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There have been, over the years, some pretty pathetic defense strategies when it came to fighting a traffic ticket. Someone would read some information somewhere or use some advice from a relative or friend.

Below I have listed the top five mistakes you can make when fighting your traffic ticket. I hope you too will see the futility in them and refrain from using these worthless defenses.

Mistake #1- Delaying the traffic court date

The rationale for this, some say, is that the longer you can delay traffic court for your traffic ticket, the likelier the chance the police officer won’t show up at your court date.

Simply delaying your traffic court trial will not increase your chances of beating your traffic ticket.

Lets say that you do get your traffic court date pushed back. What if the police officer still shows at court?

Traffic officers get paid overtime to be in traffic court. They don’t bring them off their patrols to be there.

Mistake #2- Requesting evidence before traffic court.

By law you do have a legal right to see everything the prosecution plans to convict you with. This process is called ‘discovery’ and can be useful in a murder trial. But this isn’t a murder trial and doing so can actually hurt your case.

When you make a motion for discovery and request evidence before your trial, this sends red flags to the prosecution that you are planning a good defense. He’ll take it as a challenge and will prepare his case so efficiently that it becomes almost impossible to win.

Don’t request anything or even contact the courthouse at any time prior to your trial about your traffic ticket. DO NOT let them know you are familiar with the traffic court process.

Mistake #3- Doing too much needless research.

Who likes to spend their free time at the courthouse researching boring piles of books pertaining to law? Trust me, there is no need in doing this.

For most traffic tickets it is pointless to read up on case law before traffic court. Except on the rare occasion that you may want to see how a certain statute is worded.

Mistake #4- Attacking the officer’s credibility

If you go to traffic court with the idea you are going to attack the officers credibility, don’t waste your time. You can forget getting your traffic ticket dismissed. Saying the officer didn’t use the equipment properly, or that he singled you out or any number of other excuses are useless.

Challenging the officers training of a radar gun will always draw scrutiny from the judge. He will take the officers side and will insist you ask the next question.

Its just understood that the officer has the proper training on the speed detecting equipment he or she used to give you a traffic ticket. There’s no question about it. Say you do try this defense, where are you going to get the evidence the judge will ask for to support your claim?

Mistake #5- Going to traffic court unprepared

This may be the biggest mistake individuals make when they try to fight a traffic ticket. They go into traffic court thinking they did their homework, when in reality they had no idea what they were doing, and end up paying the traffic ticket.

And then there are the people who show up to traffic court thinking the judge will have pity on them if they just tell their side of the story. Yeah right!

Look, I know the thought of going to traffic court can be a little scary for some, but this isn’t a murder trial. It’s just a simple traffic ticket. Traffic court is set up to be extremely ‘user friendly’ due to the large amounts of people who go there every day.

Avoid these five mistakes and you will have a better chance of winning your case in traffic court and getting your traffic ticket dismissed.

Want to find out more about traffic tickets, and how to beat them? Then visit Steven Swihart’s site for the the best advice and information on traffic violations.

On average, over 100,000 drivers get speeding tickets every day. Thats 36,500,000 traffic tickets yearly.

One in every six drivers will be ticketed for speeding this year.

Average speeding tickets cost $150.

$150 x 36,500,000= $5,475,000,000! Thats almost 5.5 BILLION per year in speeding ticket fines.

The average raise in insurance costs for one speeding ticket over the course of 3 years is $900.00.

Take 36,500,000 and multiply by $900 and you get 3.28 BILLION! Thats the extra money auto insurance companies make in increased premiums.

More than 95% of drivers who get speeding tickets will simply pay the fine and not fight it in traffic court.

Of the 5% of people who do go to traffic court to contest their ticket, a large percentage will either have the charge reduced or the ticket dropped altogether.

There are 196,000,000 licensed drivers in America today.

40% of the time the police officer doesn’t show up in traffic court. This is grounds for dismissal.

The first city in the US to use the photo radar was Paradise Valley, AZ in 1987.

