Advice?? please help...

[shnen]

Hey guys...
this morning on my way to work I got a huge speeding ticket... I cannot afford the points, nor the cash...
has anyone fought one of these before? please help! :(

[Old Witch]

Right to the chase........Were you speeding?? and if you were, were you speeding as much as he ( or she ) said you were? First thing, have your speedometer checked, those things can and do get crazy and not register as they should..... Then see if you can find out about other tickets he gave this am....... If a "radar" gun was used, those things can and do get crazy and not register like they should.............

[shnen]

I passed him, he said he had me on raidar...

[Old Witch]

Having said all of the above, do things work the same in Canada as here?:)

[shnen]

I have nooo idea.... any suggestions tho might be useful here...

[Phoenix Blue]

First and foremost. . . like OW asked, were you speeding? And if you were, was it by as much as the cop says you were?

If you were speeding, the best thing to do is pay the fine as best you can. If you fight it in court and lose, you'll have to pay even more. But if you weren't speeding, then by all means take to court and force the city to present everything. . . if the Canadian legal system works like the American system, you're innocent until proven guilty--which means not only proving he tagged you on radar, but also proving that his radar device was accurate at the time he took the reading.

[WandererInGray]

*Nods* I'd also ask....were you the only person on the road?
Often the "I was just following traffic" defense works in court....at least here in the US it does.

*shrugs* It does come down to if you were speeding or not. *soft smile* The number of times I've gotten busted I had no clue how fast I was going, so I just had to suck it up and write the check.

[Flaire-FireStar]

I'm not sure what it's like in ON, but here in BC, I don't radar is supposed to be used anymore. :eek: (Gods bless those Liberals...:blushake: )

[Tammy Sullivan]

Here in the U.S. you can get the cop to rip the ticket up if you do it quick. Do you know any other cops? They will usually do it for one of their own, ask for a favor.

[Flar's Freyja]

I had one for, believe it or not, running a YELLOW light.......thank Goddess I had an attorney friend who fixed things so that I just paid a fine but it didn't go on my insurance.

I really should have fought it, though. The state trooper could not possibly have seen what caused me to have my rear end in the intersection when the light changed :(

Since this thread hasn't turned Silly yet, I'm moving it to Just Talk as you might get more input there.

[LunarSun]

One thing that has been a growing thing in the SE US is pleading to Careless & Negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Sounds worse that it is.

Basically, you plead to this, pay a higher fine(generally), and the speeding ticket is dismissed.

It has become a source of income here, mainly for small towns. By the way, here, at last check, C&N does not carry any points - so it does not affect insurance. Maybe you also have this option.

I would check it out. :) Good Luck!!! :thumbsup:

[Flar's Freyja]

:T Yes, ask Flar about it being a source of income. He got a speeding ticket in my county and said that the fees were more than the fine :woah:

[LunarSun]

Something like 2 or 4 points and $70 or so for the ticket VS $275 for C&N. Still cheaper than the potential increase in insurance rates. :)

[flar7]

insurance rates are a funny thing.....
I have had three speeding tickets (very guilty) in the last 3-4
years, and my insurance hasnt gone up one nickel.
In fact I got a rebate when I just happened to mention that I was
divorced and had been for awhile when at the office last year. Seems
it was cheaper without the spouse on the record!

Unfortunately, I know of no one around my area who has ever
beaten a speeding ticket given by radar.

I have had a few tickets over the years, and in general I will confess
that I had damn near every one of them coming to me. Its like
playing the lottery......sometimes you can get lucky and sometimes
not.

As to get out of the fine?
Lawyer advice? (hopefully free, if you know one.) or you do
need to know a cop.

this is an Oklahoma point of view. Come visit us, we need the income.....
:eek: Hulbert is one of the most famous speed traps in oklahoma....
was mentioned on the David Letterman show a few(8)? years back! No Oklahoma native speeds in Hulbert.:rolleyes:

[psychostasis]

take it to court, shnen. I've had 2 friends do this in ontario - with one the cop didn't show up in court so the case was thrown out (the guy saved several hundred dollrs), in the other my buddy went to court and admitted he was speeding but explained to the judge (with all due respect) how he needed to keep his transportation so he could finish school. His ticket got reduced from 80 over the limit to as if he was doing 40 over. A third had to go in when all his points were gone, they made him go to traffic school and the people there decided if he could have his license back.

[Flar's Freyja]

Originally posted by flar7

I have had a few tickets over the years, and in general I will confess that I had damn near every one of them coming to me. Its like playing the lottery......

:eek: So you admit it, eh? :smooch:

[Draven31]

Dont know if it works in canada but what about defensive driving class? I've done that for a ticket before.You just pay for the class and they waive the fine and it doesnt go on your insurance.They even have comedy defensive driving classes now or you can rent a tape at Blockbuster and watch it when ever ..

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Traffic school is the way to go if you don't want the points. You gotta pay something but not near the cost of the ticket. If you don't go to school but go the court, be sure to go! If you don't, here they can suspend your licesense which cost a small fortune to get reinstated. (I know from experience.)

I had a friend in college who got a ticket and she didn't have the money to pay it so she took up a collection in our dorm. Everybody just threw in their pocket change. She got enough to pay the fine with some left over to blow!