Pay ticket vs defensive driving class

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Originally Posted By: Hollow
Got popped in a speed trap this morning. Options are to pay the $102 ticket or go to the 4 hour driving class.

The class is $105 and I'll have to take off work to do it, but it does clear the moving violation off my driving record.

Am I correct that the ticket will be reported to my insurance company no matter which option I take?


Ask the court clerk.

Around here, if you have no other moving violations showing on your record, the "first offender program" allows one to pay the fine, pay the court costs, and pay for and take the defensive driving course, and adjudication of the ticket is then deferred for a period of time, usually six months. At the end of the deferred adjudication time, if the defendant maintains a clean record, the citiation is dismissed and does not get reported to the insurance carrier.
 
Originally Posted By: A_Harman
Take the school. If it prevents points on your license, it's worth the money and time. And you get to learn about the people you share the road with. That's incentive enough to drive more carefully.


I remember the guy who argued passionately that the head on collision he was involved in was NOT his fault because he had safely pulled onto the shoulder of the oncoming lane and the oncoming driver stupidly tried to pull onto the same shoulder! Moron was passing and suddenly realized he was about to crash head on, but felt that the OTHER shoulder was his because he "got there first".
Then there was the lady who could drive just fine after drinking a case of beer in one night.
Yes, a CASE...
And the girl who was only driving 100mph on a surface street because she was late to work, she's supposed to get fired because of a speed limit?

Yes, these classes are great for learning about your fellow drivers, and maybe to get you to stay home more often rather than going out on Friday nights.
 
Never just pay the fine! This is what these "revenue" collectors count on! They are not cops anymore, they are only out to steal your hard earned money for minor issues and it has to stop! You have a right to a trial, use it! and make that citation cost them way more in the end!
 
NEVER "Just pay it."

Oh my god.

First, see what the Prosecutor wants to do. Then, go from there.

90% or more of the time, you will be taking the plea to the amended charge.

Though I have taken several to Court.. Cop doesn't show? Dismissal.

Kicker? .. Even if cop DOES show (he or she MAY, small chance, relative to time, this is why they want tickets court appearance fast as possible, raises the odds officer shows..) they STILL offer you that plea.

NEVER just pay.

*Experience source: NJ. Extensive. Other areas are the same way too, in my experience, as to general peocedure, if not letter of the law exact similar namesake.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Personally I think anyone who deliberately tries to cause an accident is probably ready to try walking. Driving is not for you...


You must not be from up here.

I'll add
crackmeup2.gif
 
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Originally Posted By: InfmousCornholio
NEVER "Just pay it."

Oh my god.

First, see what the Prosecutor wants to do. Then, go from there.

90% or more of the time, you will be taking the plea to the amended charge.

Though I have taken several to Court.. Cop doesn't show? Dismissal.

Kicker? .. Even if cop DOES show (he or she MAY, small chance, relative to time, this is why they want tickets court appearance fast as possible, raises the odds officer shows..) they STILL offer you that plea.

NEVER just pay.

*Experience source: NJ. Extensive. Other areas are the same way too, in my experience, as to general peocedure, if not letter of the law exact similar namesake.

What if the cop has already given you a HUGE break on the spot, on the order of amending a violation worth several points down to a no-points violation? I'd think that's about as good a break as you could ever get, and the cop and the court wouldn't take too kindly to a dental exam of their gift horse.

Barring that, I agree.
 
I do not believe DMV reports it to insurance companies. This is instead a money maker for the DMV. They charge the insurance company to pull your driving record a small fee. So some companies do not pull the info every year. Even a $10 fee times 100,000 drivers is a million dollars. So many companies pull it less frequently, or when there is a reason.
 
Originally Posted By: cat843
I do not believe DMV reports it to insurance companies. This is instead a money maker for the DMV. They charge the insurance company to pull your driving record a small fee. So some companies do not pull the info every year. Even a $10 fee times 100,000 drivers is a million dollars. So many companies pull it less frequently, or when there is a reason.

This is my understanding as well.
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
Personally, I'm all for brake checking any d-bag who uses the slow lane to pass where I'm traveling at 65 mph and comes up on me at 85-90 mph a foot from my bumper. Actually, I'm more for him being ejected through his front windshield than any jail time. If I'm traveling 65-70mph in the appropriate lane, I don't exist to get out of this f-stains way.

Hooray! Let's cause traffic jams and personal injury just for the privilege of acting out some self-righteousness, and then call OTHER people d-bags!

