So…I’m not sure if this is even the right place to post this, but I would really appreciate any help with my speeding ticket if possible (or at least some guidance on where I should post this instead). I’ve seen other people post ticket threads here so I thought why not?
Was pulled over for doing 75 in a 45, cost of ticket $367.00 on 5/22/16. I’m 19 years old (female), and this is my first ticket ever. I’m truly a very safe driver but I somehow lost track of my speed. Anyways, was pulled over on Mulholland Drive in a passing zone (was not actually passing anyone), conditions very clear and very little traffic otherwise. The officer clocked me as I was coming down a hill at 81 mph, but reduced the speed to 75 where I leveled out.
Here’s some extra info on my courtesy notice:
TR-2B LASER (4/10)
Violations: 22349B 29
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
I really can’t afford this ticket (I’'m working 2 min. wage jobs and making car and insurance payments myself, as well as being a university student) and I am planning on going to court in hopes of reducing the ticket price or not getting the points on my DL. I’m 5 mph away from the cut off for traffic school, so even getting the ticket reduced to that would be amazing as the insurance company won’t raise my prices.
Best case scenario, officer doesn’t show up - but what are the chances of that?
I 100% understand the dangers of my speed, and as I wrote before, I honestly have never gone above the speed limit, and the one time I accidentally do, I get pulled over.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Sorry, not much sympathy here. I can understand losing track of your speed by maybe 10 mph, but 36 mph? If you’re that inattentive, then you are a danger to others and the ticket was well-deserved. There are consequences to bad actions and you shouldn’t expect to have them reduced or eliminated just because you can’t afford to pay the fine. Hopefully you’ll learn a lesson from this and your first ticket will be your last.
It’s actually not that expensive a ticket considering how fast you were going and how much above the posted limit you were. You were lucky that the cop marked you as 75 instead of 81. Usually, when someone exceeds the speed limit by 20mph or more there is a mandatory reckless driving charge too and sometimes a mandatory court appearance. You are lucky.
Still, it doesn’t hurt to go to court and hope the cop doesn’t show up. If he is there, be humble, gracious, and very regretful of your actions and hopefully the judge will reduce the fine and/or points.
You’re getting off pretty easy if that is the fine you would need to pay.
If you had been in Ontario, that much over the speed limit, you would have been subject to an immediate license suspension of 7 days, your car would have been impounded on the spot, and you would be responsible for 7 days of impound fees. In addition, if convicted, things could be much worse - a hefty fine from $2000 - $10,000; a longer driving suspension with the max of 10 years; and possibly even imprisonment.
That speed isn’t just losing track of how fast you’re going. I agree that the ticket was well-deserved and that you should pay the fine, but more importantly that you learn to be far more attentive when you are behind the wheel.
Make sure you are scrupulous in complying with all deadlines or those fines could skyrocket. If you do want to challenge the ticket you will have to make two court appearances, one for the arraignment and one for the mini trial.
The judge will almost certainly not change the infraction to allow you to avoid the insurance penalty. You are stuck with that. The judge may allow you to work off the fine by doing community service, may allow more time to pay the fine, or (less likely) may allow a payment plan or (most unlikely) may reduce the fine if you can prove inability to pay. Do not be late for your court appearance and plan for long lines.
In Los Angeles Superior Court, the judge you will get in traffic court is often a lawyer who has volunteered to be a temporary judge for a day, so it is hard to predict exactly what will happen. (I used to volunteer to do that once in a while, which is how I am familiar with the process).
(Not still if this is still true, but the community service program used allow assignments through United Way and had interesting assignments available.)
Finally, this should be a lesson to you. Driving that fast on Mulholland is very very dangerous. You are lucky that you did not get a ticket for reckless driving or worse. The judge will likely take that into account in considering whether to reduce the fine. But seriously, thank God you didn’t killl someone.
You should go to the clerk’s office and speak to them about it. I see people everyday doing that. You can discuss with the clerk the options of traffic school and setting up a payment plan.
Community service, if allowed, is usually to be accomplished within a set time frame. Within that frame, you may have some flexibility as to dates.
If $367 is just the base amount of the fine, be aware that there are likely to be additional fees and penalty assessments that will make the total much higher.
Go to the court. Usually there is a DA rep in the hallway that can talk to you about your options. They might offer to reduce the charge to within the level for traffic school, they might offer something else. Hoping for the cop to not show is not a good plan. If you can’t lay, they might give you a plan or they might suspend your license until you can pay.
In some states, when you go to traffic court you have to pay your ticket/fine by the end of that day. I’m not sure about CA rules so do a little searching so you’re not in shock that day.
@twoinanddone Can I go any day or specifically on my court date? Because the fine itself is a lot but im more worried about the insurance costs and I would rather just get this whole thing over with so I can stop stressing out about it so much
@Madison85 they know about the ticket
I’ll have enough saved by the time the money is due, but just barely scrapping by, if not, they’ll probably let me borrow some
I pay for car insurance and car payments