In 1966 Brooklyn Ohio was the first city that mandated the use of seat belts.

The age groups between 17 and 24 years of age receive the most speeding tickets.

More males than females receive speeding citations.

More women than men fight their speeding tickets in traffic court.

17 year olds cause more traffic accidents than any other age.

In July 1879, two men are fined for speeding horses in Seattle.

Henry Ford’s first motor vehicle, built in 1894, only went forward.

Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, a lantern with red and green signals was used at a London intersection to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.

Since 1999, Washington, D.C. cameras have issued 2,421,841 tickets worth $182 million.

The wife of the Prime Minister of Canada has the first known filed speeding ticket on record. She was busted doing almost a tremendous 10 mph above the posted speed limit.

Doctors receive the most speeding tickets than any other profession.

In salary and benefits an average police officer will cost a city around $75,000 a year. He will also make the town an average of $150,000 in that same year. Cops are good investments.

The top 10 states for giving out speeding tickets are:

1. Ohio 2. Pennsylvania 3. New York 4. California 5. Texas 6. Georgia 7. Virginia 8. North Carolina 9. Massachusetts 10. Connecticut

Learn how to fight your speeding ticket in traffic court. Stop by Steven Swihart’s site where you can find a lot more advice to help you challenge your traffic violations successfully.

Have you been pulled over and received a speeding ticket? Then rest assured there are ways you can fight speeding tickets, without a lawyer.

Gather evidence: When fighting speeding tickets, ask the traffic court to see the official documents, like calibration records for either the radar gun or speedometer used to clock your car. File a discovery request with the prosecutor so you can always examine documents in advance for flaws. But note that if you subpoena documents, you’ll remind the officer of the incident, which may prompt him/her to show up in court.

Beat the beam: When you fight speeding tickets, note that speed-measuring devices such as radar and laser (a.k.a. LIDAR, or Light Detecting and Ranging) are subject to human error. In some instances, officers have failed to give sufficient proof of proper LIDAR positioning, and subsequently the cases were dismissed.

Fight speeding tickets with technicalities. Simple things missing from the ticket can get it thrown out. It may be rare but if something as simple as the lack of the officers signature missing, or if it or the badge ID number is not readable then it could be dismissed.

Be Brief: When fighting speeding tickets, keep in mind that judges don’t have a lot of time. Give a brief report. Additionally, use of visual evidence, such as a photo of a road sign obscured by foliage may help your case.

You can sometime fight speeding tickets and win by default. If for instance the officer doesn’t show up in traffic court, and if the court prosecutor asks for a continuance then you should object to this. The ticket should be thrown out if the officer does not have a valid reason for missing traffic court.

Speeding tickets can raise your insurance, cause accidents and other hazards. The best way to avoid receiving a speeding ticket is not to speed!

Want to find out more about how to fight speeding tickets? Then visit Steven Swihart’s site for all things traffic violation related, and learn the in’s and out’s of the traffic court system.

There are two broad categories of traffic tickets. Knowing which you have is important when determining what to do in your situation.

A lot of times when you have a minor violation and it wont result in any points on your license its best to go ahead and pay it and avoid trying to challenge it in traffic court.

Traffic violations come under two main headings. They can either be moving violations or non moving violations. They usually involve smaller fines and can be something as simple as a parking or headlight ticket.

These can be a nuisance but at least they wont go on your driving history or be reported to your auto insurance.

Non moving violations can be things such as not wearing your seatbelt, a broken headlight or improperly parking your vehicle.

In most cases these should just be paid. It can be a big hassle to go to traffic court for these kinds of violations. The reason is the fines for these are usually no more than $50 or so, and you could end up being in traffic court for hours. Not worth it in my judgment.

But if you felt the ticket was given unjustly, you should always attempt to resolve it in some way. For example a broken head light ticket will usually be tossed if you show proof you fixed it.

Moving violations are a violation of the law committed while the vehicle is in motion, and this term ‘motion’ distinguishes it from a non moving violation. While most moving violations are considered misdemeanors or infractions, more serious violations can be felonies.

