Got a Speeding Ticket: Now What? (Need Answer Soon-ish)

[samclem]

@Lisaren

Make arrangements to take the 8 hour safe driving class ($85.00) go to court the day you are scheduled and show them the certificate from the course (you may be able to go to the clerks office before court day - it is worth a try). You will probably be reduced to improper equipment. It is a slightly higher fine, but no insurance points. If you know any police officers ask them is this works for a 15 over ticket - I know for a fact it works for 12 over as of this past May.

Court date is Oct.23. Probably not enough time to do what you wisely suggest.

Also, 15+ 0ver ain’t 12 over.

[purplehearingaid]

@Sodalite

“She”, actually. I was trying not to miss my appointment. This was on a Thursday. I hadn’t kept solid food down since Tuesday. I was running late because I was vomiting again. I wanted to get there on time and before I could throw up on myself in case they wanted to send me back to the hospital for more tests. The idea of being covered in my own vomit for hours while I waited for the hospital folks to get their act together did not appeal to me. I’ve done it before. No fun.

They did want to send me for a CT scan but I talked them into waiting on my blood test results. I only have one kidney, the contrast solution causes acute kidney damage and that has put me back in the hospital before. Again, no fun.

I’m definitely not saying that going faster was a good idea. It’s just that at the time, I felt so bad, I wasn’t really thinking about how fast I was going. It’s not like I’m a habitual speeder. Seriously. Second ticket in my life with fifteen years between them.

My ex husband got a speeding ticket when he was trying to get home to see why I was not answering the phone . I had gotten sick while getting a bath and passed out . My doctor wrote a letter for my ex husband to bring to court and the police told him if he had told him why he was speeding he would had escort him home . The ticket was dropped.

[Isosleepy]

@samclem

Because this is NC. Without getting a lawyer, he/she will possibly get convicted of driving 61 in a 45mph.

If they hire a lawyer and pay the fines, the ticket will be reduced to a non-speeding offense. No points, no insurance rate increase.

This. A thousand times this.
You are caught in a racket. Is is a 15+ over in NC. This is not some speeding ticket someone else once had somewhere else, this is you caught in a setup where if you get the lawyer you will almost certainly get the outcome you seek, and where if you don’t you most likely will not. You might get really lucky and your doctor’s note does the trick, but that’s a big risk you can cover for <$600.

[Zsofia]

@Clothahump

Is it possible for you to “burn” the ticket by taking a defensive driving course? If so, do that. You’ll probably have to pay some court costs, but the ticket is dismissed and you will probably get a discount on your car insurance for taking the course.

At least here (SC) you don’t get the insurance break for taking a course if you’re ordered to take it.

[Sodalite]

I went to court today by myself. I had the note from my doctor but I didn’t really need it. It seems that I live in a pretty unusual county.

They had us sign a sheet outside the courtroom. Then had everyone come in about 10 minutes before proceedings were due to start. A deputy at the front of the room told us to relax, cracked a couple of jokes. He told us there would be no judge and that we would just be seeing District Attorneys. That the DAs were not allowed to give us legal advice but that he could. The atmosphere was really laid back. He gave us some examples of our best options and things got started. I was in and out in 20 minutes. It was first come, first served and I had gotten there early. When the DA called my name I went up and she looked at my charges. She asked about my previous ticket and said she could work with me. She reduced it to improper equipment. I had the slightly cheaper option of getting the speed reduced, but I took the deputy’s advice from earlier, and accepted the ($40 more) non-moving violation instead. No points on my license that way. I was out the door for $269.40 total. I got a letter from my insurance company yesterday. They’ve lowered my rate. I guess that means they really are going to disregard this ticket.

If this had to happen I’m glad it was here. The next county over, Mecklenburg, is a scary, strict place. If I ever have to go there I will definitely get a lawyer after all the stuff I’ve seen in this thread.

[gotpasswords]

Glad it worked out decently cheap.

The funny thing is that my husband’s speeding ticket was in Mecklenburg. Perhaps we were lucky that the court was just overwhelmed that day that they were offering the “plead to four over and get out” option.