How to Beat a Speeding Ticket

Traffic law, Money

By Jessica Walters

Getting a speeding ticket can ruin your day faster than you just ran that stop sign.speeding ticket If you get a speeding ticket, there are a few important things to remember. Speeding ticket attorney Dan Samas of Seattle, Washington offers the following advice for your next traffic stop:

  1. Keep your cool. Being rude to a police officer isn’t going to help your case here.  Smile, be courteous, and resist rolling your eyes at the officer. Arguing isn’t going to change an officer’s mind about whether you deserve a ticket;  being nice will at least keep him from dragging you out of the car for a sobriety test.
  2. Don’t admit guilt. Any admission of guilt can be written down by the officer and used against you at your speeding ticket hearing. If the officer asks why you think you’ve been pulled over, don’t make guesses out loud; claiming you believed you were going at or under the speed limit is best. Also, don’t claim to have no idea how fast you were going; this could also be used against you when denying your speeding in court.
  3. Ask for a warning. A police officer can use discretion when issuing a ticket; bringing up your good driving record and promising to be more careful (without admitting guilt, of course) may get you out of a ticket, if you’ve been courteous to the officer. Mentioning that you’re concerned about your insurance or losing your job (if a clean record is required) can help the officer realize you are normally careful when it comes to your driving and that a warning might suffice this time.

You Got a Ticket. Now What?

If you got a ticket despite your charm (not to mention your innocence, of course), it’s not over. You have options once a speeding ticket is issued:

  1. You can pay the ticket in full. This will automatically go on your driving record, which in turn will be reviewed by your insurance agency and likely result in an increase in insurance costs.
  2. You can ask for a mitigation hearing. A mitigation hearing acknowledges that you have in fact committed a moving violation, and that you are asking the judge to reduce the fine associated with the ticket.
  3. You can contest the traffic ticket. An experienced speeding ticket lawyer will review your speeding ticket, analyze the technical details of the speeding ticket, and move to dismiss the ticket entirely based on these findings. Another benefit of retaining a lawyer is that your attorney has the ability to negotiate with the prosecutor, moving to amend your ticket so that it does not affect your insurance.

When to Fight a Speeding Ticket

As a general guideline, it is always worth fighting a moving violation, such as a speeding ticket or disobeying a traffic control device. Moving ticket violations can detrimentally effect your insurance, and in some instances can also affect your employment or driving privileges. On the other hand, non-moving violations, such as expired tabs, do not generally effect your insurance, so you may consider just paying these fines.