Yep. Today I got my first speeding ticket…and I have a couple of questions. First, let me explain that I have just moved into small rural the college town of Millersville, Pennsylvania. I was travelling back home from work going a bit too fast over the posted speed limit, and really shouldn’t have been since I don’t know the area to well. Anyway there were a couple of things that confused me…since it’s my first ticket ( I’m only 18).
First off, the fine was about $71, bust wwhat are the extra fees related to?(E.M.S,CAT,COSTS,and J.C.P/A.T.J) I assume E.M.S is emergency medical services, but the others? And.... for any tickets i may recieve in the future- Are these extra costs only related to speeding, or do they include them in every "Citation"?
They are included in all traffic citations. I was speeding on I-83 in PA and got pulled over. The policeman cited me for “failing to obey a traffic control sign”, which he said was the least expensive ticket they made and carried no points. The citations was for $25. The total cost after all that other stuff was $105,
Also included in every ticket is a hike in your insurance rate and a stern lecture from Mom and Dad! One ticket (even at 18) shouldn’t ding you too bad, but watch out for that second one. Now that you know how the town pays for it’s EMS services and such . . .
The fines are not that much but when you take into account the points that can be put on your lisence, the insurance rate will really get you. IANALawyer(and this is not binding legal advice) but if you can, try to fight it. You may be able to get the charg reduced and therefor the amount of points reduced. As far as I know, if the police officer does not show up to court, you can get the charge thrown out. The worst that I can think of happening is that you have to pay the full fine and court costs(and missed time from work). But in my personal experience, it is a gamble that I would take to have the points reduced. Since this is your first offence, they might give you a break.
I’ve asked a couple of others and got the same reply, but when I asked how they didn’t really seem to know. It’s seems like the best option as I don’t have much to lose. If anyone knows of a cite for information on fighting traffic tickets in a magistrial court, I’d love to know.
Good Luck! I used to live in PA and every magistrate I ever heard of was a total A** when it came to tickets. They never give breaks, this is income to them. Eat the ticket.
Unless of course you can find out who his best lawyer buddy is and pay him about $500 to make it go away. If the cop dosen’t show up in a PA court they will sit your case aside while they phone him and tell him to show up. He will be there in less than an hour. Without a lawyer you don’t have a chance. Best advice, slow down and watch out.
Check around about the PA way of doing things. Here in Wisconsin it is always worth your while to go to court. You are able to plead “no contest” which basically means “I can’t prove that I didn’t do this, but…can we deal?” Then they usually offer to drop the points from four to three, which means your insurance company is NOT automatically notified. This is a good deal. A four point violation means higher insurance rates, no way around it. If you can get the points reduced, IMHO it’s worth skipping a class or missing a half day of work.
I found all this out the hard way when I was 18. I got a ticket, and didn’t tell my old man. I just paid the ticket. When my Dad’s rates raised, I was the recipient of a well deserved dope slap.
Allow the parent who had three teenage drivers living at home at the same time to chime in.
First, you won’t beat the ticket, at least as far as money goes. Either pay the fine, or hire a lawyer to get it knocked down to a non-point violation, and pay the lawyer.
Second, it’s not the money, it’s the points. They’re magic little red flags that get waved in front of your insurance company. By the time we had all three kids driving, we were basically uninsurable.
Ah, well my hopes of winning a fight against this seemed pretty miniscule anyway. But as far as pleading “no contest” and hoping to get points knocked off, Do I just go in at the time of my court date and say “I plead no contest and I was hoping to get the violation reduced” or something of the like?
More bad news for you I am afraid. In PA, unlike most states, going to court can only result in the entire conviction upheld or overturned. They can not knock off points or give PBJ, or reduce the fine or anything. Your only chance, by going to court, is to hope the officer doesn’t show. Since so few people in PA bother with court for tickets, maybe you have a chance at that. I really don’t know.
Does Pennsylvania have the traffic-school alternative, the way we do? You go to court, ask for traffic school, take 8 hours of class, and the ticket gets taken off your record. It costs more in time and money than just paying the fine, but it saves on the insurance premiums, so you come out ahead.
You can’t do the school more than once in two years.
One thing I have found in the past, espicially with a first ticket that does not require that you show up to court (second ones usally do), is that if you show up to court you have to have a statement from your insurance company (NOT the card that they send a signed statement) that proves that you were covered at the time of the infraction. Often times when you just pay the ticket by mail they do not require this statement from your insurance company. This is the way your insurance finds out that you got a ticket and this is what raises your rates. They depend on you to tell them that you have gotten a ticket or have been in an accident, they don’t comb thru the state records without a reason or suspection. I have side-stepped rate increases a couple of times over the years by just paying off that first ticket and “forgetting” to tell the insurance company. :rolleyes: Read the back of the ticket, it will tell you what proof of insurance is required under either circumstance.
If you do get that second ticket at age 18 they will probably cancle your policy or put you into a high risk catagory anyway. It usually works like this, mom and pop have great insurance, get great rates and let you ride on thier policy while you are in school. You get two tickets, insurance company jacks dad’s rates up thru the nose and you get told that driving is a privilage that you will have the opportunity to pay for yourself. It was a while ago, but I remember being 18.
Don’t know where you folks are finding your data-I’m a lifelong PA resident, and have had tickets thrown out when the officer didn’t show-the magistrate gave them the same 15 minutes grace he’d have given me, and have also met with a LEO prior to a hearing and plead down a ticket to lower points/fine. Friends and LEOs that are members of this board say the same thing, as long as you weren’t a jerk when stopped, you have a chance to get in a plea and have it go your way.
I second what MaryEFoo said- do you dudes have “traffic school”? Here in CA, the cost is the same, but it doesn’t affect your driving record, or your insurance.
It’s been a while since I was ticketed in PA, but if I recall correctly CAT is for an insurance program against catastrophic losses and JCP stands for “Judicial Computer Project.” I don’t know about COSTS, but I’d guess it’s a surcharge for judicial costs in processing the ticket. Basically, the Pennsylvania legislature passed laws saying it was OK to tack costs for special projects onto traffic fines.
Don’t be so sure. My daughter paid her first speeding ticket by mail. The court didn’t ask for anything other than a check. Our insurance company knew everything about the ticket before she got around to telling her parents.
