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Unfortunately got my first speeding ticket going 40 during a school zone time when normally it is 35 speed limit but was 25 since it was during school hours which I didn't even a school was nearby.
Officer said he was going to reduce it to 30 in a 25 mph zone and not denote it was a school zone. The front of the ticket still says speed was "40 mph", but the back of the ticket where it states what I'm charged with says "Speed of 30 mph in a 25 mph zone". He said something about it won't show up in my insurance, and I could go to court or just pay the fine.
The fine is $10 but other costs indicate $191 (is this court fee??) so total was $201.
This is where I'm confused with the process and wanted to make sure I took the best step.
1) Should I show up on my court date? Do I have to show up at 7:30am as indicated on the ticket or can I show up later? What do I plea and say? Do I have a chance of totally removing it and not paying anything?
2) Or do I just plea guilty and pay the total $201 and avoid having to go to court? And assume it won't affect my insurance as he said.
My advice is never believe what a cop tells you at the scene. The amount of wrong ish they tell people at accident scenes has led to many deep cleansing breaths by claim adjusters.
do a little research to see if nc prayer for judgement is best for you (with only 5 over limit, might not be).
best of luck.
edit: forgot to add that especially if you have a previously clean record, you can hire an attorney (the going rate for this was 250 before covid, probably gone up since everything else has...) and possibly get it dismissed altogether.
Last edited by herringbone; 04-21-2022 at 03:07 PM..
do a little research to see if nc prayer for judgement is best for you (with only 5 over limit, might not be).
best of luck.
edit: forgot to add that especially if you have a previously clean record, you can hire an attorney (the going rate for this was 250 before covid, probably gone up since everything else has...) and possibly get it dismissed altogether.
The entire system is such a scam. I got a speeding ticket similar to OP many years ago. I called the court and asked if I could have the ticket thrown out in exchange for community service or taking a defensive driver course. They said that I had to go through an attorney to get that type of thing. I asked why and the lady said that they only offer those types of deals when the person has an attorney. I'm convinced that a big portion of our legal system is just a jobs program for attorneys.
Long time ago I got a speeding ticket for going much more over the speed limit. I did hire an attorney, who used PJC and got it reduced to 9 over, with no affect on my insurance.
This time since it was only 5 over the speed limit and taking the cop's word that it won't affect my insurance, I didn't think I needed to spend another extra $300+ on an attorney.
I thought I could either go to court and get it removed (however that may be) or just pay the fees and avoid showing up in court. I though either option wouldn't affect my insurance but seems that may not be the case.
Hence why I'm seeing if anyone else has been in a similar situation (going 5 over the limit), and has gone to court themselves to get it removed/reduced/whatever and how that works.
Long time ago I got a speeding ticket for going much more over the speed limit. I did hire an attorney, who used PJC and got it reduced to 9 over, with no affect on my insurance.
This time since it was only 5 over the speed limit and taking the cop's word that it won't affect my insurance, I didn't think I needed to spend another extra $300+ on an attorney.
I thought I could either go to court and get it removed (however that may be) or just pay the fees and avoid showing up in court. I though either option wouldn't affect my insurance but seems that may not be the case.
Hence why I'm seeing if anyone else has been in a similar situation (going 5 over the limit), and has gone to court themselves to get it removed/reduced/whatever and how that works.
I think the lawyers only charge the same cost that the ticket would have been for you, or so thats how I remembered it.
do a little research to see if nc prayer for judgement is best for you (with only 5 over limit, might not be).
best of luck.
edit: forgot to add that especially if you have a previously clean record, you can hire an attorney (the going rate for this was 250 before covid, probably gone up since everything else has...) and possibly get it dismissed altogether.
They would be lucky to get a PJC in Wake County. I got a speeding ticket in April 2020, my first in 15 years. I asked for PJC, in Wake County, still had to pay everything, and my insurance still considers that ticket when discussing rates...so, I didn't get it. The judge told me that the DMV would let me know if I got it or not, as if she had nothing to do with it...so yeah. She could have just said 'No', to my face. She's a judge. That's her job.
Also, OP, you're eligible if you're from the state, you weren't driving with a CDL, didn't pass a school bus illegally, and weren't over 25mph, but...you only get 3 in a certain time frame. If you're a habitual speeder, (not saying you are), it might not be the best bet.
It's worth a shot, but doesn't mean you'll get it even when you ask for it.
Forgot to add, OP: Mine was reduced to 1mph, and I still had to pay the whole dang thing, it still shows on my record for the insurance company to rub their hands over, and as I said above, it was the first in 15 years.
Here's how it works:
You go to the court house. You wait your turn. There's 2 prosecutors there. They look at your ticket. They say, 'We will reduce this to 1 mph over. The fine is (exactly the same)."
You then wait to speak to the judge. Which, you don't really get to speak to her, that's what the prosecutors were there for. She basically (mine was a 'she'), looks at your paperwork, allows you to ask questions, (in which I asked for PJC), and basically tells you that you have X number of days to pay the ticket. "Next!"
I think the lawyers only charge the same cost that the ticket would have been for you, or so thats how I remembered it.
Sometimes it is a little bit more but it’s definitely in that ballpark for typical speeding and traffic violations based on my past experience. (Though it’s been probably 10 or more years since I got a speeding ticket)
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