A 10 dollar ticket has almost a couple of hundred court fees! A good reason to use the cruise control. "The actual fine is only $10 for a ticket for someone going 1 to 10 mph over the speed limit. The fine is $20 for those driving 11 to 15 mph over the speed limit. The rest is court costs and a slew of fees that are tacked on, Hickman said."
Same here in PA........A $60.00 "actual" fine costs you $160.00. I mean I'm not really complaining as I would hope it would be a good deterance to asshole drivers but still. Wife recently got a speeding ticket, it was reduced but total cost of original was $125.00, we got a refund of $25.00 after dropping it to a non point charge. Mind you, don't know how they do it where you are but all this money has to be paid up front within 10 business days before proven guilty of anything.
They assume most people won't ask for a trial, which is where you would try and prove you're not guilty. If you don't ask for a trial, it's considered an admission of guilt, and there goes your money.
Huh? If you sign the ticket without trial that's admission & you accept the responsibility, that's normal isn't it? If you pay & sign the not innocent box you show up & still lose by a reduction in the charge & they still keep most of the money. That's the point I made wasn't it??
I don't see your logic here? All you did was explain the process which is normal, are you making more out of it that I'm not understanding?
Is he wearing a helmet at least?
Correct.
Yes.
If you show up to bitch about the ticket, that's a hearing, not a trial. At least here in NY, you can request an actual trial. It won't involve a jury, but it will require that the cop show up, as well as an assistant D.A. If you're pretty sure of yourself, the trial can work to your advantage because so many cops are stupid, don't understand the law, or won't show up at all.
My son beat a disorderly conduct charge this way. At the first hearing, the judge tried to get him to admit guilt. My son had read the law and correctly determined that it didn't apply to what he'd done. He demanded a trial. The cop showed up and stumbled all over himself. The judge told the cop that next time he came to a trial, he should be as well versed in the law as a 19 year old kid.
On Mar 4, 10:20=A0am, ByTor wrote:
If you sign the ticket, that just means you agree to show up in court. Or just plead guilty and send them the money. If you go to court to fight the charge, and you win, you don't pay anything, and there are no penalties to your driving record. If someone got a reduced fine, that means they either pleaded guilty, or were found guilty in the trial they requested, and got a reduced fine just out of mercy on the part of the judge.
I once went to court over a ticket I was totally guilty of , and still won. :) I got a ticket of blocking a moving lane of traffic because the people ahead of me were not moving, and I couldn't back up due to people behind me. "I was crossing a boulevard after leaving a city park." A cop comes driving up, and being I blocked the lane, he gave me a ticket. Guilty as sin too really.. But I took it to court thinking I would lose, but maybe get a reduced fine. But.. the cop got into court, and gave his spiel and even drew the cars on a chalkboard showing the lanes, etc.. But.. He got it all wrong, and I had to correct his map.. :/ Hickey #1.. :) Then I told the judge that normally I don't block moving lanes of traffic, but I got stuck because the car ahead of me got stuck and stalled out. In reality, I don't think he was stalled, just stuck in the same line I was in.. But I told the judge he stalled out just to give me a little bit of an alibi. The cop couldn't prove it one way or the other.. I knew that, or I wouldn't have said it. Case dismissed.. :) The cop looked ill.. But he blew it and he knew it. I felt like Perry Mason's long lost stepchild. Chortle.. :/ Didn't pay a cent. I did have to go to court though, which is a general pain in the rear, being it's downtown. Better than paying a fine though. Moral.. take it to court, even if you are guilty.. You will usually come out better even if you lose. You might get lucky and win.
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