Traffic Court Appearence

[Boo]

I am supposed to be in court tomorrow at 10:00 am for a careless driving ticket that I got over 9 months ago. I completely forgot about this until this weeked!

The ticket is $325 PLUS ...here's the kicker... 6 points off my liscence. My insurance could practicaly double!!

Basically I took a corner too fast and hit a light pole. No one else involved. No witnesses but I hear its procedure to write a ticket for every accident. I've already lost over $8000 because of this accident.

Any advice for what I can do say tomorrow to reduce / eliminate the points? I don't care about the fine. But I want to get a new car this summer but won't be able to if my insurance doubles.

 

[Hi i'm God]

Originally posted by Boo
I am supposed to be in court tomorrow at 10:00 am for a careless driving ticket that I got over 9 months ago. I completely forgot about this until this weeked!

The ticket is $325 PLUS ...here's the kicker... 6 points off my liscence. My insurance could practicaly double!!

Basically I took a corner too fast and hit a light pole. No one else involved. No witnesses but I hear its procedure to write a ticket for every accident. I've already lost over $8000 because of this accident.

Any advice for what I can do say tomorrow to reduce / eliminate the points? I don't care about the fine. But I want to get a new car this summer but won't be able to if my insurance doubles.

LOL... sorry not at you. I was test driving a car all by myself when I hit a patch of black ice and slamed into a pole. The officer and judge and all of them said "They have to charge you with careless driving...." BS I say fight it. I went in and spoke to the prosecutor or whatever they put it down to only 2 point "Driving outside of market lanes" I think it was... fucking guvernment.

 

[daddyiwantchocolate]

Originally posted by Boo

Any advice for what I can do say tomorrow to reduce / eliminate the points?

Here's my advice, but it won't help other than to make the court's job much easier:

BEND OVER

To be quite honest, I have no idea what they'd do - they may give you a break on the points rather than reduce the fine.

Is it too late to go to that Points place - you should probably check just in case - I've heard they work wonders.

 

[Hi i'm God]

I'm pretty sure they Cant mark down points unless they charge you with a lesser charge like "Oh you wernt really careless driving like we said now it's more like speeding which is only 1 or 2 points" The only thing they can do is cut the $$. So go in and ask to be tried for a lesser charge.

 

[echootje]

What did you tell the officer??

You shouldn't really say anything to them, just say I wasn't sure what happened, let your Points lawyer do the talking...

I'd say go see a traffic Lawyer, if it's the points your're worried about. It's likely he/she can save you money too but the points are what really count...

Rob

 

[swenard]

I got a careless driving ticket once and I went to points and they said they could easily get it dropped to "driving out of marked lanes"But, I went to the prosecutor and they did it for me with out paying points like $3000. I got a careless driving ticket another time.But, I went to court and the cop didn't show up so I got off of that one too.

 

[Rosey]

your best bet is to talk to the prosecutor and ask to plead to a lesser charge. if it is your first offense all the better for you.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by swenard
I got a careless driving ticket once and I went to points and they said they could easily get it dropped to "driving out of marked lanes"But, I went to the prosecutor and they did it for me with out paying points like $3000. I got a careless driving ticket another time.But, I went to court and the cop didn't show up so I got off of that one too.

remind me never to go for a drive with you.

 

[stir-fry]

point are not the only thing that insurance companies look at.

i got a 2 tickets in the same year.. one for running a stop sign, and one for doing 22 over in a 50 zone.
My father talked to a lawyer friend of his and he told me to go in and set up a "pre-trial" appointment. This is basically where you go in, tell them your case, and they give you the option of pleading to a lower crime, hence not losing points and the fine is a lot lower. They dropped the stop sign to a $40 ticket, and the speeding ticket to 12under and a $20 dollar fine.. the catch is "I PLEADED GUILTY"

So, when I went looking for insurance, the insurer asked me if i had any traffic violations and i told him "NO".. he looked up my record and told me I was lying.. Basically, they don't look at whether or not you lost points, they just look to see if you were charged with anything..


sorry to rain on your parade, but i just thought i'd let you know the facts.

if you plead guilty for ANYTHING, it'll affect your insurance.

