Fight it or Pay it?

Should I fight the ticket or pay it?

  • Fight it

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Pay it

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    0
I recently got stopped while driving the wife's car and didn't have proof of insurance with me. I was given an $85 ticket for the original offense and an $85 ticket for not having proof of insurance. In SC a ticket for not having proof of insurance requires a court appearance. I showed up at court, the place was packed wall to wall. I am assuming that since the courtroom was packed the judge was trying to clear out as many cases as he could before getting down to business. He told everyone who was going to plead guilty to get in line. I debated waiting for the officer to show up but, decided to just get it overwith, pay my fine and go back to work. When my turn came I showed the Judge my insurance card and he threw out the ticket for no proof of insurance and reduced the fine on the original ticket to $25. All in all a good day.
 
First of all, I can't believe that making an illegal right on red is no points, it sure is here in NJ! My guess would be that, as Scottwax said, he was too far away to make the red light case stick in court, he gave you a ticket that was no points in the hopes that you would just pay it and be done. He probably pulled you over, given the circumstances, with the hopes that his probable cause would net him some other violation. As you noted, suburban cops have the time to "observe the flow of traffic" and pick cars that they would like to pull over because of profiling, sixth sense, etc. If they can find probable cause, then they frequently score with revoked license, no insurance, no inspection, seatbelt, DWI, drugs, etc. The only reason there was backup was likely because the other cop had nothing to do, or it was a supervisor checking up. I know it may seem to really be cops vs. speeders to you, but to the cop it is just his job, they are just going through the motions, they get bored, they have supervisors, etc. I know this because I grew up with a guy who has been a suburban cop for 20 years.



You can probably beat this in court, but my friend tells me never go to court without a lawyer, which will be a lot more than $124. I'd cut and run...just look forward to 20 years from now, when you get pulled over like that when your ages are reversed, you will get an apology from the cop and no ticket.
 
you broke the law and got caught, just pay it and be done with it. it's not worth more time and effort to pursuit it....
 
I would just pay for it(70% on the Poll say so). Aint worth your time and spend all day there and probably end up stil paying some stupid fee, even if you were find innocent :nixweiss .

Plus there's no point deducted, heck...just write a check out now, Sean :)
 
Pay the ticket since there's no points. A no brainer. Plus you get fined more and get points if you lose. Is it worth it for that cop to remember you next time?



Forget the postponement. Do they get OT for having to go to court? In some areas they do.



I kinda like the brake light excuse. Kinda like you wanted to stop but maybe you were going too fast and decided to go. :)
 
SamIam said:
Pay it and be happy there are no points.... "Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you.".
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Yep, that's my view as well. Life's short and full of enough hassles as it is. At least you didn't get a speeding ticket too.



Whenever you're over the limit (and hey, I'm almost *always* over the posted limit :o ) you increase the chance that you'll misjudge the timing of a light, or at least you'll find it wiser to try to beat it than come to an abrupt stop. Note that you're *supposed* to be driving all nice and slow so you can stop when you see it changing to yellow...you know, you're suppose to sit there and watch it turn from yellow to red :rolleyes:



Heh heh, "humiliation" IMO is being in "the position" outside the car while some LEOs take their time deciding whether you're a bad guy or not. Just having two cars lighting you up isn't all that much ;)
 
Setec Astronomy said:
First of all, I can't believe that making an illegal right on red is no points, it sure is here in NJ! My guess would be that, as Scottwax said, he was too far away to make the red light case stick in court, he gave you a ticket that was no points in the hopes that you would just pay it and be done. He probably pulled you over, given the circumstances, with the hopes that his probable cause would net him some other violation. As you noted, suburban cops have the time to "observe the flow of traffic" and pick cars that they would like to pull over because of profiling, sixth sense, etc. If they can find probable cause, then they frequently score with revoked license, no insurance, no inspection, seatbelt, DWI, drugs, etc. The only reason there was backup was likely because the other cop had nothing to do, or it was a supervisor checking up. I know it may seem to really be cops vs. speeders to you, but to the cop it is just his job, they are just going through the motions, they get bored, they have supervisors, etc. I know this because I grew up with a guy who has been a suburban cop for 20 years.



You can probably beat this in court, but my friend tells me never go to court without a lawyer, which will be a lot more than $124. I'd cut and run...just look forward to 20 years from now, when you get pulled over like that when your ages are reversed, you will get an apology from the cop and no ticket.
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I agree with Mike, maybe because I also live in NJ. Most people I know who fight tickets and go to court do that solely to not get any points on their license. Since your not getting points, I would just pay the fine and be done with it. You might be able to fight it, but once you factor in lawyer fees, court fees and all the time and preparation needed to go to court, not to mention Liz might need to be present, I really doubt all that hassle is worth $124.
 
