Getting out of a speeding ticket

[walleye vision]

I got tagged going 69 in a 55 in Douglas county. I've never gotten a ticket, and would gladly pay the fine, but want to keep it off my record for insurance purposes. I called the court in Douglas co. and they won't delay my court date (too far to drive anyway) and they say they don't have any way to keep it off my record, even if i pay. Anyone have any thoughts??

[harvey lee]

Do they offer a class where you are guilty but if you go to a 2-3 hour class, they will drop the charges. I attended one in Sibley county for the same thing. I believe I paid $75.00 for the class but the ticket never went on my record. I do know that many other counties offer this option.

[Fazerfish]

I was told that what you do is pay the fine by mail, only pay $5 or $10 more. They will send you a check back for the remainder, and you throw it away. The transaction will remain open because their check never cleared, and it won't go on your record.

I have never tried this, but it sounds like it will work....

I do know from experience that if you request a court date, and go down there, they will ask you to pay half and forgo the judge. It will still be on your record, but you only have to pay half and not waste the courts time.

Of course I said no, because my brother has gotten out of a couple tickets by going to court and the ticketing officer didn't show, so they throw it out. My policeman showed up, and I had to pay the total amount. The judge did say I had a good arguement, but they always go with the cops.

If you do go to court, try and request the court date close to a holiday, ups the chances that the cop won't show, so my brother says...

[slipperybob]

In Ramsey County, you show up to the pay clerk/hearing officer, pay the fine - ask for a price reduction, and you can ask for them to "seal the ticket" so it won't show up on a general check.

[dirtking]

I've tried the few bucks over before and it didn't work!

[Scott K]

If you havent had any other tickets, one speeding ticket shouldnt effect your insurance much, if at all. That and if you dont tell them, they may not ever find out about it either.

[PierBridge]

You have to call the prosecutor for starters and he may be able to work something out...

One ticket will not hurt you as far as insurance goes they more then likely will never find out about it.

[Shack]

I think they offer the class if you deny speeding or kiss some butt. Plus that is given as an option by the officer when you get the ticket, but never hurts to ask. It is up to the officer if you are given the option of class or paying the fine.

Like said above, if you go to the court date on the ticket, talk with the prosecutor, plead guilty and “cop” a deal, you can pay a lesser fine and it stays at the county for a set period of time and gets thrown out after said time is up, as long as you do not repeat offend in that county.

Best option other than the class.

Other neat trick is if you get caught speeding by a timer in a plane, the pilot has to show up in court if you plead “not guilty”. I was told and found out my self a couple years back the pilot never shows and it gets thrown out of court.

As far as ever fighting a ticket, I would suggest not to. You never win and you get hit with the full fine and the ticket goes on your record. “Cop” a deal with the prosecutor, pay less in insurance and have a clean record.

[Shack]

I would never say "never" about them finding out.

I guess if you do not make any policy changes for 5 years you will be ok!

You better like what you are paying, because it we awhile before shopping around can occur.

To some companies, one ticket Especially a 69 in a 55 will make the difference between $600 a year or $1600.00 a year, if they find out or you compare rates.

This how they make their money and they know it!

You can shop around now until it goes on your record. If you just mail in the fine, it will go on your record.

Good luck!

[ib_jigged]

Not to sound like a father, but if you were worried about your record, you should not have been speeding.

I would think that if it is your first one in however many years you have been driving and have not had much for claims the your insurance should not raise that much, if at all.

[fasternu]

I agree, prevention is the cure for anything. One ticket on a clean record should not effect it at all, if your insurance company is reasonable and decent. I had a fender bender a few years ago on an icy day, and they said that since I hadn't had anything in 9 years, it wouldn't affect me at all, they basically just looked the other way and told me don't let it happen again.

[SkunkedAgain]

As a former compulsive speeder, who got out of more tickets than I could ever count, I do have some advice to share. However, the best chance of avoiding a ticket is while you're still talking to the officer. There are countless things that you can do to avoid receiving the ticket, not to mention the things to avoid getting caught in the first place! Now that you've got the ticket in hand, I would do the following:

1) Call the district attorney / prosecuting attorney for that county and ask to schedule a few minutes of his or her time to personally meet. Phone calls work but face-to-face makes a world of difference (#1 it shows that you really do care; #2 it's easier for someone to say "no" over the phone than in person; #3 you can use your personality/charm/looks to influence a decision).

Explain the situation to the D.A. Let them hear your story. I wouldn't lie to them but embellishment may help in certain situations. Either way, you want them to feel some compassion for your situation. Feel free to mention that this is your first violation.

In the end, ask if there is anything that you can do to keep the speeding ticket off of your record. That's usually an indication to the D.A. that you are willing to pay the fine if he changes the violation to a equipment violation or something similar that won't trigger your insurance.

