Got a speeding ticket on the way to work today. I had heard that they are no longer doing reductions of money or points for showing up at the court date. Is this true? If I show up, do I still have a chance of having the cost reduced? This was on the interstate, State Highway Patrol.
OT: Do they still reduce speeding tickets if you go to court?
- Thread starter WebInFront
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pepsicock
Well-Known Member
I believe if you have a good driving record and asked the judge to do defensive driving that will help out with your insurance and sometimes I think the judge will reduce the points the officer will reduce points and normally they do that right there on the spot when you get a ticket. Do you know how much is the ticket and how many points? Also on the subject of police tickets and etc. I'm on I 20 going towards Florence right now I counted at least 15 police cars that's including county and highway department and five people pulled over.
You can take a "4-point reduction" class offered by many local driving schools. I believe it's a one day class. I haven't had a ticket in years (thank the Lord) but my wife has.........that's a story for another day.......and she has been able to 'dicker' with the officer and has been able to get them reduced significantly by showing up and being nice. Hope you were respectful when stopped and weren't driving like a bat outta hell. Good Luck.
I don't know anything about all of this but, from reading your post, wouldn't it be a good idea to take this driving school course on your own, get proof that you took it, and bring it to the hearing and present it to the judge that you are on the right path to correcting your speeding tendencies?
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anon_n4c0cp5zhdxn7
Guest
Every experience I've had with this, they would rather negotiate a plea than go to jury trial. Jury trials take time and money.
Crazy you just posted this. My son is going into the Air Force and is currently on delayed enlistment to accept a job. Recruiter said stay out of trouble until then, and he got a "yield - right of way" ticket leaving the recruiters office. Anyways, this is his only ticket he has ever gotten. I spoke to two people at the courthouse and explained the situation. They said to talk to the police officer the day of the court date about 15-30 minutes beforehand. They both said there is a very good chance the ticket is reduced. Even if the cop doesn't bend, we can present the request to the judge and he may reduce.
Thanks for the responses. I am definitely planning on "being a man" and paying my dime. It's just that "in the old days" I remember being able to show up to court, plead guilty, and they would reduce your points and fine on the spot. It's not bad enough to do defensive driving, or contest it, or any of that. Thanks for the info.
I don't know if it's the mythical "quotas" that supposedly don't exist, but I-20 has indeed been crawling with police lately. I wasn't really trying to speed, per se, just going with the flow in the middle lane.
I don't know if it's the mythical "quotas" that supposedly don't exist, but I-20 has indeed been crawling with police lately. I wasn't really trying to speed, per se, just going with the flow in the middle lane.
I've taken retired people driving class given by the Virginia VDOT. The video said that we should not be the slowest car on the road but go with the traffic. Maybe you can use that argument?
I try to make sure that there's another car going faster than I am going so they get pulled over and not me. That means that sometimes, you are able to go fast and other times you need to slow down.
Generally, I have just slowed down than my previous driving style. Best of luck and stay alive.
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anon_n4c0cp5zhdxn7
Guest
Talk to the officer before you make a plea. He, most likely, can help you a lot more than the judge.
I think you misunderstood my post. No one in my family has ever needed to take the course. I constantly see cars driving around from driving schools with "4 point reduction classes" written all over them on the roads in Columbia. The two times in the last 15 years my wife has been pulled has been for speeding on 20 and she has met with the officer and got them reduced.
Several years ago I got a ticket in Conway, SC. I was a student in Columbia at the time. I called the city/county court and politely asked if I could do anything to reduce the point assessment. The nice woman on the other end of the phone reduced the ticket from 4 to 2 points and I mailed in a payment. I can't remember if she reduced the fine, I think she did. This was a few weeks before the court date.
Similar thing happened years later in Texarkana, TX. I called and they offered me some type of probation for a $25 upcharge. My ticket was $100 and I paid $125 for the probation deal, which meant as long as I didn't get another ticket in one year it would not go on my record. I gladly paid the extra money to keep my record clear, mostly to avoid the insurance premium increase.
May or may not work these days, however seems like a polite phone call is worth a try. Good luck.
Similar thing happened years later in Texarkana, TX. I called and they offered me some type of probation for a $25 upcharge. My ticket was $100 and I paid $125 for the probation deal, which meant as long as I didn't get another ticket in one year it would not go on my record. I gladly paid the extra money to keep my record clear, mostly to avoid the insurance premium increase.
May or may not work these days, however seems like a polite phone call is worth a try. Good luck.
Be careful and don't get "locked up" when you there arguing your case because as Barney Fife would say...
"A man confined to jail is a man who has given up his liberty, his pursuit of happiness. No more carefree hours, no more doing whatever you want. No more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
"A man confined to jail is a man who has given up his liberty, his pursuit of happiness. No more carefree hours, no more doing whatever you want. No more peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."