As has been mentioned before, Liz IS NOT a witness as she was a passenger. She's merely a "person present." You already admitted guilt to the officer. You don't have a leg to stand on as you have already incriminated yourself. Time to pay up and since there are no points, take it as a lesson learned and stop next time.;)
 
You should pay it, the system is design against the people, they have the resourses and definitely the time to figure out various ways to nail you. And then there's the yellow-red light issue, way open to interpretation. We are from Florida but been living in Dallas, Texas the best part of four years already., so if you think you have it bad you should try this place for a while, the cops here are relentless and plain nasty. My wife drives a Porsche, so do I and at least once a year I get caught driving over the limit, sometimes debatable but time after time I end up paying the fine. Now we applied the 'Driving Ms.Daisy' campaign and drive just plain paranoid from point A to point B looking to fullfil our contractural obligations so we may go back home. Good luck and hope your wife feels better now.

RAY............................
 
if the light was a "Stale yellow" what color was it when the cop went through?

Just Joking. In other words did he stop for the red light?



I would fight it!
 
jonw440 said:
if the light was a "Stale yellow" what color was it when the cop went through?

I would fight it!
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I'm curious. Why does it matter what color the light was when the cop went through? Did the cop get a ticket?
 
Just pay it and be done with it. Chalk it up to a lame cop with nothing better to do. Maybe it's all the negative publicity and never reporting the good things they do, but I just have very little patience for police officers.
 
I clicked fight it but i really ment pay the ticket...im tired



no points = :) because your insurance will go up so you SAVE money by paying
 
John Styrnol said:
Pulled over 22 times! WOW
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Wondered why nobody else said anything about that! Me thinks you have a problem...



That's like 3 times a year - I've been pulled over 3 times in my life (and I'm 12 years older than you). :nixweiss
 
kompressornsc said:
Wondered why nobody else said anything about that! Me thinks you have a problem...



That's like 3 times a year - I've been pulled over 3 times in my life (and I'm 12 years older than you). :nixweiss
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About 18 of those were in my first 3 years of driving. Not only did I like to push the envelope, my cars weren't always up to spec (illegal lighting, no front plate, tint).



In the recent years, I've only been pulled over about 3 or 4 times. If you've seen my Integra (sold), you'd think that's remarkable.



I've slowed down and wised up a lot. My rebellious years (on the road) are over.



I purely put it up there to let people know that I've dealt with a few officers (:)) and have been rather succesful (lucky) with the outcome.
 
Ehhh depends on where you live (Regarding the number of times you get pulled over). Certain areas of Queens, BK, Manhattan, you can drink on the streets, smoke weed (Obviously not blatantly), etc and the cops don't bust chops. Other parts, you can have a license plate frame from the dealer on, and get pulled over. My buddy's aunt who is 60 recently got pulled over and ticketed in NJ for having a dealer installed license frame (The free advertising one) on her camry. Too me that's a bit much!



I have been pulled over about 17 times or so and only 1 for a "moving violation" which was pull over #1 when I was a kid. I sat a light for about 10 minutes and watched it cycle through 2 rotations as it skipped my arrow, I figured the light was broke, there was no one on the road, etc.



Anyway, I don't see how you don't get points if you plead guilty and do get points if you try to fight it. To me, that doesn't make sense.



My take on it is all dependant upon the insurance company finding out. If you really don't get points, then it's cheaper to pay. If you do, then it's better to get a lawyer and fight (Cheaper in long run).



The issue I have is that the local municipalities, around by me at least, are just looking to get any money they can because the dumbarse politicians don't know how to balance a checkbook! So they often hand out tickets for stupid reason knowing that most people will just pay them since the cost of taking a day off from work + the hassle = more headache and cost then just paying. I hate this practice and it happens all the time! What if this was teh case in Stilez' case? Was the cop really in proper position to witness the "possible" infraction?



Since you already paid the ticket ( I am guessing you're trying the pay extra myth), it's a moot point, but I think you would have to just weigh out the costs and decide from there. I don't know about CT but in NY I think traffic infractions stay on your license for about 39 months or something like that. Maybe that paying extra thing will work! I never knew anyone that actually tried it.



I think we all know how much it stinks!
 
I haven't had an incident with a LEO since '98 :o (and then there was that case when I was rear ended by an off duty one in '99 :rolleyes: :furious: ) but I can relate to the ridiculous BS Sean had to put up with. I had to hire a former Gloucester county prosecutor to make sure I didn't get points. Glad everything here seems to have worked out. :up
 
I work in the Judicial system in my circuit and am friends with the prosecutor and judges. Our prosecutor is a really cool guy and in a lot of situations he'll amend the charge to a non-moving violation and up the fine (say to $250) At first that seems worse, but it keeps your insurance rates down so you save in the long run, also the county collects more money, so in a sense everybody wins (except the sleazy insurance companies). My point is, go to the prosecutor's office before your court date and request to talk to the prosecutor, and explain your situation to him. The worst they could say is no, you'll have to pay the fine. If he/she is a halfway "cool" person, then they might work with you. It's worth a shot in my opinion. Respect usually goes a long ways with prosecutors.
 
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