2) If the D.A. won't talk to you or doesn't care, it's still worth going to the court date. You can plead not guilty and hope that the officer does not show. However, be aware that you are often liable for paying the court costs associated with a trial. You can always ask the judge for leniency and plead guilty.

3) In the end, slow down and take it easy. My wallet has gotten quite a bit fatter since I slowed down my driving.

Good luck!

[Jeremy airjer W]

Prepaid Legal Services!

Its your responsibility to operate your vehicle in accordance with all the laws. If your guilty than you should accept the consequences that resulted from your actions.

[Shack]

If one has a clean record and is interested in finding out what your insurance company will do if you get a speeding ticket like the one walleye vision got, give them a call and ask them what your premiums will do.

I think you will be surprised at what you find out.

[Scott K]

I got one about 4 years ago, mine told me as long as it wasnt more then 20mph over, they didnt care. Although, I am sure all companies are different, and I am sure it helps that I insure like 20 different things through them.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

A couple options:

-Plead "guilty", pay the fine, however ask the judge to keep it off your record provided you get no same or similar within 'x' amount of time. Usually a year will do it.

-If it is 10mph or under, it will not go on your record, so ask for a reduction in speed to keep it off.

Just some thoughts after listening to several years of the Barrister on KFAN.

[Shack]

Prepaid Legal Services!

That is how I found out about the pilot legally needed to be in court, along with the citation issuing officer.

Former employer provided it for employees and it came in handy that time

Quote:

-If it is 10mph or under, it will not go on your record, so ask for a reduction in speed to keep it off.

Call and ask Geiko about that . 1 or 19 miles over the limit, they count it.

[hanson]

I'm not exactly sure how insurance companies work with reviewing your driving record for premium adjustments but like Shackbash mentioned, hope you like the company and rates you currently have. You'll probably want to stick with them.

If you plan to shop around, the new companies will be able to see your record. If you get in an accident, your insurance company is going to more than likely adjust your premiums at which point they'll see the ticket.

Lets just say that I have an "incident" on my record that should have caused my rates to go way up. They never did. Its been 4 years now since that happened and I'm under the understanding that 3 years is the max period that can affect your premiums.

I would pay the ticket, ask for a no same or similar within the year. I really wouldn't worry about your insurance. Just don't make any claims and try and avoid accidents.

[18 inch Crappie]

Quote:

Its your responsibility to operate your vehicle in accordance with all the laws. If your guilty than you should accept the consequences that resulted from your actions.

[wplatehunter]

There are a few counties that if you pay a higher fine it will not go on your record, but the only other way to get out of it is going to court and hope the officer does not show up. He or she is getting paid over-time to go, and in most departments a min of 3 hrs, so not going to court would be dumb for them. If you were to go to a court trial and win it would not go on your record but good luck.

[bucketmouth64]

I've taken the advice from the Barrister from kfan. Go to the hearing officer and ask for a suspended sentence and pay the fine. I've done this in Ramsey county about three times for speeding. They give you a letter suspending the sentence for one year. If you do not get another violation in their county within the year the violation stays off your record.

[Tom7227]

2) If the D.A. won't talk to you or doesn't care, it's still worth going to the court date. You can plead not guilty and hope that the officer does not show. However, be aware that you are often liable for paying the court costs associated with a trial. You can always ask the judge for leniency and plead guilty.

As a retired prosecutor I can tell you that in 34 years I never asked the court to assess costs against a defendant and I'm pretty sure it would not have been allowed simply because someone asked for a trial. I can also tell you that the State doesn't always win.

Some courts have a 'continued for dismissal' policy for cases like this. Clean record and no eggregious circumstances allos a person to pay money equivalent to the fine (about $142 for speeding 10 over) and if you don't get another ticket for 12 months the case is dismissed. It's completely up to the prosecutor whether this can occur. The cops have no say as to what happens once there's a tag filed in court. In my experience the cop doesn't show 10-15% of the time for trial and the case is then dismissed. It's your call on whether it's worth it to take a day to go out for the trial.

There used to be a provision that tickets less than 10 mph over limit didn't go on the record. It was called the Dimmler Amendment - it went away.

My suggestion is to talk to your insurance agent to see if it will make a difference. That's where having a live person to talk to that you can trust really makes a difference. Mike across the lake may not have the lowest rate available but I can call and ask him this type of question and it doesn't cost me a cent.

[Shack]

Thanks Tom for your insight!

[upnorth]

You were speeding(breaking the law), you got caught, you were at fault, pay your fine and take you lumps.

[Sandmannd]

I agree with Upnorth. That being said, I would go with what Hanson said and would pay the ticket, ask for a no same or similar within the year.

[Big Tom]

I got my first one in more than 20 years this summer for a 72 in a 65. First inclination was to whine or try and beat it. But given 3 warnings over that period, it made more sense to pay it and move on. Like Robert Blake used to say on Baretta, "don't do the crime if you can't do the time".