Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I'm wondering if I should get a good traffic lawyer to just deal with this cae for me. I was heading eastbound on 495 around 2:30PM on a Thursday to the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel in the Union City/Weehawken section. Was driving in the right lane doing about 40. A car in the middle lane comes zooming up, cuts me off, and then slows down real fast seeing that there is a merge in lane from an exit ramp coming up. I obviously put the brakes on once he started slowing down but guess I shouldve pressed harder because the distance between our cars was a minimum of one car length at one point. Right at that moment we both passed the merge in lane on the right where a cop happened to be hiding out.
He pulls me over shortly after on the exit ramp to Weehawken/Hoboken and explains to me he saw me tailgating the car in front of me. I explained to him what happened and that he shouldve even seen my taillights go on to signify I was braking. However he didnt see it and ended up writing me a ticket for failure to yield to overtaking vehicle which is 2 pts. Then he proceeded to tell me I need to go to court and because I was courteous to him, he'll explain that to the judge and said USUALLY the judge will listen to his recommendation and drop the points.
This happened at the end of April, the court date was set for the first week in May but got postponed to the first week in July.
This is the first time I was ever pulled over and I have no violations whatsoever of any kind on my driving record since I started driving over 10 yrs ago (I'm 28). Do you think this is worth getting a traffic lawyer to get the charges dropped? I'm trying to weigh insurance increase costs vs. payment to a lawyer (I know its only 2 points and I need to update my defensive driving later this year so it'll come off). I don't know how much a lawyer even costs and I know there are no guarantees a lawyer would be able to even get anything dropped. There's also no guarantees a judge would drop the points if the cop doesn't show up since this is postponed so far from the original date.
Sorry for the long post, just wondering what to do as its my first time in this situation. I'd like to maintain a clean record but ultimately also do whatever will cost me the least amount of money in the long run. Thanks people
I'm wondering if I should get a good traffic lawyer to just deal with this cae for me. I was heading eastbound on 495 around 2:30PM on a Thursday to the approach to the Lincoln Tunnel in the Union City/Weehawken section. Was driving in the right lane doing about 40. A car in the middle lane comes zooming up, cuts me off, and then slows down real fast seeing that there is a merge in lane from an exit ramp coming up. I obviously put the brakes on once he started slowing down but guess I shouldve pressed harder because the distance between our cars was a minimum of one car length at one point. Right at that moment we both passed the merge in lane on the right where a cop happened to be hiding out.
He pulls me over shortly after on the exit ramp to Weehawken/Hoboken and explains to me he saw me tailgating the car in front of me. I explained to him what happened and that he shouldve even seen my taillights go on to signify I was braking. However he didnt see it and ended up writing me a ticket for failure to yield to overtaking vehicle which is 2 pts. Then he proceeded to tell me I need to go to court and because I was courteous to him, he'll explain that to the judge and said USUALLY the judge will listen to his recommendation and drop the points.
This happened at the end of April, the court date was set for the first week in May but got postponed to the first week in July.
This is the first time I was ever pulled over and I have no violations whatsoever of any kind on my driving record since I started driving over 10 yrs ago (I'm 28). Do you think this is worth getting a traffic lawyer to get the charges dropped? I'm trying to weigh insurance increase costs vs. payment to a lawyer (I know its only 2 points and I need to update my defensive driving later this year so it'll come off). I don't know how much a lawyer even costs and I know there are no guarantees a lawyer would be able to even get anything dropped. There's also no guarantees a judge would drop the points if the cop doesn't show up since this is postponed so far from the original date.
Sorry for the long post, just wondering what to do as its my first time in this situation. I'd like to maintain a clean record but ultimately also do whatever will cost me the least amount of money in the long run. Thanks people
I just went through this and I did have a lawyer only because it was a friend of mine and I didn't have to pay anything. I saw many people deal with it successfully on their own. You will talk to the prosecutor, he/she will look at your driving record and reduce it to something without points
A lawyer is as close to a guarantee that you won't get any points on your license as you can get. 90% of the time you will be fine without one and as other posters mentioned the prosecutor will probably plea down the charge with you before you even meet the judge. I've been through it a few times myself and have never had a lawyer. Every time I got off with a reduced violation(parking on the pavement, improper movement, or something like that) and no points. I have seen people, mostly women(don't know why that is since its the opposite of what I would think), start arguing and not get off. If you do go it yourself leave emotion at the door and don't over explain the situation, keep the focus on your stellar driving record and you'll most likely get off with a fine and no points. My two cents...Good Luck!
Agree with above and yes some women get an attitude right away which only backfires on them. They almost offer a deal to change it to unsafe driving, but if you can do better than that, go for it. Unsafe driving is zero points for the first two times, but it does show up on your record, meaning your insurance co might see it. There are other violations that are zero but never show up on your record. And if the cop doesn't show up you win anyway.
That's total BS. The judge simply reschedules for a later date in the vast majority of the first That means if you have a lawyer, you get billed twice.
Most likely you can handle it yourself as well as a laywer could so save the money. See if you can speak to the Prosecutor Maria DeAngelis and she will probably come to an agreement. She's a decent Prosecutor.
Maria comes from a legal background. Her father was a municipal court judge for many years and she has been involved in the municipal courts as long as I can remember. She was always level headed.
She might remember dealing with me as she worked in our courts for a few years a ways back.
"The attorney who represented himself had a fool for a client"
So was the person with a squeaky clean driving record who got bilked out of big money by an attorney over a minor traffic ticket that would be reduced to a no points offense anyway.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