Civilization exists at the direct expense of attitudes like this, and vice versa.


So let me see...you heartily seconded a post that had people being ticketed for going 5-10 under the speed limit ( I guess for any reason ), delaying or not taking a right turn on a red where allowed ( might be a reason that's not apparent to an overly impatient driver ), and jail for people who brake check ( as opposed to slamming on their brakes ) someone who's apparently going 80-100 and proud of it...and THEN you talk some [censored] about self-righteousness and "acting out" like this...I think you might need a mirror.

A d-bag is a d-bag if they go 30 mph over the flow of traffic while cutting over lanes to tailgate the next potential victim. So, it's OK to have a "get the [censored] outta my way" attitude and that has no consequences...but apparently the guy who's stuck going 5-10 under the limit because of a weaving driver or a truck that just moved over needs a ticket due to said d-bag categorizing his delay as idiot drivers...even though he doesn't know what the [censored] he's talking about because he rolled up on him doing 90 mph...sounds like pure logic to me. Hooray my [censored].
 
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
So let me see...you heartily seconded a post that had people being ticketed for going 5-10 under the speed limit ( I guess for any reason ), delaying or not taking a right turn on a red where allowed ( might be a reason that's not apparent to an overly impatient driver ), and jail for people who brake check ( as opposed to slamming on their brakes ) someone who's apparently going 80-100 and proud of it...and THEN you talk some [censored] about self-righteousness and "acting out" like this...I think you might need a mirror.

Happy to explain.

Most speed limits in this country are set below what the recommended 85th-percentile rule would suggest. That's why most people end up driving some amount over the speed limit. 5-10 MPH under the limit is 10-20+ slower than the flow of traffic. That's dangerous.

Delaying a right turn on red for reasons other than safety or caution is tantamount to stopping in the middle of the road.

Brake checking causes a standing wave in the flow of traffic, which inconvenience hundreds of people and increases the risk of rear-end collisions. That's particularly salient because the people who are affected had nothing to do with the problem that prompted the brake check.

For a good driver, in a good car, on a good road, in the right conditions, there's no problem with going 80-100 MPH.

I'm puzzled as to why your post doesn't seem to recognize the moral difference between "they should get a ticket" and "it's okay to brake check them and cause an accident." The difference between those two things is pretty obvious, no?

Think that covers all your questions.


Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
A d-bag is a d-bag if they go 30 mph over the flow of traffic while cutting over lanes to tailgate the next potential victim. So, it's OK to have a "get the [censored] outta my way" attitude and that has no consequences...but apparently the guy who's stuck going 5-10 under the limit because of a weaving driver or a truck that just moved over needs a ticket due to said d-bag categorizing his delay as idiot drivers...even though he doesn't know what the [censored] he's talking about because he rolled up on him doing 90 mph...sounds like pure logic to me. Hooray my [censored].

No, it's not okay to cut lanes, tailgate, or blow through traffic with a 30 MPH speed differential. Those should be targets of enforcement, too.

Enforcement. As in, by trained officers of the peace. Not by motorists with more anger than sense.
 
I went to the driving school class once and I actually learned some cool stuff. No driving points were added to my driving record but the violation was still recorded. A few years later, I paid a lawyer to make a speeding ticket go away. Its the same money as paying the courts for a "Driving Tax" LOL! If you go to court for a speeding ticket, you will lose, get the points and waste your time sitting in court all day, unless the cop is a no-show.

Last year, the 5-O was kind enough to bust me for a burned out brake light bulb and I took that one to court, made the cop look silly with a receipt for a full set of bulbs, a picture of the lights working and then asked the judge to dismiss because the defect was fixed the same day as the ticket was written LMAO I still had to pay court costs of 65.00 and the 25.00 fine was dismissed. I still took it up the back side because tickets are a source of revenue for the state/county/city
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: InfmousCornholio
NEVER "Just pay it."

Oh my god.

First, see what the Prosecutor wants to do. Then, go from there.

90% or more of the time, you will be taking the plea to the amended charge.

Though I have taken several to Court.. Cop doesn't show? Dismissal.

Kicker? .. Even if cop DOES show (he or she MAY, small chance, relative to time, this is why they want tickets court appearance fast as possible, raises the odds officer shows..) they STILL offer you that plea.

NEVER just pay.

*Experience source: NJ. Extensive. Other areas are the same way too, in my experience, as to general peocedure, if not letter of the law exact similar namesake.

