What Do You Do After You Get a Traffic Ticket?
What Do You Do After You Get a Traffic Ticket?
You’ve been pulled over by the police. Maybe you deserve your ticket for speeding, but maybe you don’t. What should you do? Pay the ticket? Go to court? Ignore it? Seriously, don’t avoid dealing with the traffic ticket. Here are some tips to help you know what to do:
When You’re Pulled Over
If an officer pulls you over, be polite and follow instructions. Don’t say too much, because anything you say can be used in court. You can ask how the officer knew you were speeding. Once you get the ticket, make some notes about the circumstances. Note the weather, the traffic signs, the road conditions, construction, time of day, etc. Read the ticket to know what the dates are to respond.
You have three options:
- Fight the ticket in court
- Pay the ticket
- Negotiate a lesser penalty
If you fight the ticket, you may be able to negotiate a lesser penalty or even find a way to get out of it at all. If you simply pay the ticket, it goes on your driving record. You may even have to pay court fees. Once you pay the ticket, your insurance rates may go up. If you already have points on your driving record, this ticket could affect your license.
One option is to talk to the prosecutor for your ticket to see if you can take a driving course rather than paying the ticket. You may be able to ask for a lesser fine or given additional time to pay the fine. You can ask that it not go on your record. Whether the prosecutor accepts or not is at his or her discretion.
Going to Court
Fighting a ticket in court can be scary. You can hope that the officer doesn’t show up to the hearing, in which case your case would be dismissed. That is rare, so don’t count on it. Your best chance is to argue that you weren’t speeding. Maybe the speed limit sign was obscured. If you have a dashcam or GPS data, that could indicate you weren’t speeding. You may even be able to research the equipment that the officer used and present evidence in court that the device might have been uncalibrated. This is where the evidence that you collected on the day you got the ticket comes in handy.
Do You Need a Lawyer?
Contact a Wythe County traffic lawyer if this is more than you want to deal with. Hiring a lawyer may be in your best interest, especially if you’re facing the loss of your license or if the ticket would affect your employment in some way.
Thanks to The Law Offices of Mark T. Hurt for their insight into traffic law and what to do after getting a ticket.