Traffic Ticket

[shooter27 116]

Does anyone know if it is possible to contest a traffic ticket on the grounds that the fine is excessive and unreasonable?

I got stopped for a "rolling stop" through a stop sign and the fine is $446, which to me seems excessive. Originally I wasn't going to contest it, but given the size of the fine for something so minor I feel like I have to.

[shotty 7]

yeah, contest it on the grounds that you can't afford it. in BC, that's a genuine and acceptable reason. it clearly states in the notice that if it causes financial hardship, one can appeal for a lesser penalty.

[BenderHockey 127]

Does anyone know if it is possible to contest a traffic ticket on the grounds that the fine is excessive and unreasonable?

I got stopped for a "rolling stop" through a stop sign and the fine is $446, which to me seems excessive. Originally I wasn't going to contest it, but given the size of the fine for something so minor I feel like I have to.

Always contest it. Remeber, you aren't guilty automatically. They have to PROVE you guilty.

[zrez 0]

Its not hard to prove that their guilty.... you show up and say "he was speeding" then you point to the driver and thats it. Its more or less you having to prove that you are innocent. It isnt really like a criminal code offence where ur innocent until proven guilty....

Also, i guess it depends on what agency you got the ticket from, because iv never heard of being able to appeal for a smaller fine. if you ran a stop sign and the fine is $400 then thats the fine.

[shooter27 116]

Its not hard to prove that their guilty.... you show up and say "he was speeding" then you point to the driver and thats it. Its more or less you having to prove that you are innocent. It isnt really like a criminal code offence where ur innocent until proven guilty....

Also, i guess it depends on what agency you got the ticket from, because iv never heard of being able to appeal for a smaller fine. if you ran a stop sign and the fine is $400 then thats the fine.

I understand that generally the fine is the fine, but it just seem like $450 for a rolling stop is rather excessive. I've done some reading and apparently CA, where I live, has jacked up all traffic fines because its bankrupt - something about that just doesn't seem on the up and up to me. Obviously, if I was really going to challenge that to any significant level I would need to go well beyond traffic court.

The major issue is that I'm currently a student on an extremely fixed budget, so $450 is a huge amount of money.

[Chadd 916]

I understand that generally the fine is the fine, but it just seem like $450 for a rolling stop is rather excessive. I've done some reading and apparently CA, where I live, has jacked up all traffic fines because its bankrupt - something about that just doesn't seem on the up and up to me. Obviously, if I was really going to challenge that to any significant level I would need to go well beyond traffic court.

The major issue is that I'm currently a student on an extremely fixed budget, so $450 is a huge amount of money.

Then, like the state, you need to find a way to supplement your income.

[eric42434224 1]

Then, like the state, you need to find a way to supplement your income.

Or just stop at stop signs

[lotus 2]

That does seem pretty steep. Contest it either way. I plead not guilty to a rather hefty speeding ticket that was worth around 6 points, and the officer instead knocked it down to running a stop, 2 points or something. Can't remember the fine.

I gladly accepted.

[gxc999 7]

Always contest it. Remeber, you aren't guilty automatically. They have to PROVE you guilty.

I'm not sure if you're talking about the states or in Canada, but in many states in the US, you have really very little chance of winning on general traffic tickets, especially speeding. As for stop signs and red lights, I dono, it kind of depends. You're still not likely to win in most states but it's possible. One important thing is your past records, so if you've never gotten any tickets before or have a clean record the past 5 years, you often can get away with a lesser charge and lesser fine. I don't know north of the border though.

[usahockey22 0]

You should consult a local lawyer who deals in such issues as to whether or not it's worth the time and effort to contest the ticket.

[starsfan71 9]

I can only imagine what it would cost for me a 17 year old male. :o

[zrez 0]

Pay the damn ticket and follow the rules if you dont want to pay the ticket again. The only way you will get off is if you challenge it and the other officer doesnt even show up.

[Hradsky 1]

Pay the damn ticket and follow the rules if you dont want to pay the ticket again. The only way you will get off is if you challenge it and the other officer doesnt even show up.

I hear that actually happens quite often though.

[Jason Harris 31]

Exactly. That happened to me a few years ago.

Almost every day, I travel "down the hill" on I-70 into the Denver area. It's probably a five or six degree grade, making it nearly impossible to follow the posted speed limit of 55 MPH without blowing out your clutch or wearing down your brakes. Even though the speed limit is 55 MPH, I'd say the average speed is nearly 70, purely due to gravity alone. (My guess is the 55 was established so people don't exceed the limit by 10+ MPH and find themselves out of control.)

A few times a week, the police will hide behind a sign on the bridge halfway down the hill, setting up a speed trap. Or, as one of the policemen I skate with told me, "There are no speed traps. There are only 'opportune safety locations....' " Anyone who drives this route often will look ahead to that bridge and immediately start braking if they see the police, but it's tough to slow down from 70 to 55 when both gravity is still working against you, as well as other cars nearby that might not be aware why you're braking.

On this one occasion, I felt I had seen the police early enough and had slowed down, but they had about seven patrol cars lined up on the onramp -- a true opportune safety location -- and one pulled me over. I was actually irritated, because I was going slower than the five or six other cars around me as we approached the bridge. Every one had been speeding, since it's a foregone conclusion on that road, but it seems like the patrol car on the bridge has to make a decision on which car he wants to lock onto with the radar.

In the quick conversation with the officer who pulled me over, he let me know that he worked an hour away but had been called down for this exercise, as well as agreeing with me that 55 MPH was too slow for that road. That made me suspicious of whether he'd show up to court, so I contested. At the first appearance, the girl from the D.A.'s office (I think) tried to pressure me into thinking I will never win the case, read the notes from the back of the ticket, etc, but I said I was contesting.

