Today I got stopped for a speeding violation (doing 56 in 45 MPH in Johnson county Kansa) and to make things worse had forgotten the wallet/driving licenses at home. ?
The ticket is for $235 (including $100 for not having the license). I understand that the license should be with you but this is the first time I forgot it and the $100 seems excessive.
Previous to this I had only 1 ticket (speeding) but that was in 2003 and I paid it without contesting and after that my driving history is completely uneventful/clear.
As you can see I don?t have much experience with dealing with speeding tickets so I need some advise/guidance on how to handle this?
1) What all options I have?
2) Is there a way to reduce/eliminate the fine?
3) Is there a way to prevent this from going into my driving records? Because I don?t want to have my insurance increased.
4) Should I go to court and try to at least eliminate/reduce the $100 for not carrying the license?
5) Any other suggestion?
Thanks for your help.
Taking specific legal advice from anyone other than a lawyer is…not wise.
Many folks on this site will give well-meaning advice, but if they are wrong, you will be the one with resulting problems–not them.
As a result, I will comment only on #4 & #5.
Re: #4:
Yes, I do believe that you should go to court. In many jurisdictions, the local district attorney/prosecutor will “cut deals” outside of the courtroom with many people who received traffic tickets. At least, that is what is fairly commonplace in NJ, in order to reduce the number of cases on the docket. A friend of mine had his offense reduced from going through a red light to “careless driving”, which bore a lesser penalty. Even if they are not cutting deals, at least you might find a sympathetic ear in the courtroom. Please note that I said “might”, not “will”!
Re #5:
Get a radar detector!
A decent radar detector nowadays costs less than half the price of one speeding ticket.
In my 40 some odd years of driving I’ve had 2 tickets. Both times I went to court pled guilty and told the judge about my good record. (They usually have it in front of them so don’t try lying about it) In both instances my fines were cut substantially. It can’t hurt and will probably help!
Hire a lawyer who specializes in traffic offenses. My only speeding ticket was 12 years ago in an up-state NY speed trap. I live in Colorado. I found a traffic lawyer who represented me in Albany court (I did not have to show up). He got the ticket reduced to a no-point defective equipment charge. Cost me about $200, but saved me more on license points and potential insurance costs.
Twotone
PS: Buy a radar/laser detector. The Escort X50 is a great one.
RE: radar detector
In many places, radar detectors are pretty much useless because the cops use laser. And even if your radar detector can pick up laser emissions, it doesn’t matter, because by the time the detector sees it, you’ve already been clocked - Laser does not scatter like radar does, and so the cop has to be aiming it right at you for you to detect it.
I think a $100 fine for driving without a license is actually pretty lenient, when you take into account that if you’re caught speeding in a work zone with nobody actually working in it, they’ll relieve you of an additional $300+ or like in the great commonwealth of VA, where radar detectors are illegal, if you’re from out of state and fail to turn off your radar detector within say 100 feet of the state line, you’ll get pulled over fined at least $250 and relieved of your radar detector as well.
When my wife got her first and only speeding ticket, 49 mph in a 35 mph zone. The officer was waiting behind the 35 mph sign as she crossed over from a 45 mph zone.
Her biggest concern was the three points from the ticket. She went to court and pleaded to a lesser offense with no points. She had to pay the court costs which were roughly double the original ticket’s fine. This seems to be standard procedure for smaller towns in South Jersey, it’s a good source of revenue. I would be more worried about the points than the fine.
Ed B.
Economy is bad and highway patrol these days are vultures. I would go slower from now on. I was on a 400 mile trip on labor day weekend. I saw 6 trucks and buses pulled over along the way. One of which was a tour bus that passed me and it was immediately nailed.
My Daughter got a ticket for running red light in Nashua NH a few years ago…She goes to court at 8am…She pleads not guilty. Then at around 11am they tell everyone who pleaded not guilty to come back at 3 for their case to be heard. Half the people left. Daughter stayed around and was found non-guilty. But what a pain…luckily she was on summer break. For people who work…you have to take a day off from work just to beat a simple traffic ticket.
