However, try not to wait more than 30 seconds to find a safe spot. This video describes 20 speeding tickets defenses and how to beat a speed. If served, set a hearing, pleading "Not responsible." Disprove the plaintiff (private company) in court; win. All financial products, shopping products and services are presented without warranty. Maryland Uniform Traffic Citation Payment Kiosk. Looking for Fight Traffic Ticket in another state? Heres what to know about your options. How to Fight a Speeding Ticket - What to Do in 10 Steps Contents Remain calm and respectful Sign the paper copy of the ticket Check your contact information on your ticket copy Make sure you know how to handle the citation Read the instructions on how to pay your speeding ticket Attend defensive driving school instead of paying the fine NerdWallet writer Philip Reed contributed to this report. We believe everyone should be able to make financial decisions with confidence. You should only plead "guilty with explanation" if you were speeding due to an emergency. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); jQuery(document).on(click, .wpcf7-submit, function(e){ Consider hiring a traffic ticket lawyer PRIOR to your court appearance (s). Write down the make, model, license plate and unit number of the officer's car. Your case will be given a trial date and assigned to a hearing officer or a judge depending on how severe the violation is and the possible penalties you could face. You can look forward to: Now make sure to pull a copy of your driving record to ensure that it is clear. How Do I Fight a Red Light Camera Ticket in Pennsylvania? Traffic Tickets - Getting an Attorney's Help The judge is the person overseeing the case, who has final authority on the rulings. If there are any discrepancies in the nature of the violation, you can dispute the ticket within 30 days. You will need to post collateral with the court, usually the cost of the ticket plus court costs or request a waiver of reduction. These methods include Pacing, Aircraft Speed Detection, Manual Distance Timing ( VASCAR ), Laser and/or electronic Distance Timing (ENRADD) and Radar. Reviewing Your Ticket 1 Check your ticket for accuracy. Your email address will not be published. Super Speeder Fee: Additional charge of $200 if you're caught going at least 85 miles per hour or at least 75 miles per hour on a two-lane roadway. The court handling the ticket should be included on the ticket. If you plead guilty, over the next six years you may end up paying close to $2500 extra, you'll be getting that much closer to . Besides paying the initial fee, after a ticket, your car insurance rates can rise by hundreds of dollars per year. How to beat a speeding ticket. For example, you could prove you were driving the proper speed or the radar reading was inaccurate. This will give you more time to build your case. As Commanding General, he led the Union Army to victory in the American Civil War in 1865 and thereafter briefly served as secretary . If you are found guilty, you will also have to pay the penalties and fines. Your trial will occur within 45 days of the day you enter you plea. This will, however, result in the same consequences as pleading guilty. Unfortunately, enrolling in a defensive driving course will not reduce points on your Pennsylvania driving record. Traffic tickets usually contain instructions on how to contest or enter a 'not-guilty' plea. Most drivers have sped at one point or another, even if just a couple of miles per hour over the speed limit. If you ask for a hearing, plan to make your case and be questioned before a judge. When the officer asks you, "Do you know why I stopped you? Instead, give a noncommittal answer like, "I'm not really sure.". This is different from most states, which use tiered penalties (e.g. Plan your questions. However, this can only be used once. The speed limit in Pennsylvania school zones is 15 miles per hour. If you are considering fighting your speeding ticket, we have listed some strategies that might come handy: Show Up & Get Lucky As weird as it might seem, if you show up in the court as decided and the issuing officer doesn't, you'll automatically win without having to do anything at all. Over the phone by calling (800) 492-2656. You can then choose to fight the ticket in court, negotiate a lesser penalty or pay the speeding ticket and accept the ding to your driving record and the higher insurance premiums likely to. Call (614) 361-2804. Stick to questions with short answers and avoid asking why questions. Answering that you were speeding can be taken as an admission of guilt and sabotage your chances of successfully fighting the ticket. You normally must appear in person to inform the court, although some are now allowing other options. No matter what happens, you must be polite and submissive. Fighting with the police officer never increases your chances of leniency. A typical plea agreement would be to reduce a 5 speeding ticket to 4 points; from 4 points down to 2 points, and so on. Speeding in a school zone or exceeding a speed limit by 11 to 15 miles per hour. Immediately put on your hazard lights to show you are respectful of the safety of other drivers on the road. Prepare to achieve this goal. if( jQuery(.ajax-loader).hasClass(is-active) ) { Compare over 50 top car insurance quotes and save. If it is at night, turn on your interior lights Then place your hands on the top of your steering wheel palms up, facing your face. You want to see how much a conviction would affect your insurance premiums and whether the raise would be more or less than it would be if you simply accepted responsibility and paid the fine. Find out how to fight a speeding ticket or other traffic offense, and when you should hire our speeding ticket lawyers to help you. You should also expect to pay: At Berman Law, our traffic attorneys can help you review your ticket and add up all the costs associated with your speeding or traffic violation, so you can decide whether you want to contest the ticket. Visit 800 Spring Garden St. on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Wed appreciate if youd take a few minutes to explain where we went wrong. You have the right to remain silent. If the officer says he will get a search warrant, politely tell him to do so and continue to refuse a search. The vast majority of speeding tickets are resolved via plea agreement. How Long Do You Have to Pay a Speeding Ticket? The defendant is you, as you're the person fighting charges. You'll receive an appeal letter that contains state vehicle codes to boost your case. You