If you are approaching your court date, and you have not decided to challenge the ticket, you should speak with a traffic attorney about your speed. Typically, fighting your ticket for excess speed is worthwhile to preclude increased insurance premiums.
Many will tell you it is not worth it to challenge a traffic ticket. This is far from the truth. They will tell you that hiring a traffic lawyer will cost more than the fine. This is typically true, but they ignore the fact that the fine is usually only one-fourth of the actual cost of a conviction.
A conviction or paid fine for speed 1-15 mph over the limit carries a fine of about $238, 16 -24 mph over is around $360, and 25 mph over but less than 100 mph is $490. Speeding 100+ mph carries a fine between $900 and $2,500, plus at least three other consequences.
What’s the Final Cost of the Paid Fine or Conviction for Speed?
Unless you are eligible to attend Traffic Violators School (TVS) to keep your conviction confidential, the DMV will assess one negligent operator treatment system (NOTS) point for each conviction of speeding under 100 mph.
Once your insurance company sees your conviction for speed, they will revoke your “good driver’s discount,” which is 20 percent. The average Californian has $392 per year added to their $1,960 annual premium. Then, the insurance company will add the amount of increased risk depending on your speed. It is usually around 8 to 11 percent for 1-15 mph over, and 12-15 percent for 16-24 mph over.
The total increase will be around $500 to $600, depending on your speed. Although this could equal a $40 to $50 monthly increase, the total over the three years the speeding ticket conviction will stay on your motor vehicle driving record (MVR) will be around $1,500 to $1,800 plus the fine of $238, $360, or $490.
Therefore, the total expense for the conviction or paid fine could be as much as $2,290 for speeding up to 25 mph over but less than 100 mph. A speeding ticket over 100 mph could cost as much as $30,000. Do you still think it is not worth it to hire a traffic attorney?
What Can an Attorney Do for Me?
A traffic attorney can request an immediate dismissal of your ticket if there is a technicality, or the law enforcement officer (LEO) fails to show up in court. Yes, you could do this yourself if you knew when and how to do it.
First, the attorney can represent you in court without your presence. This means you will not need to miss work or school.
Second, you would need to subpoena records from the police about the LEO’s training and calibration record on the device used to measure your speed.
Third, an attorney could request a reduced no-point conviction. Yes, the attorney will try to avoid a conviction, but a no-point conviction is like a parking ticket. You must pay the fine, but there will be no NOTS points; thus, you will avoid the costly insurance premium increases, which could save you thousands of dollars.
Finally, your attorney can request TVS attendance from the court judge when your speed was 25 mph over, and a reduced speed or fine. The best course of action is to consult with a traffic ticket attorney about your specific circumstances.
Bigger & Harman, APC, Regularly Appear in Tulare County Traffic Court
When you have a scheduled court date in Visalia or Porterville Traffic Court, call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
We practice traffic law, including speeding, illegal U-turns, unsafe lane changes, and many others, plus we can appear with you at a DMV NOTS hearing when you are in danger of a driver’s license suspension.
Jeffrey H., of Corona, CA, stated in his Yelp review, “Pay Bigger & Harman not the court!
I got a speeding ticket in a commercial vehicle coming down the grapevine. They got it completely dismissed. No points, nothing on my record, no increased insurance rates! Let's go!!!”
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2020 CA Driver Handbook.pdf