 

[Boo]

The following has allready happened to me as a result of this accident:

1. My $7000 car which I bought 6 months previously was sold for $250. No collision insurance.

2. My insurance was billed $4000 for the cost of replacing the pole. Insurance has allready gone up.

3. I recieved a bill from the city of Hamilton for almost $500 for cleanup. I guess the 4 grand for the pole doesn't count.

Now $325 ticket and 6 points. Thats 1 costly mistake!

If this ticket goes through my insurance will litterally double. Go up about $1500 dollars or so a year! I'm stupid I forgot about it for so long, but 9 months for a court date.. it wasn't exactly fresh in my mind.

Is there a possibilty that this govermnet strike can help me?

 

[Rosey]

Originally posted by stir-fry
point are not the only thing that insurance companies look at.

i got a 2 tickets in the same year.. one for running a stop sign, and one for doing 22 over in a 50 zone.
My father talked to a lawyer friend of his and he told me to go in and set up a "pre-trial" appointment. This is basically where you go in, tell them your case, and they give you the option of pleading to a lower crime, hence not losing points and the fine is a lot lower. They dropped the stop sign to a $40 ticket, and the speeding ticket to 12under and a $20 dollar fine.. the catch is "I PLEADED GUILTY"

So, when I went looking for insurance, the insurer asked me if i had any traffic violations and i told him "NO".. he looked up my record and told me I was lying.. Basically, they don't look at whether or not you lost points, they just look to see if you were charged with anything..


sorry to rain on your parade, but i just thought i'd let you know the facts.

if you plead guilty for ANYTHING, it'll affect your insurance.

no, if you are found quilty of anything it may affect your insurance, regardless of plea. i would expect that lying to your insurance agent when they can easily check up on you would have a negative affect on your rate too.

 

[swenard]

Originally posted by ~dazed~


remind me never to go for a drive with you.

ha ha ha ha ha

 

[stir-fry]

Originally posted by Rosey

no, if you are found quilty of anything it may affect your insurance, regardless of plea. i would expect that lying to your insurance agent when they can easily check up on you would have a negative affect on your rate too.

i didn't know i was lying at the time.. i thought the plea-bargain routine was a way for the gov'ne'ment to wipe your record clean while still making themselves money.

the insurance guy called me back and told me about the charges, i explained my story to him and he replied with "those pre-appointments are the biggest scam going.. " etc, etc.

my insurance only jumped a few hundred that year.. this year is a different story though.

 

[Rosey]

Originally posted by stir-fry
i didn't know i was lying at the time.. i thought the plea-bargain routine was a way for the gov'ne'ment to wipe your record clean while still making themselves money.

no they definately are not going to wipe your record clean if you plea bargin, whether it is reckless driving down to careless or murder one down to manslaughter - guilty is guilty.

but, if you are worried about points and the $$$, a plea bargin may save you both.

 

[air-bag]

I have 2 points for running a stop sign, but thats almost 2 years ago. I also have a trial for doing 60 in a 40 zone. I'm supposed to get a 100$ fine and 3 points, but when I went down to the police station, the clerk told me i should go to court and plead guilty, and they would lower it to 15 over instead of 20 over - no points.

stir-fry, whats your advice?

 

[stir-fry]

Originally posted by air-bag
I have 2 points for running a stop sign, but thats almost 2 years ago. I also have a trial for doing 60 in a 40 zone. I'm supposed to get a 100$ fine and 3 points, but when I went down to the police station, the clerk told me i should go to court and plead guilty, and they would lower it to 15 over instead of 20 over - no points.

stir-fry, whats your advice?

you can do what i did, and plead guilty to a lesser charge.. don't go to court for that, call the number on the back of your ticket and ask for a pre-trial appointment..

but remember, like i was just talking about, if you plead guilty, no matter what the charge is, it is going to affect your driving record. and your insurance company will find out when you go to renew. The bonus is that you won't lose points or as much money.