can get certain records at the DMV that can help you with your case. Provide us with some details on why you believe the citation issued is a mistake. I checked my speedometer." If convicted of vehicular homicide in an active work zone, drivers will be given up to five additional years of jail time. You can try representing yourself or retain an attorney to negotiate on your behalf or fight the ticket. Because of this, you need to know EXACTLY what the officer used to measure your speed. We have helped over 300,000 people with their problems. document.getElementById( "ak_js_3" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. In some areas, you must request mitigation in writing. You're only two minutes away from getting your PA speeding ticketdismissed using these steps: It's really that simple! If you're searching for an easy way to get out of a speeding ticketin Pennsylvania or any other state, DoNotPay can help. If the officer was in the wrong jurisdiction or enforcing the wrong code for the area, for example, the judge would likely rule in your favor. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money. Motorists must enter a 'not-guilty' plea within ten days of being issued to fight a Pennsylvania traffic ticket. Instruction manuals include maintenance schedules you can question the officer about, and they may note radar gun weaknesses, for example. If you recently received a traffic ticket in Pennsylvania, and have the means to prove it was issued. var gform;gform||(document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",function(){gform.scriptsLoaded=!0}),window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",function(){gform.domLoaded=!0}),gform={domLoaded:!1,scriptsLoaded:!1,initializeOnLoaded:function(o){gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?o():!gform.domLoaded&&gform.scriptsLoaded?window.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",o):document.addEventListener("gform_main_scripts_loaded",o)},hooks:{action:{},filter:{}},addAction:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("action",o,n,r,t)},addFilter:function(o,n,r,t){gform.addHook("filter",o,n,r,t)},doAction:function(o){gform.doHook("action",o,arguments)},applyFilters:function(o){return gform.doHook("filter",o,arguments)},removeAction:function(o,n){gform.removeHook("action",o,n)},removeFilter:function(o,n,r){gform.removeHook("filter",o,n,r)},addHook:function(o,n,r,t,i){null==gform.hooks[o][n]&&(gform.hooks[o][n]=[]);var e=gform.hooks[o][n];null==i&&(i=n+"_"+e.length),gform.hooks[o][n].push({tag:i,callable:r,priority:t=null==t?10:t})},doHook:function(n,o,r){var t;if(r=Array.prototype.slice.call(r,1),null!=gform.hooks[n][o]&&((o=gform.hooks[n][o]).sort(function(o,n){return o.priority-n.priority}),o.forEach(function(o){"function"!=typeof(t=o.callable)&&(t=window[t]),"action"==n?t.apply(null,r):r[0]=t.apply(null,r)})),"filter"==n)return r[0]},removeHook:function(o,n,t,i){var r;null!=gform.hooks[o][n]&&(r=(r=gform.hooks[o][n]).filter(function(o,n,r){return!! If you find discrepancies with your credit score or information from your credit report, please contact TransUnion directly. You're only asking questions. If you do end up accepting the speeding ticket, its crucial to compare car insurance quotes; some companies will raise your rates more than others. In Pennsylvania, the fines are based on the exact speed at a price of $2 per mile per hour past five over the limit. 9 Best Car Insurance Companies of March 2023, The Difference Between Comprehensive and Collision Coverage, Get more smart money moves straight to your inbox. 1. Contact the Pennsylvania traffic court in the county where you received your citation for more specific information on how to enter your plea of not guilty. One of the easiest ways to pay for your speeding ticket in PA, especially if you do not live in Pennsylvania, is by paying it online. Alabama; Alaska; . Speed and red light cameras are a type of automated enforcement technology used to detect and deter speeders and red light runners. Also, pay attention to the traffic conditions and look especially for extenuating circumstances that could have caused inadvertent speeding. If convicted of failing to drive at a safe speed while driving 11+ mph above the posted speed limit or involved in a crash in an active work zone, you will automatically lose your license for 15 days. In fact, roughly half of the drivers who do take a speeding ticket to traffic court end up winning the fight. If your driving record is otherwise spotless and the ticket is for 11 or less miles over the speed limit, the least expensive option is to enter a plea of No Contest or Guilty and pay the fine. The state of Pennsylvania bases the amount of your speeding fine on how fast you were going and what the speed limit was in the area where you were caught speeding. Anything you say can be used against you if you go to court. If you choose this option, be sure to return the plea and payment by the time stated on the ticket to prevent a bench warrant from being issued for your arrest. A jury will usually not be called in for traffic court. You should get documents on the radar device used to determine your speed to check for any malfunctions or recent repairs. To do so, the prosecutor will usually call up the officer who issued your citation and ask him a series of questions in an attempt to establish his reliability. This will not work on every police officer, so the driver will need to read them to see what might be effective. Some get lucky when driving over the speed limit, while others get caught and are hit with hefty fines. ; some companies will raise your rates more than others. If you ignore it, you may have to pay additional fines and your driver's license can be suspended. NOTE: This blog article is for advertising and general informational purposes only, and should not be relied upon by any individual seeking to represent himself or herself in any legal proceeding in any jurisdiction. Note that paying your speeding ticket in PA is considered an admission of guilt. Missing or incorrect information on your ticket may be grounds for dismissal. Nobody wants to get a speeding ticket, and for good reason. However, that isnt the only cost youll be assessed. If convicted, your charges could result in, You (or your attorney) and the PA state prosecutor submit. If you've lost your ticket, contact the county court for information. How Many Points Is a Speeding Ticket In Florida? Remember, only 50% of people who fight traffic tickets get their tickets dismissed. 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