Knock on wood.I'm doing that right now. Because I have never gotten a speeding ticket ever. (And if you've ever been in the car with me, you know precisely why, but I beg you to refrain from using words like "slow poke" and "grandmother". Let's just call it "cautious driving.")
My dad told me he got a speeding ticket the other day and intends on going to court to fight it.
When I asked him the particulars, he only said that he was in a rush because he was running late. He then says: "I'm going to plead not guilty because I was rushing to get to choir practice. I was late for a church event, and that's why I was speeding."
OK, first of all, if you're going to ever use the phrase "not guilty", I would recommend not also admitting to the crime in the same sentence. The crime here being SPEEDING, and I would think that whatever you were late for (an appointment, school, work, God, whatever), SPEEDING is SPEEDING.
We proceeded to get into a debate about his proposed defense strategy, where he eventually said, "Well, yes I was speeding, but I didn't have malicious intent."
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Ok, I must pause right here to tell you a little bit about my dad. He used to teach English lit, so he has a handle on fancy-speak, but before that, he used to be in law school. This fact occasionally comes up as an excuse for why he likes to debate, or when he insists on winning a pretty ridiculous argument (like this one.) At which point, I like to remind him that he used to be in law school. Used to.
Malicous intent?!Come on, dad!
I've (knock on wood) never had to fight a speeding ticket, but I am pretty sure his defense strategy is pretty weak, right? Admitting he was speeding, but it not being the same as other kinds of speeding because it lacked malicious intent. And despite breaking this law, it's a forgiveable infraction because he was on his way to help God out?
Anybody else successfully fight a speeding ticket that could PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share some much-needed advice?
And don't worry, my dad won't see this. He also likes to openly admit that he actively supports my blogging by not ever reading it.
His best bet would be to go in and try to speak to the prosecutor to bargain the ticket down to one without points, pay the court cost and any fines. As a actual graduated from law school attorney, I highly doubt that his argument of a lack of malicious intent will sway the judge. Neither will his admitting to speeding while then pleading not guilty.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anonymous, esq. LOL. Too bad I didn't put money on this one.
ReplyDeleteWill a moving violation with points affect his insurance?
ReplyDeleteIf it's not a crazy-insane speed, paying the ticket will probably be less expensive if he has an otherwise clean record and the insurance company won't hose him. (NJM, for example, doesn't raise rates for the very occasional moving violation.)
From what I understand, if you go to court you can almost always get the *offense* reduced to something without points. But the fine plus court costs can be a lot more than the original ticket. If you rarely get tickets, this is only a good deal if your insurance company will raise your rates because of the points.
Oh, and make sure your car inspection is up to date! The fine for failure-to-inspect is way more than the fine for 15-over, or running a red light or stop sign!