so today a dickhead cop pulled me over for doing 45 in a 35. i was following with the flow of traffic about 5 seconds behind the car infront of me, and there was another biker on my left side. the lights came on, i pulled over and the other guy (ZX-6) took off. it ended up being 100$. im not too thrilled, neither were the `rents
but really my only concerns are:
will my first ticket raise mt insurance at all?
will this ticket effect me being able to get my license after i take the msf this weekend?
well you where breaking the law . they can only pull over one person at a time . most the time . you should have tryed to see if they would let you take the MSF course and get the ticket taken off .... but seeing how you dont have a the right endorsement to be riding on the road . i'm suprised you did not end up paying more .
What exactly did you get cited for then? No endorsement, speeding, ?
got cited for speeding. i have my bike permit so it is legal for me to ride on the streets.
If you got cited for 10 over or anything under 14 over it SHOULDN'T affect your insurance as it normally won't result in points..............call the DA in a few days about it and see if he'll let you off if you take the MSF..........they go for it on occasion :thumb:
let me off like not have to pay for it? that would be so amazing
Yeah, or reduce the fine..........they have more authority than they will let you know.
usually if youve got only the permit dont you have to be riding in a group with an endorsed rider or such?
In GA the only restriction on permits is no nights or highways
what do i say to the DA? haha, i dont wanna pay this ticket, can i just take the msf instead? i wonder if he would fall for that one.
and in MA the only restrictions on having a permit are no nights, highways or riding 2 up.
You're in MA?
If so, you don't talk to the DA. There is likely no option to take the MSF to get the ticket reduced.
However, there should be an option on the ticket to request a hearing instead of paying it. Do that. In a couple of months you'll get a date for a hearing where there will be a state cop and a magistrate. Basically, just ask for a break. They're usually pretty fair.
Since it's only 10 mph and your first offense, you should be able to get the ticket thrown out. Bring up the point that since then you have taken the MSF and are more used to riding and judging how fast you're going. It'll also be a good idea to not get anymore tickets at least until the hearing.
Just call a lawyer. It will probably cost you $300 total, but you can get it reduced to a non-moving violation and that is the only way to be 100% sure it won't effect your insurance. You see, every state has different laws, so unless one of the people that posted in this thread is a lawyer that is licensed in your state, you should take their advice with a grain of salt.
Just checked his profile and it does say he's in MA.
You do NOT need a lawyer in MA for a speeding ticket. If it were reckless driving or worse, it would be a good idea. But this is just a simple speeding ticket. As I mentioned before, it won't be difficult to get this reduced or thrown out.
my only problem with taking it to court is the 50$ court fee, then i have to take time off of work, then i have to pay for the gas to get there, so in the end itll just be like paying the 100$, just going to different people. if the ticket was for over 200$ i would but if i dont have anything to gain i dont really see a point ya know?
Is there a court fee? I got a ticket a few months ago and there was no court fee. The fee may apply only if you're found "responsible" and have to pay the full amount of the ticket.
I agree it is a pain in the ass to take it to court. But, in my opinion it's a good idea to go and try to get it reduced/eliminated. Your car insurance may increase otherwise (or it might take a couple of years longer to start getting safe driver discounts - either way I'm pretty sure the first ticket isn't "free" insurance-wise). If it does, it would have been worth it to take it to court.
Also, it's nice to have a clean driving record. If you get a ticket a few years from now and take it to court they may say "well, he has no prior speeding tickets, we'll let this one go."
this is why i like texas :) if you get cought speeing and its 10 mph or less you can have the ticket dissmissed. i.e. i was doing 10 over got a ticket i went in to the court and asked them if i could take DD they said yes as long as i have not had it in the last year . on a motorcycle in Texas if you get a ticket and want to take a DD course you have to take one of the MSF courses. as simple as that . you pay the court cost and the MSF cost and it never shows up on your driving report. ... so your insurence never gose up.
who would be the one to talk to about my insurance going up and it getting taken at least off my record from msf. the RMV or MSF or the DA or my insurance company?
DON'T SAY shaZam! TO YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!!!! Talk to the DA and the MSF instructor.......those are the people that need to work together. :thumb:
Call the insurance company and ask them to explain what happens when you get your first ticket. Just don't give them your name!