In most places, moving violations involve fines which must be paid as well as punitive points assessed to the license of the driver. As a driver accumulates points, he or she may be required to attend defensive driving lessons, re-take his or her driving test or even surrender his or her license.

Here in the United States, citation fines are nominal dollar amounts, usually between $50 and $500. In some countries, however, they are proportional to the violator’s income and fines in excess of $100,000 can be assessed to wealthy individuals.

More common moving violations can include speeding (THE most common), failure to secure a load, failure to yield right of way, violating high occupancy vehicle lanes, or not stopping for a pedestrian.

Some of the more serious types of moving violations can include racing, driving under the influence, and vehicular homicide.

A traffic violation can also be civil or criminal in nature. They both carry points and fines, but only a criminal charge can wind you up in jail. The sentence in a criminal case can result in an order to pay a fine, a sentence of probation or time in a jail.

The sentence imposed in a criminal case is an obligation that a person has towards the “state” for violation of law; that is, it is a punishment for the act that was committed. The ’state’ could be a local township, municipality, city, county, state or the federal government. These are moving violations to avoid at all costs, obviously.

Learn more about different moving violations. Stop by Steven Swihart’s site where you can find out all about fighting traffic tickets for your individual needs.

If you are charged with breaking the law, such as getting a speeding ticket, in the eyes of the law everyone is supposed to be treated equally. Just because someone has been charged doesn’t mean they are guilty, a court must determine this.

Same is true with speeding violations. You can beat a speeding ticket by knowing your rights which, although requires effort, can guarantee you the best chances of having the case dismissed.

For some tips on how to beat a speeding ticket lets start at the beginning, when your getting pulled over. You absolutely have the right to limit any answer you give the officer to a simple but polite ‘yes officer’ and ‘no officer’. Everybody has heard of the Miranda Rights, but what it actually means is you have the right to NOT admit guilt, or answer any question that might hint at self incrimination. Especially without a lawyer present.

But, you DO want to be cooperative by providing your basic details such as drivers license, proof of auto insurance, and other things such as your name. Your right to be silent does not pertain to these.

If you want to have any chance to beat a speeding ticket, you want to be civil to the officer who pulled you over. Doing stupid things like insulting the police officer or losing your temper will guarantee you get ticketed, and possibly even add to your charges. Courtesy and respect can go a long way toward getting you out of a traffic violation. And besides, the side of the highway isn’t the best place to discuss your side of it.

You are not actually guilty until a judge finds you so in traffic court. And the burden of proof has to be provided by the law enforcement official who actually wrote the traffic citation. So don’t be afraid to defend yourself in court and try to beat a speeding ticket.

Try to remember specific facts about what happened before and while you were pulled over. Being vague wont help. Its easier than most think to beat a speeding ticket, the court gives both sides equal opportunity to present their side.

Some people will bring a lawyer to court, I personally don’t think it is necessary as most people prefer to represent themselves and have a good chance to beat a speeding ticket by simply stating the facts clearly.

You also have a right to have a speedy trial as the court recognizes the constraints to work and personal life of attending court proceedings. Also, you can point out lack of evidence or delay trials in case the officer-in-charge does not show up in the proceeding.

You are also free to request for alternatives aside from payment, such as attending traffic schools or doing community service. Beat a speeding ticket by checking out all the options that the law has provided all who are facing charges.

If you are able to beat a speeding ticket, the benefits can be many. Keeping your driving record clean will in turn keep you auto insurance lower, and can also affect the outcome of a ticket you may receive in the future.

Abuse and biases are not tolerated by law, so expect it to be an ally in trying to beat a speeding ticket, although it can be punishing once you are not careful enough to avoid violations.

Learn more on how to beat a speeding ticket. Stop by Steven Swihart’s site where you can find out all about traffic court, and how to successfully defend yourself against all traffic violations.

categories: speeding tickets,law,automobile insurance,driving,law enforcement,family