First Ticket in RX-8
 

Well I went to court today for my first ticket I received since I purchased my 8. I got clocked going 60 in a 40. I decided to represent myself and hope for the best. You know the old saying "If you represent yourself you have a fool for a client". I was worried, but it actually turned out ok. I used the Chewbaca defense.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense!

Joking, but I did get the ticket reduced to 45 in a 40 which I was happy with, considering that NY State Troopers are not allowed to plea bargin anymore. I guess my right foot will have to obey itself a little better now. Just wanted to share my good news.

Good job!

that's good. But a 45 in a 40 should have been dismissed because that could have been speedometer error.

Nonetheless still a victory!

nice job, way to go with the self representation

I'm pretty sure if he argued that point, the judge would have put it to 65 in a 40 just out of spite, but I see where you're going with that. :)

Chewbacca defense gets them every time

care to elaborate? I need to go to court for going 60 on a 40 also......pleaseee

He should take what he can get w/o angering the judge.

It's still a point on your tickect and an increase in insurance.

did you have a reduced fine?

Yeah I figure I'll take what I can get, and not push my luck. Its actually three points on my license, probably a fairly insignificant raise in my insurance, and I also only had to pay a $45 fine.

Every situation is different, so really there is no great advice I can give you. Some little things that help out is dress to impress, be polite, be adament about your point, but not argumentative.

Basically for my I said something along these lines:

Me: "Hello your honor (yeah corny, but judges love it)
I was speeding on the night of this incident. It is not something I do normally, and I corrected my speed when I glanced down and saw I was gong over the speed limit. I didnt even realize that I was clocked on radar until I passed the officer about 300 yards up the road. I do not take driving for granted, and as you can see by my record I have 0 points and 0 accidents in the last 10 plus years. Driving is a privilege and I know that. I was hoping that I could plead guilty to a lesser infraction."

Judge: "What do you have in mind?"

Me: "Perhaps 45 in a 40, please?"

Judge: "Officer do you have problem with this plea?"

Officer: "No, sir"

Ta da ticket reduced by 15mph. Yes it would have been better to have it thrown out Razz, but beggers cant be choosers. Ive seen people with lawyers be less successful than I was today. So Im thrilled.

Should have hired an attorney

I've never had any luck getting a ticket turned over completely in court, but generally its always reduced to like 5 over. It never seemed to matter how small the ticket was in regards to insurance before I turned 25. I would always be punished massively by the insurance company and dread the policy renewal date knowing that I'd be looking at a massive increase for my indescretion(s).

Since I passed the 25 years of age barrier last year, my insurance/ticket anxiety has been grately reduced. I got a ticket last year after I turned 25 and renewed my poicy, and inspite of the ticket, the policy premium went down the next billing cycle. It just keeps going down! I even added my fiancee to my policy and she has an accident at fault with over 10k of damage, The multi car discount outweighed the penalty of her accident by a long shot. I have great coverage too. I'm not sure if its just that GMAC insurance is the best thing ever, or its just the reward for aging out of the highest liability bracket. Either way, I'm no longer panic stricken when I get speeding tickets. I just consider it random taxation.

Same way I feel. I'm 26 now and this is the first ticket I have ever gotten that stuck. Every other one has been thrown reduced to no points with heavy fines. If I was younger I would have got a lawyer, but as you said im not too stressed anymore and I really dont drive like an A-hole. So no worries with a few points.

Do they have traffic school in your state ? Out here they let you take it every 18 months, so that the ticket doesn't go on your record.

what about court costs?

I have no clue if they have traffic school here. Its probably not worth the time or money. Like I said I have a clean record and im not worried about 3 points, and no they waived the court fees.

If it makes no sense, you must aquit!

this is my first ticket, so they say I can take traffic school and the ticket would be erase @.@