The Facts about Traffic Tickets & Traffic Ticket Attorneys
When people from out of state think of California, they often think of movie stars, sunshine, surfers, and all the tourist spots to visit. However, California natives most often think about traffic jams and traffic tickets. What they rarely think of is hiring a traffic ticket attorney to resolve their ticket.
Why wouldn’t CA residents think about traffic tickets? They have a one in ten chance of getting one each year. The CHP and other law enforcement officers (LEO) issue more than four million tickets per year. Yet, about one in ten of those ticket recipients go to the county courthouse and cough up the money to pay the fine, as if it is a mandatory tax.
They do not consider that more people who hire an attorney to resolve their ticket get it dismissed or get a reduced no-point conviction. A no-point conviction is like a parking ticket with no negligent operator treatment system (NOTS) points and no increase in auto insurance.
Therefore, the answer to the question, “Won't a Traffic Ticket Attorney Cost More Than the Ticket?” is almost always no. The average California driver pays $1,960 for their annual auto insurance premium. The fine you would pay if convicted for a minor infraction, such as speeding, failure to stop at a stop sign, an illegal U-turn, unsafe lane change, and others, is about $238 depending on the county where you received the citation.
If convicted, or you paid the fine, and the DMV assesses one NOTS point because you were not eligible for traffic violators school (TVS) or you didn’t complete it before the court-ordered date. In that case, your insurance company will take away your “good driver’s discount,” which is 20 percent, or $392 annually for the three years the NOTS points will stay on your record. What’s more, they will put you in a higher risk category at renewal.
So, your total for that traffic ticket without hiring a traffic ticket attorney to resolve it would cost about $238, plus 3 X $392 or $1,414+ the increased risk. Surely, you can find a knowledgeable and experienced traffic ticket attorney for far less than $1,414+.
What a Traffic Ticket Attorney Can Do for You
A traffic ticket attorney could get your ticket dismissed. This happens more often than most people realize because the state must prove “beyond a reasonable doubt” that you were guilty of what the LEO accused you of doing.
Take speeding as an example. CA Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 22350, Speed Laws, 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,” etc.
So, if you were going 80 mph on a bright and beautiful day, how difficult do you think it would be for an experienced speeding attorney to raise a “reasonable doubt” that your speed was indeed reasonable and prudent given the conditions? That’s the standard, “guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” you‘ve heard it a thousand times on TV.
Yet, many do not apply that standard to a traffic violation. The same with their right to remain silent. After you hand your license, registration, and proof of insurance to the LEO, they ask, “Do you know how fast you were going?” Most reply, “Well, I know I was speeding but I was just keeping up with traffic, or I was late for work.”
What’s more, when you hire a traffic ticket attorney to resolve that red light ticket, you do not need to go to court. So, they cannot ask you who was driving if you weren’t. You can go to school or work as if nothing happened.
A traffic ticket attorney can also represent you at a DMV NOTS hearing. They can investigate the questionable result of an accident the investigator said was your fault. They can get unjust tickets removed from your record. All it takes is to remove one NOTS point for you to keep your driving privileges. How much is it worth to keep driving for those six months?
Hundreds of thousands of CA drivers that had their driving privileges suspended or revoked do not get their license back. That can lead to a downward spiral; many winding up homeless.
Hire a traffic ticket attorney to protect your driving privileges instead of pleading guilty and paying the fine.
Bigger & Harman Are Traffic Ticket Attorneys Who Frequently Assist Tulare County Drivers
When you have a court date in Visalia or Porterville, call Bigger & Harman, (661) 349-9300. Se habla Español (661) 349-9755.
We are traffic ticket attorneys who can resolve your ticket using a low, one-time, flat rate. Regardless of how many times we go to court to resolve the ticket on your behalf, you will not have to pay more. Give us a call today.
Email: attorney@biggerharmanlaw.com.
References:
The 2020 CA Driver Handbook.pdf
CVC Section 22350, Speed Laws