Just got off of I 20 and have seen about 15 police officers both county and Highway Patrol ending out tickets left and right. This is between Columbia and Florence going to Florence and coming back from Florence on I 20 and during that time span counted about 12 cars pulled over so if you're going to Florence are coming to Columbia from Florence you need to watch your speed.
Show up in Court. When I did so, judge started Court with request for those with traffic tickets to stand. Offer was made to reduce tickets to under 10 miles per hour. This reduction did not increase my insurance rate. Earlier I planned paying the ticket and go home. Lady in fines office told me to show up in Court and most likely it would be reduced. It was.
Originally posted by world famous 3rd base hecklers:
Just got off of I 20 and have seen about 15 police officers both county and Highway Patrol ending out tickets left and right. This is between Columbia and Florence going to Florence and coming back from Florence on I 20 and during that time span counted about 12 cars pulled over so if you're going to Florence are coming to Columbia from Florence you need to watch your speed.
[/QUOTE]That would be Kershaw county. Sheriff there refused to 'lay off' a while back citing the fact speeders are law breakers and the revenue cannot be replaced. If you look closely, there are dozens of worn patches where police cars parked/using radar 24/7 catching all those criminals on I-20 while gangs take over the other parts of the county.
Just got off of I 20 and have seen about 15 police officers both county and Highway Patrol ending out tickets left and right. This is between Columbia and Florence going to Florence and coming back from Florence on I 20 and during that time span counted about 12 cars pulled over so if you're going to Florence are coming to Columbia from Florence you need to watch your speed.
[/QUOTE]That would be Kershaw county. Sheriff there refused to 'lay off' a while back citing the fact speeders are law breakers and the revenue cannot be replaced. If you look closely, there are dozens of worn patches where police cars parked/using radar 24/7 catching all those criminals on I-20 while gangs take over the other parts of the county.
Go to court and enter a guilty plea w/ leniency from the judge. This tactic worked for me in an unknown speed trap with multiple offenders on the same day by same officer. Had a 20 mph over speed limit ticket reduced to a fine and NO points on my license. Time will only tell if my insurance carrier is notified of the speeding violation.
My experience:
I went by the local office to just go ahead and pay the fine. The counter girl was very nice and said she could/would reduce the points reduction from -4 to -2. This was years ago but it always pays to be friendly and ask for help.
Don't make a big deal out of it!! The situation is your fault.
I went by the local office to just go ahead and pay the fine. The counter girl was very nice and said she could/would reduce the points reduction from -4 to -2. This was years ago but it always pays to be friendly and ask for help.
Don't make a big deal out of it!! The situation is your fault.
The last one I got was in Simpsonville about 6-7 years ago. I think it was 72 in a 60. The cop was pretty nice and said he wasn't allowed to drop it down himself but that it would "more than likely" happen if I came to court. So I took off work that day and went. The judge started with the 8 point tickets and worked himself down to the 2 pointers. In each group he gave the same deal to drop it down 2 points.
The judge said, "Everyone with a ticket that is 4 points please stand up. If you'd like for me to drop your ticket down to 2 points please come up front. I will sign off on it and you can pay the cashier on the way out. If you'd like for me to hear your case, please sit down and I will get to you shortly. If I hear your case and you lose, you CANNOT take the automatic 2 point reduction. I will either find you guilty of the charge or not guilty. So basically, in every single group, EVERY PERSON came up, got in line, he scratched something on the ticket, and we all paid on the way out. I don't know what happened after us 4 pointers but it went from standing room only to a ghost town in about 15 minutes.
But here's what pissed me off. What if I legitimately thought I was innocent? Then I have about 2 minutes to decide if I should hang around and argue my case and take a chance or I could basically plead guilty (even though I legitimately thought I was innocent) just to play it safe. I don't even know how this tactic is legal. I know they just do it to get everyone to get up and leave and make it easy on themselves but this is kind of messed up.
The judge said, "Everyone with a ticket that is 4 points please stand up. If you'd like for me to drop your ticket down to 2 points please come up front. I will sign off on it and you can pay the cashier on the way out. If you'd like for me to hear your case, please sit down and I will get to you shortly. If I hear your case and you lose, you CANNOT take the automatic 2 point reduction. I will either find you guilty of the charge or not guilty. So basically, in every single group, EVERY PERSON came up, got in line, he scratched something on the ticket, and we all paid on the way out. I don't know what happened after us 4 pointers but it went from standing room only to a ghost town in about 15 minutes.
But here's what pissed me off. What if I legitimately thought I was innocent? Then I have about 2 minutes to decide if I should hang around and argue my case and take a chance or I could basically plead guilty (even though I legitimately thought I was innocent) just to play it safe. I don't even know how this tactic is legal. I know they just do it to get everyone to get up and leave and make it easy on themselves but this is kind of messed up.
