WHAT TO SAY IN COURT FOR A SPEEDING TICKET

It is always best to take an extra look at the citation and fight or dismiss the ticket if possible. This will prevent the points from being assessed to your driving record which can result in surcharged down the line.

How do you fight a ticket or get it dismissed? Come to your court date prepared with the knowledge or be proactive by calling the court to let them know how you would like to handle it.

1. Qualifying Citations

Not all citations are dismissable with driving safety courses. Generally, speeding tickets fall under the category of a dismissable citation as long as it does not qualify as criminal speeding. Twenty-five miles per hour above the speed limit may exempt your ticket from being dismissable. Criminal speeding or reckless driving can be fought with the help of a criminal lawyer.

2. Defensive Driving

Once you’ve determined that your speeding ticket is eligible for the state dismissal process, you can take a defensive driving or driving safety course. After this course has been completed, you will turn in a completion certificate to the court and the citation will not be added to your driving record.

3. Discretionary Course

If you have already taken defensive driving in the past twelve months, you can specifically request a discretionary option. This will dismiss the traffic ticket but it will not go on your driving record, enabling you to take the class a potentially unlimited number of times for speeding tickets.

Though fighting the ticket may take a little more time, the real value is in the money you’ll save down the road. Always keep an eye out for mistakes on your citations and abide by the court dates to make the process.