Sometimes your appearance can keep you from getting a ticket. My wife and I were returning from a conference with about 10 other people in a state owned 15 passenger Ford E-350 van. We had left Chicago after supper and after I had gotten us through Chicago traffic and out in the open, my wife took the wheel. We were on a two lane road and I asked my wife if she couldn’t get a little more speed out of the van. She did speed up and forgot to slow down for a little town. She was pulled over by a state trooper. She was in her convention clothes and apologized to the officer for not seeing the speed limit sign. He didn’t even ask to see her license nor did he issue a warning ticket. He just asked her to watch her speed. I kept my mouth shut for the rest of that trip.
In many places they’re illegal.
Man up and pay the ticket. You’re talking about a simple speeding ticket here (plus a citation for not carrying your license). These are not felonies, just traffic violations.
I would appear in court driver’s license in hand and give it the old sheepish routine. Results obviously vary considerably, but I’d guess that the driver’s license part gets dropped.
You might also go get your speedometer checked at a certified shop. I’ve not gotten many tickets but the last speeding ticket I had was dropped and became a “faulty speedometer” charge. The fine was lower & no points. Its also the case that, while the speedometer was off, it wasn’t off by enough to explain the event - so it yours if off some, it might not even matter in which direction or by how much. I think it cost me $35 to have it checked.
Contact the attorney for the county, tell him the exact details and ask them offer you a plea bargain to a lesser offense before a court trial. Failure to obey an official sign is a good one.
When I got my ticket, I went to court cold, with no advance prep. After dealing with the DWI cases, the judge stepped out while the assistant DA gave his spiel: You could plead not guilty, and go to trial at a later date, or you could plead guilty to a lesser offense that would have fewer points.
I assume you have a court date on your ticket – I would go to an earlier session of the same court in that county and see how other cases are handled, so you decide what to do with better information.
The fact that you’re asking advice on this makes me think you’re either squeaky clean or don’t have anyone you can ask in person. You can go to court and the fine will probably be less (be well dressed and have your license). If the officer doesn’t show up, I would think you would get away scotfree but I am not a lawyer.
I am surprised that no one has suggested challenging the calibration of the radar gun. You weren’t going all that fast.
Insurance cares about points, not fines. Ask to pay the fine and get no points. Oh, I’m not an insurance expert either.
I rearended a car once on the interstate, went to court and got off with NOTHING. No points, no fine. All I did was show up. Can’t speak for Kansas, though.
I’d go to court. Around here, they often reduce the charges when you show up.
I think you want to focus on the speeding charge and not the license charge. I assume the first one is a moving violation and the second one isn’t, which means the first one is the one that’ll affect your insurance more.
Does your state have a program where you can take a defensive driving course to erase some points? Some states do.
You need to read the whole citation, front and back, to see what your options are. There should be clear instructions on the citation. You should also check the local municipality’s web site to see if there is any helpful information.
In many places, you can prove you had a valid license issued to you at the time of the citation to have that particular citation dismissed.
In many places, you can ask the judge for “withheld adjudication” (where it stays off your record if you stay out of trouble for a period of time) or “deferred adjudication” (where it is removed from your record if you stay out of trouble for a period of time). If these are options, the traffic court judge might give you one of them.
Exactly these are not felonies and that’s why I don’t want to pay hundreds of dollars and possible increase in insurance. 
A good Johnson County traffic attorney should be able to amend the speeding ticket, or at the very least arrange a diversion. Each option would allow you to keep it off of your driving record.
The license fine may be dismissed if the prosecutor is reasonable.
Today I got stopped for a speeding violation (doing 56 in 45 MPH in Johnson county Kansa) and to make things worse had forgotten the wallet/driving licenses at home. ?The ticket is for $235 (including $100 for not having the license). I understand that the license should be with you but this is the first time I forgot it and the $100 seems excessive.
Previous to this I had only 1 ticket (speeding) but that was in 2003 and I paid it without contesting and after that my driving history is completely uneventful/clear.
As you can see I don?t have much experience with dealing with speeding tickets so I need some advise/guidance on how to handle this?
- What all options I have?
- Is there a way to reduce/eliminate the fine?
- Is there a way to prevent this from going into my driving records? Because I don?t want to have my insurance increased.
- Should I go to court and try to at least eliminate/reduce the $100 for not carrying the license?
- Any other suggestion?
Thanks for your help.