It's a pretty shitty situation.
If you take a chance at pleading not-guilty and are still found guilty then you have no choice but to lose points and pay the higher fine. But if you plead guilty to a lesser charge, you save yourself money for now, but it'll still cost you in the long run.

 

[stir-fry]

by the way, tickets stay on your record for 3 years, so that stop sign ticket is going to affect you for another year.

 

[Guest]

My insurance went up $50 a month, cuz of a ticket I got last summer doing 150 in a 90 zone outside Ottawa.

I've also lost my licence after losing all my points when I was 19, and I've now spent almost $2000 on tickets. And that doesn't include parking tickets.

The 10 year anniversary of the day I got my licence is coming in 3 weeks, and I now pay $160/mo. on fucking car insurance. Blarghh!

Yes, I drive fast, but I'm extremely aware of my surroundings while behind the wheel.

 

[stir-fry]

Originally posted by Tearer
My insurance went up $50 a month, cuz of a ticket I got last summer doing 150 in a 90 zone outside Ottawa.

I've also lost my licence after losing all my points when I was 19, and I've now spent almost $2000 on tickets. And that doesn't include parking tickets.

The 10 year anniversary of the day I got my licence is coming in 3 weeks, and I now pay $160/mo. on fucking car insurance. Blarghh!

Yes, I drive fast, but I'm extremely aware of my surroundings while behind the wheel.

160/month and you have caused all those problems??

i got in one little fucking fender bender (the dood didn't even claim because the damage was so low).. but he still called my insurance company to report it, and they wanted 400/month from me.

wtf?

 

[Rosey]

Originally posted by stir-fry

wtf?

josh is over 25, you are not. life sucks.

 

[Dr. Grinch]

Originally posted by Tearer
My insurance went up $50 a month, cuz of a ticket I got last summer doing 150 in a 90 zone outside Ottawa.

I've also lost my licence after losing all my points when I was 19, and I've now spent almost $2000 on tickets. And that doesn't include parking tickets.

The 10 year anniversary of the day I got my licence is coming in 3 weeks, and I now pay $160/mo. on fucking car insurance. Blarghh!

Yes, I drive fast, but I'm extremely aware of my surroundings while behind the wheel.

$160/month?
Try $670/month

Insurance sucks..

 

[PosTMOd]

I went to court on just over $600 in fines....

Cop didn't show... I had the biggest grin on my face all day... and the people in the courtroom almost cheered me after they heard the list of charges, and then,"You are free to go..."

And that's not the only time I've got off from shit... horseshoes in my urethra, I tell ya.

I had no insurance for 5 years, back when the fine was $500, but my insurance would have cost me $1800 a year...

Incidentally, it's not ALL charges that make your insurance go up, only moving violations (or criminal charges). So, don't worry if you get dinged for an expired sticker (when I had no insurance, I'd go and peel one off very carefully from someone else's car).

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by Rosey

josh is over 25, you are not. life sucks.

Ross gets another cookie! See, it's not *all* bad to turn 25.

It also helps when your grandfather owns a good chunk of your insurance broker.

 

[Sassy]

I have to go to traffic court in May, I got photographed making a right turn at a red light without stopping first, fine $180 - I am hoping to get the fine reduced to $100 - fuck cameras at intersections its one thing if a cop catches you but to be photographed?!?! I feel violated

 

[The Watcher]

Originally posted by Sassy
I have to go to traffic court in May, I got photographed making a right turn at a red light without stopping first, fine $180 - I am hoping to get the fine reduced to $100 - fuck cameras at intersections its one thing if a cop catches you but to be photographed?!?! I feel violated

How can they tell it was u? Maybe you passed your car to a relative that is gone back home overseas?

Anywho... those picature thingies piss me off.

-Nick