I got some traffic tickets.

[GintsO]

I'm shocked because "Failure to produce Driver's License" in my country means that you get: 1st time - warning (erases after 1year), from 2nd time - approx. $4 fine. There is a computer in every police car with access to database. If you tell them your name, they can find your photo and everything else about you and your car in 30 seconds at most.

 

[rajagra]

What does the law say about the placement of the sign? If law requires the sign is placed *at* the junction, and it was not, then no offence has been committed. It would be irrelevant whether you should have seen it or not.

 

[dpm802]

Having read your second post in this thread, I agree you should push the "20 years clean" defense. This appears to be further evidence that the officer was "piling on" charges.

Don't expect to walk out of there without coughing up something, but I would expect a significant reduction in charges.

I'm fully prepared to cough up something. I'm not expecting to pay the full $350, with or without a lawyer.

The only way I would have to pay the full $350 is if I just mail in the fines. Despite the way the poll is running to favor this option, I don't think I will go that route. My current decision is between hiring a lawyer or pleading the case myself.

Do you think the judge will put any weight on the fact that I took a Defensive Driving course within the last year?

If so, it will be well worth the $20 I spent for the course. (It was an online class offered by my insurance company. It saves me 5% of my liability premiums. It took 4 hours to complete, and I have a certificate to show completion.

 

[dpm802]

I'm shocked because "Failure to produce Driver's License" in my country means that you get: 1st time - warning (erases after 1year), from 2nd time - approx. $4 fine.

Yeah, it was a shock to me, too. The fine for this was almost twice that of the moving violations.

The last time I had a Failure to Produce License was about 30 years ago ... the fine back then was around $25.

I see that you're in Latvia. I'm in the United States, and even worse, New Jersey. Stuff like this falls under the heading of "revenue generation."

From the BBC, here's an interesting little side-note about "The Mystery of Ireland's Worst Driver."

 

[ouch]

Do you think the judge will put any weight on the fact that I took a Defensive Driving course within the last year?

I would certainly mention that. Being able to identify yourself as one of the "good guys" used to carry significant weight, but in this age of "revenue generation", I fear it may no longer be the case.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

http://www.ehowa.com/mythoughts/nospeeding.shtml

 

[Gaz]

I asked my bro in law, who is a cop (MI), so ...

Failure to produce Driver's Licence. (I do have my number memorized, and I recited it for the officer.

Anytime an officer asks for ID, you are expected to be able to produce ID, so you broke the law. A judge might accept "I forgot my wallet today" routine and waive or reduce the fine.

Illegal Right turn on Red. (The intersection is NOT clearly marked. The NO TURN sign is actually BEHIND you when you sit at the light.)

It doesn't have be right at the corner so you see it from your car when you are the first car in the right hand turn lane. It needs to be clearly visible in right hand turn lane.

Careless Driving. (Originally quoted as 44 in a 25mph zone, which I found hard to believe. The officer cut me some some slack and wrote it up as Careless Driving.)

Hard to fight the radar...

The fines are $180, $85, and $85, respectively. A lawyer wants $350 to represent me. I can represent myself, or just pay the tickets and not have to go to court.

What do you think I should do?

IMO, represent yourself and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Dress nice (at least a nice, pressed buttondown shirt and khakis), shave , and be polite.Tell them you forgot your wallet and didn't see the sign. If you have a clean record, you stand a chance at a reduced fine.

If you took the driving course of you own free will (ie. the court or insurance Co didn't make you take it), I would mention it (and bring your certificate).

A lot will depend on your past driving and criminal record.

 

[mmack66]

The Failure to show DL was a fluke. 1 time out of 1,000 that I left home without my wallet. Coworkers tell me that if all my documentation is proper and paid-up, I can just show my license to the judge and he will drop that ticket. (Knock on wood.)

This is what happened to me in the past, but that was long before states and municipalities became cash-strapped.

 

[jk3campbell]

I don't know the laws in NJ but before you decide to argue anything here a few points to consider:

1. Were you stopped at the intersection in the appropriate position. Not past stop line or crosswalk or whatever NJ says is the furtherst point into intersection for proper stop. If the sign is next to the stop line you should have seen it unless you also made an inappropriate stop.

