Most drivers with a speeding ticket think that once they plead guilty and pay the fine, it’s all over. The pain they will learn later is when their auto insurance comes up for renewal. By then, their insurance company will have checked their motor vehicle driving record (MVR).
The Actual Cost of a Speeding Ticket
Some will come out of the court clerk’s office muttering and raging about having to pay $238, for 1-15 mph over, $360 for 16-24 mph over, or nearly $500 for 25 mph over up to 99 mph. Speeding 100+ mph or more will cost $900 to $2600. However, the fine is usually only one-fourth of the actual cost of the speeding ticket.
Once they see the conviction for speeding, they will take your “good driver’s discount.” That’s 20 percent of your premium. Say you’re an average Californian with full-coverage because you also have a payment or lease on your vehicle, you pay roughly $1960 per year.
The younger you are, or if you have teen drivers on your policy, you will pay much more. But 20 percent of the average auto-only policy is $392 per year. Next, the insurance company will reassign you by risk, even if it is your first ever speeding ticket. Typically, the increase for 1-24 mph over the limit is between 20 and 22 percent. If you pay the fine and do not contest the ticket, you will pay around 35 to 40 percent more.
For a conviction for speeding 25 mph or more, your insurance could double or triple if your insurance company decides to keep you. No law says they must, just that you must have proof of insurance before you drive.
That’s why the first thing you should do after getting a speeding ticket is to consult with a traffic attorney. Some, like Bigger & Harman, offer a free initial consultation. What’s more, they will give you an honest appraisal of your situation and chances of successfully disputing your speeding ticket in plain English or Spanish.
One of California’s Most Common Speeding Ticket
CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 22350, Speed Laws, is one of the most frequently issued violations in CA, it states, “No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”
Most people think of this as a “too fast for conditions” speeding ticket. If you are not represented by a traffic attorney, a seasoned law enforcement officer (LEO) will tell the judge, “It was my educated opinion, as an experienced patrol officer for X number of years, the defendant was going too fast given that it was raining or foggy, etc.”
Typically, the judge will even accept the LEO’s guess of how fast you were going, provided they have a few years on the force. The judge would probably not accept a rookie telling him or her, “based on my experience.”
When you represent yourself, you will find it difficult to rebut whatever the LEO presents. You likely have no traffic court experience to draw upon. You need an experienced traffic attorney to raise a “reasonable doubt” that your speed did not “endanger the safety of persons or property” and that it was “reasonable or prudent.”
The most significant difference is not just that you have an attorney, but that you have a traffic attorney. Traffic attorneys who take their business seriously can spend 10’s of hours a week listening to rulings on not just their clients’ cases but all cases. They can then use the knowledge they obtained during those cases to get the best result for you.
When You Receive a Speeding Ticket in Fresno County, Call Bigger & Harman
Call Bigger & Harman, traffic ticket attorneys who regularly practice traffic law in Fresno County, at (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
We are California traffic attorneys, and we handle most traffic tickets, not just speeding tickets. We can help you resolve an unsafe lane change, red light, stop sign, illegal U-turn, and many other tickets. We’ve also helped many drivers with suspension notices get NOTS points removed from their MVR. Give us a call, and let’s discuss your specific situation.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2020 CA Driver Handbook.pdf
CVC Section 22350, Speed Laws