<p>I need advice from Connecticut residents with experience in dealing with speeding ticket. I live in NY. I sent in a “not guilty” and got a date for me to show up in person in a Connecticut court. </p>
<p>I am told that once in court, there is a possibility for plea bargain to a lower charge (e.g., to lower speed, non-moving violation, etc). Does this “observation” apply to Connecticut? </p>
<p>My goal is to reduce the points so that the insurance does not go up too high. I am resigned to paying full amount of the original fine. </p>
<p>P.S. I am feeling pretty bad about this, and I learned my lesson.</p>
<p>IF it is a really big ticket, I would get a lawyer. We went through this about 4 years ago with a family member and it got dismissed. It was a big, big ticket. He had to pay the lawyer, but the guy was really connected. This mattered to me due to the impact on the family’s car insurance. Lesser offense in Virginia- again with a very connected lawyer- resulted in a conviction and a light (for Virginia) sentence of a night in jail.<br>
It will depend on what county you are in in CT, also. Good luck.</p>
<p>I don’t think I would get a lawyer for that one. Not big enough. Go to court, or call the prosecutor’s office in advance and see if you can get a deal. Maybe you can get a defensive driving course option.</p>
<p>So were you going 65 in a 55? if so, then just suck it up and pay it, lesson learned.</p>
<p>My daughter got a ticket on I-84 where the speed limit went down to 50. She was going 65 - there are areas on I-84 where the speed limit is lower than you would think and it’s easy to miss the signs. We live 200 miles away so she paid it.
This is why I like a GPS that shows you the speed limit. If you are just driving along you might not see a sign for a long while.
The CT troopers are sneaky too. Was yours unmarked? I have seen them in F-150 pickups and Ford Mustangs.</p>
<p>Science - My condolences. Normally you’d be fine at that speed … but whatever.</p>
<p>In my experience, what transpires will differ with the Court, and with the philosophy of the Prosecutor. Best case? you stand in a room at the appointed hour and your name gets called. The clerk offers to reduce your charge (and fine). The proposal is acceptable to you, you agree, the clerk signs some paper which you take to the Payments Window. You give the Payments clerk a check, get a receipt, and you’re gone. Worst case? Considerably longer, considerably more expensive.</p>
<p>For our family … four drivers, two under 25 … the biggest issue is insurance. Yeah maybe your company forgives the first violation, but for the next three years you’re held hostage by the possibility of a second incident.</p>
<p>If you were going 20+ over the speed limit, in some states it could be reckless driving which is much more serious than speeding. I personally would get an attorney if you were 20+ over.</p>
<p>Here’s our experience: my husband was doing close to 80 mph on I91 near Middletown (guess he didn’t know that’s where the state police baracks are and where they train new troopers!) The ticket was around $300. I insisted that he go to Middletown Superior Court on the appointed day even though there was a big snowstorm in progress. The prosecutor was unable to make it and all traffic cases were dismissed! Definitely worth going to court…</p>
<p>In some courts it makes sense to get an attorney just to have your case taken care of with some speed. In our locality, the attorney cases, whether big or small go first, and the non attorney cases wait most of the day until they get to speak to the town prosecutor about their ticket. It might not save you money, but you could save a lot of aggravation. In this town, there is no negotiation in advance; they seem to want you to suffer in addition to paying your fine/getting points etc.</p>
<p>I would not count on getting off due to default of appearance of ticketing officer or use of an attorney. Although my experience is in a smallish town, they count on ticket revenue, and make sure that officers show up and that virtually no one gets off with a not guilty.</p>
<p>My son recently got a speeding ticket in Washington state. When he called, they offered him an option to pay the fine and if he doesn’t get cited again over the next year, the speeding ticket won’t show up in his record. Even though he thought he was justified (speeding while passing a slower car), it wasn’t worth losing a day of work and the possibility of being found guilty anyway. You might call to see if Connecticut offers something similar.</p>
<p>AM, where I live you do not have to be present if you have an attorney (I’m talking just speeding), and while the town wants the revenue they will cut down speeding (less points, etc)</p>
<p>My thought my be different than most, but here goes.
You know if you actually did what you were cited for. Is it true? Is the officer correct? If so, you might try just paying the fine, and associated costs, and then being done with it.
It is possible you might “get off” or “get off easier” by hiring an attorney.
If you really are guilty, and you say so, and pay the fine, you’ll sleep much better knowing that you an honorable individual, willing to accept responsibility for your actions, and have integrity.
If you have a son or daughter, it might teach them a good life lesson too. The alternative would be teaching them to do all u can to avoid responsibility.</p>
<p>There’s an old expression: if integrity was easy we’d all have it.</p>
<p>^^ I don’t consider myself dishonorable, but I would do anything possible to minimize the consequences of a speeding ticket. I haven’t lost any sleep at all for the actions I have taken regarding my own and family members’ tickets. The OP isn’t going to avoid a stiff penalty, but why screw up the insurance?</p>
<p>^^ Sigh. I know younghoss means well. And I do subscribe to his philosophy that adversity makes people stronger. And I’d have no sympathy if the OP had parked in a fire lane, gotten towed, and had his car damaged by the towing company. But what we’re talking about here is selective enforcement of a law 80% of people traveling through Connecticut violate, repercussions of which may cost his FAMILY thousands of dollars in higher insurance costs. If the OP is like most people and has to “pick his battles” this may one he might reasonably pick. At the very least, the OP will learn that there’s a “right way” and a “wrong way” to fight city hall.</p>
<p>Newhope33 is correct. Unfortunately, if you even try going the speed limit on the interstate highways in Connecticut (65 mph), you will almost certainly end up with an aggressive tanker truck literally sitting on your bumper trying to do 75. It is a no win situation. I take back roads whenever possible, even if it takes more time.</p>
<p>my friend got a ticket for doing 71 in a 65 mph zone in Delaware. We figured since he (PA resident) had eaten their tax free food at a rest stop 2 minutes before getting pulled over, Delaware needed to make sure he contributed something to their coffers.</p>
<p>We drove the same stretch of highway (coming home from vacation) about 10 minutes after him and glided thru at 70 while people were speeding past us.</p>
<p>The worst thing you can do is to just pay it. A lawyer should certainly be able to keep it off your record; a good one will make it disappear completely. One of my friends paid $300 for a ticket for 20 over at 1 AM (before he was 18 i.e. when driving after midnight is the same as having no license) and got found not responsible on all counts. God bless the US legal system. When you consider the rise in insurance premiums, the ticket fine itself is inconsequential.</p>
<p>If you can do drivers ed or sign a deferral agreement (you pay a “fee,” and they drop charges if you get no more tickets in 6 months or a year) that would be easier and cheaper than a lawyer. Call the courthouse and ask if you have any options such as the above.</p>
<p>DO some digging on line for the jurisdiction the ticket was issued in. Some counties(not sure if this goes on in Connecticut) will plead down almost all charges. the lowered charges allows them to keep the fines within their jurisdiction versus handing them up to State level.</p>
<p>There is no way I would plead guilty, the worst that can happen is no plea deal and you pay up, otherwise it could be reduced down to lower points lower insurance effect.</p>