The only way you can get it taken off your record is to request a hearing for the ticket. And it's not the DA. It would be a court magistrate who makes the decision.
It couldn't hurt to give the MSF people a call. I wouldn't imagine getting a ticket will prevent you from getting your motorcycle license, but I could be wrong.
The magistrate only deals with the intake of money...........they don't have the authority to actually drop the charge only to reduce the fine........ The DA has the authority to drop the charge and thus no fine would be imposed :thumb:
In my experience (in MA at least) you sit in front of the magistrate and a statie. And in both cases, the magistrate dropped the charges. There may be some behind the scenes stuff going on, but I personally did not deal with a DA, and I have no citations on my record for MA.
Quote from: bluelespaul on July 31, 2007, 07:46:47 AM
my only problem with taking it to court is the 50$ court fee, then i have to take time off of work, then i have to pay for the gas to get there, so in the end itll just be like paying the 100$, just going to different people. if the ticket was for over 200$ i would but if i dont have anything to gain i dont really see a point ya know?
Waste the Pigs' Time (tm). Why should THEY get your money easily?
-b.
Ummmm.... JakeD correct me if I'm wrong, but charging a fee for a criminal case is absolute bullshit!!!!!! ya'll must be really f%&ked up in your state :o
In my state, and most states, you can't get a ticket amended without a lawyer. Just like you can't get a prescription for medicine without a doctor. Call it bullshit if you want. I don't care. I just get sick of this arm chair quarter backs assuming you can just walk into court and get a ticket thrown out. It shows total ignorance for the legal system.
I've done it. Twice..........actually requires a decent knowledge of the legal system. I do however get an attorney for the larger tickets ( had a few 30+ overs )
For this ticket, it does not make sense to get an attorney. It's a $100 dollar ticket with no point assesment. Here in Georgia 'under 14 over' isn't even reported to the DMV, so there's really no way for an insurance company to find out about it. When, I was 18, I recieved my first speeding ticket for 16 over. When I got to researching it, I determined the DA that was assigned to traffic shaZam! currently and went to talk to him. He had the hearing pushed back a month and offered to drop it completely if I took a privately instructed defensive driving course. Doing this will still cost you $$$ but the DD course will remove a few accumulated points and depending on situation, make you eligible for insurance discounts. It's worth a try, but, yeah they probably will give you a bunch of shaZam! if you don't have a Lawyer.
Say whatever you want. I don't care. I told him to "call an attorney". I give people free consultations like 5 times a day. If they don't need an attorney, I will tell them that. Every state is different! Don't you understand that? There is no federal speeding tickets, so they differ by jurisdiction. That is why the best way to find out is to call an attorney near you. In my state, even +4 speeding tickets require an attorney for amendement. So please. . . get that through your head. It doesn't matter one little bit what you did in Georgia or what Peter did in Nebraska or what Jane did in Colorado. So why don't you let it go?
Chill, Ok did a little browsing on law up that way, Lawyer probably would be the best way to go.
Ya'll are all sorts of different. If you have a relationship with an attorney already, go see them. If not just randomly pick one.......it's a speeding ticket, they don't have to be brilliant to handle it :thumb:
Yesterday I got a guy out of a DWI and possession charge. So sometimes you do have to be brilliant. But for speeding tickets, you just have to have a pulse and a bar license. Thanks for checking though. I'd hate for you to have to take my word for it.
ehhhh........there are ways around having a bar license in a couple of states.........
Damn!...Good job on the DUI/Possession...... :thumb:
( Oh, I rarely take anyone's word for things, I like to see it in writing myself)
You're in the military right? Look, I don't claim to be an expert on the military just because I saw Heartbreak Ridge. We all don't have to be experts in everything. Or do you? It just bothers me when people with no legal knowledge start popping off and giving legal advice when A) they have none; and B) when it has no relationship that a particular jurisdiction. You telling a guy in MA that he doesn't need a lawyer because you don't need one in GA is crazy. I hope you never need a lawyer Terry, but millions of people pay lawyers about $150-200 an hour for a very good reason. And when a guy that makes $150 a hour gives you free advice, listen.
Quote from: Jake D on August 01, 2007, 11:49:03 AM
And when a guy that makes $150 a hour gives you free advice, listen.
Coke or Pepsi?
Thanks :thumb:
i still dont know what im gonna do. ill see what my dad says haha. ill still check with the MSF instructor too, but ill probly just pay up.
