The fine for a speeding ticket in California is expensive, particularly when you add the increased auto insurance premium that comes with negligent operator points. Still, you can dispute your ticket with a traffic attorney and come out on top.
Why Choose a Traffic Attorney?
Unlike some other attorneys that represent clients for petty theft, assault, and other criminal activity, some lawyers specialize and only handle traffic tickets. These attorneys handle traffic court cases and frequently help clients at DMV negligent operator treatment system (NOTS) hearings.
These attorneys spend a great deal of time in traffic court. They offer their clients the benefit they derive from hearing nothing but traffic cases similar to those with which their clients have been charged. Therefore, they know how the judge typically rules given a specific defense. Thus, even though you could tell the judge the same thing a lawyer would say to them, an attorney knows the proper legal rationalization to make.
There’s also “stage presence.” Coming down with a case of stage fright when trying to dispute a speeding ticket could cost you nearly $1,500 in increased auto insurance premiums. When you are charged with a moving violation, such as speeding, is not the time to represent yourself, if there is such a time. As the old adage goes, “The man who is his own lawyer has a fool for his client.”
There are several other reasons you should choose to hire a traffic attorney. Many charge a flat fee, which means you know how much you will pay versus the fine and increased insurance. The fine for a 1-15 mph over speeding ticket is around $238, 16 to 24 mph over will cost about $360, and more than 25 mph over the speed limit but your speed was less than 100 mph, is about $490. However, the fine is usually much smaller than the increased auto insurance.
Additionally, when you hire a traffic attorney, you can go about your business, go to work, or school, and know that your speeding ticket will be resolved professionally. Even when the ticket cannot be dismissed, a traffic lawyer can often get a reduced no-point conviction where you only pay the fine and keep your “good driver’s discount.”
The increase in auto insurance is usually $500 to $600 per year for the average California driver, which adds $1,500 over three years. Why so much? The insurance industry was forced by California voters in 1988, who approved Proposition 103, to give a “good driver’s discount” of 20 percent. So, when you get a conviction, they take the discount and then add the increased “risk factor,” depending on how fast you were going.
What’s more, the auto insurance increase is not just for a few months. A minor infraction of speeding stays on your driving record for three years. A speeding ticket conviction for 100+ mph stays on your record for seven years and could add $13,720 to your insurance bill. Always consult a Kern County traffic attorney before you decide to pay the fine.
Bigger & Harman, APC, Are Speeding Ticket Attorneys
When you get a speeding ticket in Tulare County, call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
Although we have our office in Bakersfield, we regularly appear in Porterville and Visalia Traffic Courts in Tulare County. We are speeding ticket attorneys and handle other traffic tickets, such as illegal U-turns, red-light, failure to stop, and DMV NOTS hearings as well.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2020 CA Driver Handbook.pdf