There are situations where paying a traffic attorney is not necessary. Some traffic ticket cases cannot be won or reduced. However, before you decide to pay the fine for a ticket or represent yourself in traffic court, you should consult with a traffic attorney. It could save you a lot of money and the inconvenience of a suspended license.

In many cases, a traffic attorney can get a reduced charge or dismissal. Also, there are instances where the attorney will advise accepting the fine and attending Traffic Violators School (TVS). Even when it’s obvious you did nothing wrong, there may be nothing to gain by going to court.

The thing to bear in mind is a traffic attorney has seen all these scenarios play out in traffic court and knows the best method to resolve a ticket. In most cases, paying the fine for a conviction of a minor traffic infraction is just the beginning of your financial burden. The most significant expense is not the fine but the increased cost of insurance.

A Traffic Attorney Can Save You a lot on Auto Insurance

Once your insurance company learns of the conviction, they will drop your “good driver’s” discount and put you in a higher risk bracket. The lost discount and higher risk assessment will likely result in a 40 or 50 percent increase in your auto insurance. You will have to pay that increased rate until the conviction or paid fine gets removed from your motor vehicle driving record (MVR) after 36 to 39 months.

For the average Californian, that increased insurance will cost about $1500 over that three-year period. Hiring a traffic attorney could save you a thousand dollars or more, even on a ticket that doesn’t seem winnable. Due to a large number of tickets that need to get resolved, many judges with crowded courts want to reduce that number. Therefore, they will allow a reduced charge or agree to authorize TVS in cases where the court clerk, by law, was not able to permit it.

A Skilled Traffic Attorney Can Keep You Out of Court

Even when you have a mandatory court appearance, a knowledgeable lawyer will not require your presence, and you can go to work as if nothing happened. A traffic attorney knowing of an error or technicality committed by the ticketing officer can write and submit a request for dismissal.

Let’s say, for instance, you receive a ticket for no proof of insurance. When there is no accompanying ticket for another offense, how did the officer know you didn’t have insurance? CA Vehicle Code (CVC) 16028, Financial Responsibility states, “a peace officer shall not stop a vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether the vehicle is being driven in violation of this subdivision.” If the police officer wrote no other citation, could the “sole purpose” of the stop have been to determine whether there was a lack of insurance? That would be a violation of the driver’s rights.

A Traffic Attorney Can Help You with a DMV Hearing

When you receive four Negligent Operator Treatment System (NOTS) point within one year, six points within two years, or eight within three years, the DMV will suspend your license for six months and place you on driving probation for one year. When you receive the Order of Suspension, you have ten days to request a DMV Hearing. If the DMV does not receive a request, the suspension/probation will get enforced 34 days after mailing.

After requesting the hearing, you should order a copy of your MVR. Occasionally, the DMV may have put the wrong conviction record in your file. Conviction records from others with a similar name and driver’s license number can get misfiled. To order your MVR and ensure a correct record, you must first register on the DMV.CA.GOV website and follow the directions. Be careful of .org and .com sites, which are private, for-profit sites not affiliated with the DMV.

If you find files that do not belong in your MVR, request removal by writing to the DMV. However, when there are tickets for which you paid a fine, discuss these with a traffic attorney. An experienced traffic attorney can get old records removed or a current charge reduced or dismissed.

Traffic Attorneys Who Frequently Assist Clients in Mojave

Unlike attorneys who practice multiple disciplines, traffic attorneys spend a lot of time in traffic court. When they’re not in their office writing requests for reduction or dismissal, they are in court representing clients on tickets like yours. This experience gives them an in-depth knowledge of judges’ rulings and law enforcement who frequently appear to testify, which can be of immense assistance with your ticket or DMV Hearing.

Call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300, for a free phone consultation to discuss your traffic ticket or pending suspension. We are traffic attorneys who help Central Valley drivers with tickets to get reduced charges, dismissals, and reversals of DMV ordered suspensions.

Se habla Español 661.349.9755.

Send an email to attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.

References:

CVC 16028, Financial Responsibility

The DMV.CA.GOV MVR website