2. Look up your laws and read them carefully. I am a police officer in OH and the law says a driver must show satisfactory proof of having a driver's license not that they must have their license on their person. I have been in arguments with several other LE's in OH over this point and heard of several people warned for this when they should not have been. He probably had a LEADS computer in his car and if not his dispatcher ran the number you gave him and found you to be valid anyway. In my cruiser I can run a license and pull up the picture from your license in less than 5 minutes.

3. Don't fight the speed unless you are sure you weren't speeding and can prove it. It's hard to fight radar tickets and the supreme court recently ruled that officers can now write tickets without radar by estimating speed due to the level of training and practice from using radar.

4. One thing I tell people, it is always easier to get off with a warning when you are only breaking one law at a time.

Good Luck

 

[Greyfox]

You are probably going to pay some fines and a lawyers fee however the attorney can probably get the "charges" reduced somewhat and save you some points. In the long run that may be cheaper.

 

[npsarros]

Hire a lawyer.
You will still pay the fines and the lawyer .... but most likely get zero points.

What state are you in? Most places once you show a drivers license that ticket is erased.

 

[Telecaster52]

I have actually seen a badly placed "no turn on red" sign removed after it was contested.

 

[Geeno]

I was waiting my turn in traffic court about 10 years ago in Lawrenceville, GA. A man went before the judge, having been ticketed for a "no right turn on red" sign in downtown area.

The truth is that he didn't live in town, only came through once a month or so for business, and therefore wasn't aware that the town had changed all of downtown traffic with dedicated one-way streets, and a ton of "no turn signs"...many of them hard to see/read.

Sadly, he turned on a red, with an officer right behind him. This officer was not sympathetic to his story.

The judge was slightly more sympathetic...he found him guilty, but reduced the fine by 50%.

I lost my case, too, as did every person who I saw in court that night. In Texas it seems that a lawyer can get your tickets dismissed by making sure your court date is set for a time when the officer can't be there, so they boot it. In Lawrenceville that wasn't the case. Can't say for NJ. Good luck, whatever you decide.

 

[winston61]

one good thing about living in Texass. Take your tickets to any lawyer, give 'em $50.00 and forget about it. Well, unless it's dui or manslaughter.

Yeah, I got pulled over last weekend. 3 offences.

Failure to produce Driver's Licence. (I do have my number memorized, and I recited it for the officer.

Illegal Right turn on Red. (The intersection is NOT clearly marked. The NO TURN sign is actually BEHIND you when you sit at the light.)

Careless Driving. (Originally quoted as 44 in a 25mph zone, which I found hard to believe. The officer cut me some some slack and wrote it up as Careless Driving.)

The fines are $180, $85, and $85, respectively. A lawyer wants $350 to represent me. I can represent myself, or just pay the tickets and not have to go to court.

What do you think I should do?

 

[franz]

I'd say represent yourself, talk about the defensive driving course you took and your clean driving record, and humbly state your case to the judge. They will most likely reduce the charges and fines. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Since you are asking the forum, I am guessing that the points are not the paramount concern or you would have hired a lawyer already. Those who specialize in traffic court cases tend to be quite good at it, FWIW.

 

[denim]

The fines are $180, $85, and $85, respectively. A lawyer wants $350 to represent me. I can represent myself, or just pay the tickets and not have to go to court.

What do you think I should do?

I find it interesting that the lawyer wants the same amount as the fines. Perhaps you'd hand him the money and he'd hand it to the court, case closed.

I'd just pay the ones other than the right-turn-on-red one, and plead my own case on that based on sign placement.

 

[Jethro1984]

Yeah, I got pulled over last weekend. 3 offences.

Failure to produce Driver's Licence. (I do have my number memorized, and I recited it for the officer.

Illegal Right turn on Red. (The intersection is NOT clearly marked. The NO TURN sign is actually BEHIND you when you sit at the light.)

Careless Driving. (Originally quoted as 44 in a 25mph zone, which I found hard to believe. The officer cut me some some slack and wrote it up as Careless Driving.)

The fines are $180, $85, and $85, respectively. A lawyer wants $350 to represent me. I can represent myself, or just pay the tickets and not have to go to court.

What do you think I should do?

Before you do any of the options in your poll first check to see about the Failure to produce DL. It's very shocking that said offense would be more of a fine than two moving violations. But then I don't know NJ law. In Florida, it can be dismissed Administratively by you making a copy of your DL and mailing the copy and the ticket along with like a 10.00 fee to the court, who will dismiss the ticket administratively. I used to use this ticket to make a point of giving a ticket to a driver when I was cutting them a break on something far worse and happened not to have his DL. Check to see if this option is available in NJ.

