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I was pulled over for going 40 in a 25 zone driving down Palisade Ave in Englewood. The officer wasn't using a radar gun. I plan on going to court to get the ticket reduced to avoid points on my license. I guess I will ask for a reduction to careless driving with a fine. Any advice you can give me would be appreciated. Thanks
By the letter of the law, the radar (or laser) device is simply used as back-up evidence to further substantiate the officer's expert testimony that you were speeding. In other words, the "real" evidence is the officer's word, since he or she underwent training to detect the speed of moving vehicles. Nice system, huh?
Anyway, in practice, this is a case where they'll usually knock it down to something pretty tame. Was this a superior officer who gave you the ticket? Strange to think a traditional marked unit operated by a patrolman wouldn't have radar running. If you got nabbed by a big boss, there's always the chance he might not show up and be bothered by it. Worth a try.
Either way, for the love of God, dress nicely when you go to the courthouse! As much as I love this topic, I've only actually received one ticket in my life, about 7 years ago on the Turnpike. I wore a suit to court and some guy came up to me and asked if I was his lawyer who he only had a phone consultation with up to that point! A lot of skells make it out to court. Separate yourself from the riff-raff as much as you can.
I think the plee that they offer you is "Unsafe Operation". That fine carries no points, but you will have to pay a surcharge for pleading it as well as the fine itself and court costs. Figure about $300 when it's all said and done.
There are myriad ways to argue a ticket and you may or may not be succesful and it most likely isn't worth the effort. Only one time in my life did I ever get a ticket dismissed and that was some pretty extenuating circumstances and out of state.
Follow Gambler's advice, show up a little early, dress appropriately, talk to the prosecutor and take your lumps.
Tell them you weren't moving at all, you where sitting in one place and the world was moving beneath you,,,,the nerve dammit. I know how it feels I recently got "hassled" for going 90 in a 75 out west.
I think the NJ no points blue plate special was about $480 once you're all done, thatwas a few years ago.
I think the surcharge for the plee is based on the number of points that they are dismissing. I'm not 100% sure, but I know I used that plee twice in my more impetuous days and once the surcharge was $150 and the other time it was $250. At the time they said the $250 was because they were eliminating a 4 point ticket.
I guess moral of the story is, go prepared to write out a hefty check in the $300-$500 range.
i love how you can bribe NJ out of giving you points.
honestly, i had an $80 ticket on the turnpike. called insurance, asked how much insurance would go up if i had a ticket. they said it would increase by about $70 for 2 years from date of ticket. but, since date of ticket was a few days after i renewed for the year, the increase won't happen until year 2.
so it was only $70 for next year's insurance, so i just paid the $80 fine and didn't waste a vacation day plus gas and tolls to get to court. lol
i love how you can bribe NJ out of giving you points.
honestly, i had an $80 ticket on the turnpike. called insurance, asked how much insurance would go up if i had a ticket. they said it would increase by about $70 for 2 years from date of ticket. but, since date of ticket was a few days after i renewed for the year, the increase won't happen until year 2.
so it was only $70 for next year's insurance, so i just paid the $80 fine and didn't waste a vacation day plus gas and tolls to get to court. lol
Good point, often times the insurance surcharge isn't as crippling as many would think, sometimes it is. Also, most companies waive the surcharge if you only have 2 points or less.
The other more important piece though is the state surcharge that kicks in if you accumulate 6 points or more in 3 years. That ones a PITA.
Perhaps the police unions will begin selling PBA cards the highest bidders to raise funds. Honestly, if you're going to hand out "get out of jail free" cards and exempt half the state from traffic laws, why not make some money on the concept.
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