Three weeks later, the officer didn't show for the second hearing and the ticket was dropped from my record. While there, I noticed that fines were reduced for some people, so by all means I would contest if I were you.

[shotty 7]

Pay the damn ticket and follow the rules if you dont want to pay the ticket again. The only way you will get off is if you challenge it and the other officer doesnt even show up.

he's not denying that committed a traffic violation, he's contesting the price.

it wont cost you anything except time to go to the court house, admit guilt and ask for a lesser fine.

"i've certainly learned my lesson, however the $415 fine will cause financial strain & hardship, so i'm here to today to ask for a reduction"

if they deny you, at the very least you bought yourself some extra time to pay the ticket.

[zrez 0]

I hear that actually happens quite often though.

Ya, lots of people "hear" that happens a lot. I happend to "know" it hardly ever happens. I suppose it all depends on where you live and how busy the police are though, so what do i know. If you live in a bigger city I could see it happening.

[furlanitalia 1]

Contest. Last year for work I had to travel to Kalamazoo which meant I took the red eye to Ontario and drive the 4 hours so I could be there by noon (it was a ridiculous trip that included a 3 hour lay over in Calgary). Anyway, I'm driving through Sarnia and had to pass a guy to get off the freeway to find a bank and an officer thought I was trying to get away from him. Explained I was from out of town, had spent the last 8 hours on and off planes, and was just trying to find a bank. He wrote me up for speeding and issued me a $270 ticket. So when I got home I called to contest it, and they said it would go to court but I'd have to be there (and that would be pointless for me to travel out there.)

Anyway, I explained all this to them and told them the story so they knocked the ticket down to $90. I guess the moral is that it doesn't hurt to try and contest it; it's not like they can raise the amount you have to pay. :D

[DavidT 11]

They'd rather have some money, than no money at all. They'll lower it.

[chippa13 1844]

Pay the damn ticket and follow the rules if you dont want to pay the ticket again. The only way you will get off is if you challenge it and the other officer doesnt even show up.

That doesn't work anymore. They now allow a representative from the departments to show up and oppose all disputed tickets/violations. The old days of hoping the officer doesn't show are long gone.

[shotty 7]

Contest. Last year for work I had to travel to Kalamazoo which meant I took the red eye to Ontario and drive the 4 hours so I could be there by noon (it was a ridiculous trip that included a 3 hour lay over in Calgary). Anyway, I'm driving through Sarnia and had to pass a guy to get off the freeway to find a bank and an officer thought I was trying to get away from him. Explained I was from out of town, had spent the last 8 hours on and off planes, and was just trying to find a bank. He wrote me up for speeding and issued me a $270 ticket. So when I got home I called to contest it, and they said it would go to court but I'd have to be there (and that would be pointless for me to travel out there.)

Anyway, I explained all this to them and told them the story so they knocked the ticket down to $90. I guess the moral is that it doesn't hurt to try and contest it; it's not like they can raise the amount you have to pay. :D

i had a similar scenario.

going to seattle for surgery, needed fuel, hit the gas to get ahead of a guy so i could line up the off ramp and a bike cop tagged me. he comes up, says "i know you were just giving it some juice to get to the off ramp, but there's a new initiative to lower speeding so i have to give you a ticket" he comes back and says "i put down that you were doing 5 over, but it might have been more".

as soon as he said that, i knew i was going to contest it. i did... drove down to king county or whatever, he was there. on the record, i asked him what he told me as he handed me the ticket, he repeated exactly what he said and the ticket got thrown out... BUT, a few weeks later i got a collection notice from the state of washington looking for $119 USD for the ticket. its been almost a year and im still dealing with that. they've threatened to suspend my license and send the "bad debt" to my credit file, not considering that i'm a canadian and they really can't do either.

[starsfan71 9]

While I respect police officers and everything they do for the community and how I understand they are vital some of them are straight up pricks.

Especially in my cushy area where someone's car getting egged or some serial TP'er are the most exciting stories in the crime report.

They literally sit there with a radar everywhere just trying to nail people with ridiculous tickets. I mean my friend got one for cutting through a parking lot. He only did it to avoid an illegal U turn.

I also find it funny how a cute teenage girl just outside the school can talk there way out of tickets for not wearing a seatbelt.

[Krev 86]

Contest it.

I got a $300 ticket for 'following too closely' in bumper to bumper traffic a few months ago. The State Patrol guy was an ass, so I contested on the grounds that he was being malicious and borderline harassment.

Got the ticket reduced to $50 and removed from my record. Turns out he's got a history of being a dick with the State Patrol Department here in Washington.

[mug25 2]

I've dealt with your situation in the past.

Hopefully you take it to court and during your pretrial hearing, you get to cut a plea deal with judge. Depending on your driving record they may cut you a deal or not, meaning no points on your license, you pay court fees only or you pay a reduced fine. It could of course work in the complete opposite favor...know your record before you do this.

(this is BEFORE you have your court date where the officer will be present)

[BenderHockey 127]

That doesn't work anymore. They now allow a representative from the departments to show up and oppose all disputed tickets/violations. The old days of hoping the officer doesn't show are long gone.

Wrong. The 6th amendment grants you the right to face your accuser in a court of law. The representative is not accusing you of the crime, the officer who wrote the ticket/summons/report is. They bring in the rep in the hopes that you don't know any better and cave.

[chippa13 1844]

Under Massachusetts law the ticket itself may be considered evidence at the initial hearing, and the citing officer does not need to be present at this hearing. At your hearing the magistrate will usually find you responsible on the basis of the ticket, unless you appear with counsel experienced in Motor Vehicle Law. The citing officer or representative of the police does need to be present at judge's review hearings.