Traffic Tickets: Fight or Pay
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If the number of Internet sites devoted to this topic is any gauge, negative feelings about traffic tickets are second only to hatred of the I.R.S. in American hearts and minds. But can you fight a ticket? Should you try?
Traffic tickets fund many local court systems, and justify the existence of state highway patrols. Traffic tickets also benefit auto insurance companies, who raise your rates if you're found guilty. (1) Some insurance companies actually purchase and donate radar and laser equipment to police departments. (2) Total revenue estimates run as high as $15 billion dollars every year from fines and insurance surcharges. (3)
If you're found guilty, the legal consequences vary from state to state and even from city to city. Your best (and most expensive) advice will come from a local attorney who specializes in traffic cases. For the do-it-yourselfer, here are some tips and online resources.
- Don't argue the case with the traffic officer. (4) He's already decided to write the ticket. Use your time at the scene of the incident to collect information. Weather and traffic conditions, the time, your exact location, the police car license number--these may all be important later. Especially important is your copy of the ticket. (5) [Note: officers are generally NOT required to show you radar gun read-outs. (6)]
- Determine your options--from a qualified source (auto club, local reference librarian, traffic court clerk). If you get your information from the court clerk, don't argue your ticket with her, either. She can't dismiss your case, and you'll just make her more reluctant to help you with information she can supply. In some jurisdictions, attending traffic school will make the ticket go away. You can register for classes--or even attend--online. See, for example,
Arizona ticket dismissal class information. Remember, traffic school is a "sure thing." Fighting a ticket is not1x
You've decided to fight the ticket. Now what? File an official notification that you're challenging the ticket. Pay special attention to timing--missing a filing deadline is death. Make notes of all phone calls and conversations; keep copies of every piece of paper.
The government must prove three things: that your vehicle was at the site; that you were driving at the time; and that, while driving, you broke a law. (7) To refute these arguments, collect data. Get a copy of the law you're accused of breaking. Get more information about the scene of your ticket (this link has advice on such). Find out as much information as you can from the police and prosecution. See "Preparing Your Defense." Learn about radar equipment, if applicable. Look at "The Problems With Police Radar" and "Fighting the Typical Radar Ticket."
Your trial date has arrived. Now what? First, show up. Failure to appear equals a guilty verdict in most cases. Second, dress to impress and watch your language. Courts of law are notoriously old-fashioned about attire and behavior. (8) Third, watch how other cases go. If you've drawn Hanging Judge Roy Bean, you may want to change your plea. (9)
Lastly, use your head. This is not the time to debate the constitution. Still, thinking on your feet may save the day. A 42-year-old Pennsylvania man decided to fight his late-night speeding ticket--on the advice of friends, who assured him that night cops never show up for daytime traffic court. The friends were wrong; the officer appeared. The defendant had collected none of the data recommended here. But he remembered that he'd passed a blue Ford Escort identical to his just before he received his ticket. He suggested that the officer may have confused the two vehicles. The judge asked the officer if, in the mountainous western Pennsylvania terrain, the defendant's car had ever been out of view. "Just for a few seconds, when it went behind a hill," sputtered the officer. Case dismissed. (10)
For more information see:
"How To Beat a Speeding Ticket"
National Motorists Association website
Traffic ticket website
Mr. Traffic's Fighting Traffic Ticket Tips
California Ticket Defense Information
By Paula Damiano
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Sources/reference notes:
(1) "A gold mine in fines" by Michael J. Berens. The Dispatch. Nov. 17, 1996. http://www.dispatch.com/news/special/wheelsofjustice/woj1Agoldminefines.html
(2) "The Economics Behind Free Laser Guns." http://www.motorists.org/issues/tickets/free_lasers.html
(3) "The Traffic Ticket System" by James J. Baxter. http://www.motorists.org/issues/tickets/traffic_ticket_system.html
(4) "Avoiding Tickets." http://www.motorists.org/issues/tickets/avoiding_tickets.html
(5) "Get a ticket? Now what?" http://metalal.unc.edu/rdu/tick-fig.html
(6) "Avoiding Tickets." op. cit.
(7) "Statutory Requirements For Prosecutors." http://www.motorists.org/issues/tickets/Statutory_requirements.html
(8) "Fighting Undeserved Traffic Ticket Tips." http://mrtraffic.commrttix.htm
(9) "The Most Important Five Minutes of Court." http://speeding.skyline.net/five.html
(10) David R., Orwigsburg PA. Conversation with author.
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