Interesting article I just read about speeding tickets: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20070731/cm_ucru/speedkillsyourwallet;_ylt=AqwPIoTTTjDvWHZkrZ05xu_9wxIF Good reason to take a half day at work and just fight the ticket now.
Quote from: Jake D on August 01, 2007, 11:49:03 AM
You telling a guy in MA that he doesn't need a lawyer because you don't need one in GA is crazy.
I've already said this... I live in MA. I've gotten two tickets in MA. I challenged both, and got them thrown out. You do not need a lawyer for a 10 mph-over speeding ticket in MA.
Both times I went to court there were 8-10 other people who were fighting citations. Not one of them had a lawyer with them. A lawyer, in this situation, would be a waste of money.
Also, you're proud of the fact that you got a guy off a DWI and possesion charge? :icon_rolleyes: No wonder so many people don't like lawyers.
Jake: I'm not claiming to be an expert. I'm not an attorney. In a few years.........that'll be different. I've been surrounded by the law the majority of my life and worked several summers as an investigator/assistant for a local lawyer who bills 600/hr.
Quote from: Jake D on August 01, 2007, 07:12:15 AM
In my state, and most states, you can't get a ticket amended without a lawyer
I guess NJ is just nice then? All minor tickets can pretty much automatically be plead down to an "unsafe driving" charge twice in 3 years. Unsafe driving carries a $150 fine + $250 license surcharge but creates no points on your license. No lawyer required, and for both tickets I got in the last 3 yrs, I got offered this plea by just showing up without a lawyer and talking to the DA.
-b.
GOOD GOD $400 for a minor traffic ticket??? :cookoo: :cookoo:
Quote from: spcterry on August 01, 2007, 06:41:38 PM
GOOD GOD $400 for a minor traffic ticket??? :cookoo: :cookoo:
No points, though, and no requirement to go to traffic school or pay an attorney. Spending a day at traffic school would cost me just as much, since my time's worth something too. If you don't want to pay $400, you can fight the ticket (sometimes you DO win) or just pay the "normal" fine for the offense which is generally under $100 and take the points.
-b.
Yeah, i guess to not have to sit through that allday bullshit traffic school, it could be worth it. :thumb: :thumb:
Didn't think about it that way.
Quote from: spcterry on August 01, 2007, 07:46:40 PM
Yeah, i guess to not have to sit through that allday bullshit traffic school, it could be worth it. :thumb: :thumb:
Didn't think about it that way.
Indeed. I'd much rather just pay a fine and be done with it or even take a few points, than listen to some preachy professional do-gooder. I'd have to smoke a lot of ... before I could tolerate a day of traffic school...
-b.
I did it once........about half the people walked out or didn't come back after lunch break :laugh: :laugh: It sucked......bad. We had smoke breaks every 20 minutes, though.
Quote from: bluelespaul on July 31, 2007, 03:32:29 AM
what do i say to the DA? haha, i dont wanna pay this ticket, can i just take the msf instead? i wonder if he would fall for that one.
and in MA the only restrictions on having a permit are no nights, highways or riding 2 up.
Talk to them and tell them how you were being dumb and such... Basically, show them that you regret doing it, and tell them that you are taking the MSF course to become a better rider, etc...
I hope that helps. But I'd recommend that you admit that you were acting dumb, and sometimes they will cut you some slack. Helped me once... My only time, and it helped.
Quote from: annguyen1981 on August 01, 2007, 07:57:26 PM
Talk to them and tell them how you were being dumb and such... Basically, show them that you regret doing it, and tell them that you are taking the MSF course to become a better rider, etc...
Or just threaten to plead not guilty. The DA's set to try small-time cases are generally lazy gits who would rather you plead to something than actually getting off their arses and trying a case.
-b.
Oh... btw.
At the DMV, there's a head honcho that I had to meet in order to try and keep the punishment low... I can't remember what his title is, but just call your local DMV and ask them who you need to talk to for an appointment to talk about the ticket.
g/l and have fun at the MSF. :)
just out of curiosity, how do i get the DA`s number? the only thing in the phone book is district courts and it gives me a big list of like juvenile courts n stuff, but nothing for just the DA
You've got to call the main number of the court, and ask them directly. That's how I got our DA's number.