What if the cop has already given you a HUGE break on the spot, on the order of amending a violation worth several points down to a no-points violation? I'd think that's about as good a break as you could ever get, and the cop and the court wouldn't take too kindly to a dental exam of their gift horse.

Barring that, I agree.


In situations like that the officer usually notes on the side of the road, "I'm giving you a break, if you take this to Court, I will do everything humanly possible to enforce this ticket if you try to challenge this in Court. Don't go in there saying 'I never should have got this' etc etc." You seem to be referring to an 85MPH speeding ticket being written for a 79, since 14MPH or below is 2 and 14MPH or above is 4 or 5 on Garden State Parkway, specifically.. used to be 9MPH or below was 2.. as an example..
*EDIT: GSP is still the artificially low 55MPH. BEWARE UNION P.D. AT THE MCDONALD'S REST STOP BY EXIT 142, AND STATE POLICE ON THE REST OF THAT ROAD.

I was more talking about "standard issue" tickets, for things like "Barely Obstructed Plate" when a dealer puts a Frame on that covers about 1/8" or so of the edge of a license plate, which then becomes "Obstruction," etc.. usually written along with another ticket, it's RARE to get just one.. Cops know the game..

I've gotten warnings, and nice cops. No real issue with them, in that situation.

Seems like those days are long gone in policing, though.

+1 every case of $33 Court Cost on top of $52 Amended Charge to "City Ordinance, Unsafe Circumstance, No Record.."
 
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How does your insurance company handle violations?
They may raise your insurance which, isn't just for one year, it's for many years. Even if your insurance company doesn't raise your insurance right away, they will at some renewal time. And you may pay more in the long haul!

And, if you change insurance companies, they too will be aware of the violations which could reflect your rates. I'd go to the class! Plus, the class may help reduce your current rates!
smile.gif
 
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Originally Posted By: InfmousCornholio
NEVER "Just pay it."

Oh my god.

First, see what the Prosecutor wants to do. Then, go from there.

90% or more of the time, you will be taking the plea to the amended charge.

Though I have taken several to Court.. Cop doesn't show? Dismissal.

Kicker? .. Even if cop DOES show (he or she MAY, small chance, relative to time, this is why they want tickets court appearance fast as possible, raises the odds officer shows..) they STILL offer you that plea.

NEVER just pay.

*Experience source: NJ. Extensive. Other areas are the same way too, in my experience, as to general peocedure, if not letter of the law exact similar namesake.

What if the cop has already given you a HUGE break on the spot, on the order of amending a violation worth several points down to a no-points violation? I'd think that's about as good a break as you could ever get, and the cop and the court wouldn't take too kindly to a dental exam of their gift horse.

Barring that, I agree.


No points = No harm, no foul. Same as a warning.
 
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
Take the class.

Personally, I'm all for brake checking any d-bag who uses the slow lane to pass where I'm traveling at 65 mph and comes up on me at 85-90 mph a foot from my bumper. Actually, I'm more for him being ejected through his front windshield than any jail time. If I'm traveling 65-70mph in the appropriate lane, I don't exist to get out of this f-stains way.



Just so you know, what you are describing is a crime. The kind of crime that will have you wearing a jumpsuit for a while. Police are not stupid, and the courts will never excuse your behaviour because of someone else's. I was witness to such an event and gave testimony against a man who did exactly that.

Don't expect the police to have sympathy for a highway vigilante. They're not quite as concerned about your tailgating driver, as they are all of the other people you may injure or kill be causing a high speed collision.

The person I described caused an innocent party to roll their convertible Camaro, and I and the first patrolman on the scene were forced to watch smoke billowing from the car, and the two young girls trapped in it. Because a fire did not ignite, and the two girls lived, the brake checker only got 4.5 years in prison.

No one else's bad behaviour allows you to choose a death sentence for other drivers on the road. You think you're a better man than the reckless speeders? Try and act like one.
 
Wife got ticket earlier this year, son a couple years ago.
Both opted for the online class.
Didn't see anything on insurance.
 
Originally Posted By: Vuflanovsky
Take the class.

Personally, I'm all for brake checking any d-bag who uses the slow lane to pass where I'm traveling at 65 mph and comes up on me at 85-90 mph a foot from my bumper. Actually, I'm more for him being ejected through his front windshield than any jail time. If I'm traveling 65-70mph in the appropriate lane, I don't exist to get out of this f-stains way.


You are a poster child for why left-lane hogs should get jail time and a public flogging.
 
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