicely and professionally. if you want more info, or what ever...pm me

good luck

Kelli

What happened to being a nurse?! No offense, but I think I'd rather take 'ticket advice' from someone who's walked the walk than an ex-nurse. :p I'm not trying to tick you off either, I'm just saying pleading guilty isn't going to get you any breaks, even if you do tell them about your finances.

- Rob

The first stupid part about the "Point System" is doing the crime, The second is getting caught (doohhh).

Looking at your record you should take advice from wherever it comes!

Collins
Stop drop and roll:D

And yes... currently I have no points.

I dressed nice for my summons...among a bunch of hillbilly connecticut rednecks, I got off! pays to make a good first impression. I would go talk to the prosecutor. The cop also probably made note of your attitude when he pulled you over, if you were nice with the "yes sir" "no sir" thing, then that could help you too.

just my .02

I wore an italian suit to my last court date.... talked to the attourney and told them that I was not speeding, that I was being passed by a black lincoln navigator, that I had just gotten married, and could not afford another ticket. I was extremely polite. The result? SAME FINE. They dropped 2 measly points.

**** this stupid point system. If I get the opportunity, I'm going to steal from the state to get them back for all this BS.

- Rob

Ahhh Youth!

When I was your age, ya dang whipper snapper, I found that they ALWAYS kept the fine the same... even if you got it knocked down to loud muffler. Points was all you could hope to get reduced unless the officer didn't show for court. And altho' I've heard stories, that never happened to me.

Spend the money, Get a V1 and drive with great attention. it's worked for me for the last 15 years.

Syracuse to Birmingham 4 times averaged 75 MPH, with stops.

Collins

Re: Well
 

A no contest plea - also known often by its Latin name "nolo contendere" - means that you agree to accept the punishment without formally acknowledging that you are guilty. It does go on the record, in the sense that the court record for the case will indicate a no contest plea. A credit or background reporting agency and anyone who looks at the public court record will see and can report the plea - but they can see a guilty plea too, so....

You have to do some research on your state laws, but some state laws allow this plea but then do not record points like a guilty plea automatically invokes - so either way you pay the fine, one way just avoids points. Of course if your state doesn't use points, then there's really no difference.

Or you could just do what I did with my first ticket, write F#@k You in blood right across the front of it and send it in.





















Of coures that only cost me another $100 on top of the original $525 so.

i don't know how this works in other states, but in NJ, if you have points on your liscence, that makes your insurance go up. so the judge marking down points saves a lot of money for the person who got the ticket. and maybe they didn't give you a break...but they would someone else

i am going to be a nurse, i am going to take my NCLEX in July of 2005, thanks very much. i am also going to have an associate degree in Criminal Justice, but my education means nothing here, this is more of a common sense issue.

sure you may have walked the walk more then me, and that explains why my record is clean and yours is not.

Kelli

If you drive fast, like I do, your record will not be clean. That's just the way it is. And I'm just saying your advice to 'plead guilty' and go for the emotional side of the judge will most likely be a complete and utter failure.

Sure, it might work for you, because you have boobs, and you're attractive.

If you are a guy, and you lack breasts, you are SCREWED if you plead guilty.

That's all I'm saying. :P

- Rob

hey rob, do you know what a plea bargin is?

go ask a prosecutor...if you don't

i was not telling him to go for the emotional side of the judge, because the judge could really care less, the prosecutor on the other hand might care.



just because you have a dick doesn't give you the right to act like one and the fact that i have boobs makes no difference for a female judge.



i follow traffic and when there is no traffic, i do 5 over and the cops don't mess with me. i would rather not drive wreckless and risk the lives of others on the road, they have tracks to drive fast.

Kelli

Rob,

If this is the front you put up when you're getting a ticket and you haven't learned YET. Maybe you should listen to Kelli.

You speed in front of cops, you get tickets, you plead guilty, you get a fine and some points, but it's NOT your fault... Great logic Han Solo. YOU ARE THE GUY the points system was designed for. But that's OK, as long as guys like you are filling quotas, Kelli and I can get where we need to be at the speed we want to go.

Go speed racer go. :D

Collins
Devo's got a song about all this I think.

actually quotas are illegal in NJ, but local stations make their officers meet them..doesn't that sound good?

Kelli

It all depends on the state you are in. I am not sure about WI but in IL, there is no point system. We do have 3 tickets (convictions) and you are out system.

This is what happens: First ticket, ask for court supervision. Second ticket, take a traffic class, third ticket, take a longer traffic class. 4th ticket (counts as one conviction) 5th ticket (second conviction) and 6th ticket (they'll suspend your licence). But all of that had to happen in a year.

You have to be a complete idiot get 6 tickets in a year

Every traffic judge I've seen has been a rather crusty looking old man. And I've been dressed up every time. And I've tried pleading not guilty, and guilty before. Pleading not guilty worked out better than pleading guilty. I tried pleading guilty, and the judge didn't care. Everything stayed the same. I tried the financial woe status, I tried the insurance status, I tried bringing up the fact I was an honor student, I tried all of that. It doesn't work. The only way I can see that working is if you are a girl and have big ass crocodile tears.

- Rob

or someone who knows how to deal with ppl

BINGO

re: doh
 

OUCH! Poor, poor Rob.

First the radar cops, then the crusty judge, and now Kelli telling you that you're a ... well, nevermind.

Move to a state where having a 'dick' can be beneficial.

<stands up in court...and says to the judge, I HAVE A DICK!>

You should move to Georgia for the following reasons Rob:

1. Every traffic and city code ordinance judge I've seen is a woman (at least in Dekalb County).

**The female judges' age range between late 30's to late 40's. The past few times I had to go to court, I've gotten off easily with warnings.

2. Female traffic cops.

**The last time I was pulled over for speeding (which I haven't for the past 5 years) I was in my lovely green svx. I was very polite to the female officer and very willing to cooperate. I looked her in the eyes and apologized for speeding if I was. She stood there for a second, then told me that she would just give me a warning. Afterwards she flipped on her light and pulled out to let me re-enter the highway. I exited the next light and to my surprise she was in the next lane. She waved, I waved.

I'm telling you man, having a 'dick' in Georgia counts!

hmm...nursing and criminal justice......so Kelli, you are going to nurse 'bad' people to health? ok, i'm a bad, bad peson and needs some nursing :D..what's your number? i'm the perfect case study! :D


harry the uhh...the warning on pillows thief. :P

Thanks for the advice
 

After talking to some people I'm going to attempt to talk to the prosecutor before my case is up. Unfortunately I have been having a hard time trying to find out a name or anything. Thanks for all the advice everyone. Rob, I know I have 8 pts left, but unfortunately those 8 pts would kill my insurance. Between school, insurance, repairs, gas, etc I'm only able to save up about $50 a week.

P.S. Atleast its not just me, on my way to school tonight cops nabbed 3 separate people in the town where I got pulled over. I however was making sure I did exactly the limit. :cool:

Think of it this way.....Im 18 and have 34 tickets....yep 34....11 of them speeding....and i still got my license after it was suspended 3 times.

So.....you've paid alot of city workers? With a revinue machine like you running around why would they want to take away your license?

Only other ticket
 

was when I was parked in a 2hr spot for 2hrs 10 minutes (literally), I saw the cop pulling away after leaving the ticket. Ironically I was parked in front of the municipal building because I was visiting the court house for my crime & justice class :rolleyes: