Should you pay the ticket or fight it? That is a question that most every driver asks themselves after receiving a citation. Some assign a "nuisance value" and believe it's simply not worth the time, effort and cost to defend the ticket and end up writing the check to the court. But before you are so quick to hand over your money to a court, ask yourself the following questions:

Does the traffic ticket carry points that could affect your driving record and insurance costs?

Exactly how much is the ticket going to cost by the time you figure in the extra costs you don't know about, such as a higher insurance rate?

Have you explored all your options? You could pay the ticket, hire an attorney and fight the ticket, or attend traffic school and possibly get some reprieve from the full effects of the ticket.

There are different defenses and options on almost all cases depending on the ticket and jurisdiction where the ticket was received. Make certain you do enough research to understand whether or not it is in your best interests to fight the citation. Officers make mistakes all the time, and there may be an issue that only an experienced traffic ticket defense attorney can identify and fight for you.