<p>My son got a speeding ticket in New Jersey, and the officer checked " must appear" or something like that on the ticket. I didn’t find out about this ticket until my son received a notice from an attorney in NJ, advertising his services for a summons that may wind up with many points, huge cost, and/or jail time (or words similar to those). My son has admitted to speeding, but so far won’t tell me how fast he was going. (How to handle his behavior is a topic for another thread). Does anyone know what tickets lawyers solicit business for? Do people generally hire lawyers, or show up themselves without lawyers or just pay the fine and keep going? He is at school in another state, so he had to write something indicating why appearing would be a hardship for him. I am very worried about points on his license and increasing insurance costs… Any advice? It looks like you can take on-line classes which may get points reduced. Anyone have knowledge of that aspect?
Thanks</p>
<p>My older daughter had a speeding ticket when she was 17. She hired a lawyer to with her to the court. He managed to have D1 just pay a large fine without points. D1 was able to get in and out very quickly because she had lawyer. People without a lawyer had to wait longer. If you just pay the fine then he’ll get points and that would increase your insurance costs. If he shows up then there is a chance he could bargain down to just paying a larger fine.</p>
<p>He better tell you how fast he was speeding, so you could figure out if he’ll need a lawyer. If he won’t tell you then I would take him off your insurance.</p>
<p>In NJ you definitely can take driving classes to reduce points. They are offered frequently and in many locations. I think our local library even hosts one. <a href=“http://www.dmv.org/nj-new-jersey/point-reduction.php[/url]”>http://www.dmv.org/nj-new-jersey/point-reduction.php</a></p>
<p>I also have heard that those with lawyers can obtain a better result in court points-wise, but of course you have to pay said lawyer so I agree you need to find out the details of his offense to determine the most economical course of action.</p>
<p>Are you an NJ resident, or was the ticket just issued in NJ to an out-of-state driver?</p>
<p>The killer is the points on NJ insurance. Anything you can do to reduce that is worth it. The cost of the ticket itself is negligible. A lawyer may be well worth the money if you/your son are NJ resident(s).</p>
<p>It was an out of state teen driver…
Do you think an attorney isn’t worth it for someone out of state?</p>
<p>FYI - you can also take driving course online too. We all took one online one on a very cold winter day and received a huge insurance discount.</p>
<p>Get a lawyer. If it said “must appear” there’s a good chance it was a lot of miles per hour over the speed limit. It will affect your insurance.</p>
<p>I know this may be a silly question, but if he was guilty what can a lawyer do for him?</p>
<p>Read post 2 of this thread again! That is what a lawyer can do for your son.</p>
<p>Got it… Thanks.
I am hopeful that within the next day or so he will realize it’s in his best interest to tell me, but I’m TRYING not to lose it with him. Not much I can do from hundreds of miles away anyway. I did send him a lawyers number.</p>
<p>NJ seems to love sending everyone to court. My DS got a ticket on his BICYCLE and had to appear in court. Why? He had to miss class go to court (twice because they closed down on the first date but didn’t tell anyone until they showed up–due to power outage) meet with a DA and then go before the Judge. He had to pay the ticket costs plus a court cost. My feeling is they like to send you to court to get the extra fee for court costs.</p>
<p>As others have said, if he’s above a certain speed, it becomes reckless driving and will be a bigger deal than just a standard speeding ticket. He’s an adult and he needs to decide how to handle it (and if he’s smart he will consult you). He needs to be held responsible for any increase in insurance if he doesn’t fully disclose.</p>
<p>Thanks. I get the sense from what I can find on-line that must appear doesn’t mean it’s particularly bad, but of course you imagine the worst.</p>
<p>I got a speeding ticket several years ago. He clocked me doing 65 in a 50 which was probably right. This was on a rural road, long sight distance, clear sunny day. He said he downgraded it to careless driving because if he wrote it for speeding at 15 mph over the speed limit it would be 4 points. The downgrade was 2 points plus the fine.</p>
<p>I did not have to appear if I chose to take the penalty. I paid the fine and took the 2 points (I guess). But it did not affect our insurance rates. I knew I was speeding, so I couldn’t see trying to change the story (?) to get out of it.</p>