With regard to your Right on Red that was posted. I see you say that it is posted behind you as you sit at the light. So you can see it as you approach the intersection. Whether or not it must be posted so it is visible at the stop bar (that solid white line) is another matter and would require a look into the NJ Administrative Code (most likely, that's where signage requirements are located in Florida). If there is no requirement for the sign to be posted elsewhere and it's within the proper distance of the intersection, you won't have a legal defense on this one.

With careless driving. First, how in the world could he have seen you make both the red and get to 44mph in a 25 zone. Unless he was following behind you the whole time and pace clocked you. I find it hard to believe that he could be close enough to verify that you made a right on red illegally and then got all the way to 44mph in a 25 from where he would have been parked. Nice of him to give you the break. Now, with regard to this citation, you may be able to grill the officer in court as to why he wrote you a citation that was not for the behavior observed. This will only work if Careless Driving itself cannot be used for a speeding offense. Keep in mind, that even if that were the case and you would win, you'll really **** the guy off and if he's a local cop, he's going to be looking for your car to ding you again soon. This is the reason FHP usually doesn't reduce speeds on tickets. The Troopers are taught that they have to testify to exactly what they clocked and the ticket is evidence of that. If they reduce it, then they have lied on the ticket. Whether this is really a lie or an ethical issues is open for debate but that's the reason they give when people ask for a break.

So first, check on your "Failure to produce DL". See about administrative dismissal. Second, check the NJ Code to see about signage requirements. Third, check to see about Careless Driving statute.

After you have done those 3 things, decide whether you want to pursue hiring a lawyer to possibly avoid points or get the cases thrown out. You wouldn't really need a lawyer if you have answered the three questions above as you could defend yourself to the degree he more than likely could. However, lawyers can be good and sleezy and know of loopholes you could jump through.

With regard of going to court to plead for leniency, this rarely works in traffic court down here. The reason is that technically court is for you to present a legal defense, not to cry to the judge. If something was done wrong, or the citation is unjustified by the law, you can win. Begging to the judge usually results in you losing down here. There is an exception for first time offenders where points are involved. It is called an "Adjudication Withheld". Usually that makes the points drop off, you have no official ruling or plea on the case, and you pay the fine on the ticket and perhaps some court costs. You can ask the judge for this, he/she will review the driving record and may grant it.

Hopefully some of this will help.

 

[Obsessed]

Hire the lawyer. Think if it this way: you pay the fine, or you reprpesent yourself and the tickets stick. No big deal, you say, because of your spotless driving record. Then next week you get a ticket for going 65 in a 55 zone. (Even good drivers do this.) Then your screwed - lots of points on your license and a big increase in your insurance premium.

By he way, the cop cut you a break by wrighting you up for careless drving rather than for going 44 in a 25 zone. (That's likely a zone with kids, buddy - slow it down please. Seriously.) If you fight that one, the cop may be ticked off, figuring that he already cut you a break, and be more inclined to appear in court.

 

[DunEdinRanger]

Dave,

How many points are the tickets? And what is that going to do to your insurance?

 

[dklaiman]

In Minnesota, or at least in the Twin Cities, it's a two step process. The first step is you meet with a referee. At that proceeding, you are given the opportunity to present your case and why you don't think you are guilty of the offenses. You will then be presented with various options: 1-pay a reduced amount and plead guilty to the offenses; 2--pay the full amount (or an increased amount), plead not guity, and, if you have no infractions within a year, your record is clean; 3--convince the referee that no probably cause exists for you to have been pulled over, at which point all charges are dropped; and 4--don't pay anything and get a court date.

If NJ has something similar, I recommend you go with #3 and #4. If the charges aren't dropped, politely call the county attorney and explain the situation. S/he will likely suggest you pay a reduced amount and not have the charges on your record assuming you don't have another moving violation in a year. You'll likely be warned that if you do have a moving violation, your fine from all offenses will increase and all points will go on your record.

If you're not presented with any of these options, I'd show up in court and fight the ticket. It's something everyone should try at least once. If you plan to do that, it probably makes sense to hire a lawyer.

Not that I have any experience in any of this.