<p>It’s not a matter of changing the story. People don’t seem to understand what a lawyer can do for you. In many cases, they know the prosecutor and know what can be done to lessen the consequences. Every court and every jurisdiction is a little different. They know when it is advisable to request a defensive driving course with deferred adjudication and when that would be a waste of time. In this particular case, you have a family with the kid on the parents’ policy and the parents have no idea what the offense is. That is pretty odd to me, and I have a lot of experience with speeding tickets from a kid. Sometimes it won’t affect your insurance- but it can catch up with you later. Not every license is reviewed every year. When you go to renew, or change carriers, it might turn up.</p>
<p>Let the lesson be learned…not a good idea to speed in this state unless you want points on your license for years along with insurance surcharges to go along with it.</p>
<p>I am in NJ and I think they like to collect court costs. My neighbor has to appear for going 82 in a 65. NJ has an option to pay approx 200 additional (on top of the expensive fine and court costs) and plead to “unsafe driving” which is zero points. My son was going either 74 or 80 (i forget) in a 55. Cop wrote him at 69. I think that made it a 2 point instead of a 4 point, he had to go to court for that I think, he didn’t try to plead on that (down to 9 over limit). Other son got a ticket for being out after midnight on his Cinderella license. He had to go to court for that, and it’s not even points. First son also got failure to yield and had to go for that. It was his second ticket in 5 years ( that speeding one being first). He used the “buy down” I mentioned and got zero points but a big fine.</p>
<p>He doesn’t need an attorney just to go and see what the DA will offer. (my experience is local police, not sure if state troopers operate the same way). Regardless, if they dont make him an offer he can request to get an attorney and come back. </p>
<p>What state are you in? Some states cut the points in half when they transfer, some don’t even assess points. </p>
<p>Yes, he should pay the fines And increase in insurance. Yes, you should help him figure it out. Horrible criminals get advice for free if they are poor. No reason to let your son pay a full penalty when the system doesn’t require it. You should help him learn how to handle the situation, you don’t have to handle it, but he deserves guidance at least. How else will he learn how to handle it when he is out on his own for real? Our kids are lucky they have us!</p>
<p>Our kids definitely are lucky they have us. He is going to call an attorney I found for him.
The ticket was for speeding with careless driving thrown in.
He doesn’t have many options at this point because he is supposed to be in court tomorrow and he is out of state without a car. I don’t think he realized there was more to this than paying the fee. It’s a pretty expensive lesson… Hopefully he will get the points and fine reduced.</p>
<p>I think in NJ any type of violation requires a court appearance. A friend’s S was in a very minor fender bender in which he immediately took responsibility for and both parties exchanged insurance info and his insurance had no problem paying for damages. But because a cop was there to issue an accident report he HAD to go to court,e ven though he is not a NJ resident.</p>
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<p>Not true. I just went to the municipal building in the town where the offense occurred, presented the ticket and paid the fine. If I wanted to protest the ticket, then I would have had to go to court. This was about 6 years ago. And my insurance did not go up. Perhaps because it was a first offense, we had no claims on our insurance, and maybe because I am an older adult rather than a new driver. I don’t know, I never did ask why it did not go up ;).</p>
<p>I have lived in NJ all my life, and have had a couple of tickets over the years. Each jurisdiction is different, but I got a speeding ticket after the 65 limit went in and got snagged doing 80 in a 65 (2 am, wide open highway, but still)…and I simply had to check guilty on the ticket and pay the fine. Usually with speeding when you appear IME it is because you have been cited for reckless or unsafe driving as well, which either means your speed was above a certain amount, or you were weaving in and out of traffic, or going to fast in bad weather. I believe local jurisdictions do set the rules with court appearances, and he might have found himself getting snagged in a jurisdiction that is akin to the small towns notorious as traffic ticket traps. </p>
<p>If he has to appear, I agree being with a lawyer is worth it, they can get things reduced or changed.</p>