how to fight a speeding ticket in pa

Always check with your insurance before fighting a ticket. Although you have the right to represent yourself in court, you will likely feel much more comfortable with the help of a traffic attorney. have a meeting with the prosecutor. It wont just go away on its own, and youll be in much bigger trouble with the law. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 106,613 times. For example, speeding up to 10 miles over the speed limit is a 2-point violation. How much trouble depends on your state: You could be arrested or have to pay larger fines, or your license could be suspended. Research speed equipment. 5 Ways to Effectively Fight Traffic Tickets Five strategies for fighting a traffic ticket. If, for example, you're trying to prove the officer pulled over the wrong car ask if he remembers that there were two other blue Honda Civics on the highway that morning. Pennsylvania's speeding ticket point system, however, works similarly to most other states. Here are the 16 top reasons cited for getting out of a speeding ticket, and their rates of success as determined by CarInsurance.com: I'm bringing home hot food and didn't want it to get cold (11% . You do have a right to an attorney but, as previously discussed, this is probably not necessary when fighting a speeding ticket. Experienced Legal Advice When The Future Is At Stake. Your license will automatically be suspended. Anything you say can be used against you if you go to court. You can submit a discovery subpoena to the court to get certain documents that may help your case. By using our site, you agree to our. You can also fight it or negotiate in court. Youll pay the speeding ticket and any court fees. This will give you more time to build your case. Pennsylvania's speeding ticket fees Excess of legal speed limit Fee imposed for breaking the legal speed limit Every mile over 5 mph $35 + $2 per mile over the limit Every mile over 65 mph $42.50 + $2 per mile over the limit If excess over 11 mph (school zone) Up to $500 How Pennsylvania speeding tickets are calculated No bawling is necessary. Stick to questions with short answers and avoid asking why questions. Anytime you are considering contesting a speeding ticket or traffic offense, you should talk to an experienced traffic attorney soon after you get the ticket. Pay attention to your shirt color, any small dents or cracks in your car, and any noticeable physical characteristics of the officer. How Much Will a Speeding Ticket Raise My Insurance Premium? Technicalities can also help you get your ticket dismissed. If the officer clocks you at greater than 11 miles over the speed limit the ticket grows to $500. Winning the case will result in a refund of the collateral you have paid and protect your driving record. Cost money upfront: Youll pay the speeding ticket and any court fees. In Pennsylvania, the fines are based on the exact speed at a price of $2 per mile per hour past five over the limit. On one side of a sheet of paper, note what was said. So, in response to the first letter, I mailed them back the following letter (copied and pasted): I received a letter claiming I committed a violation of a speeding law in the District of Columbia on 04/21/2012. Gather information to help successfully dispute the speeding ticket. But, in order to properly pace a vehicle, the officer must take certain steps. Check the PAePay website to see if the traffic court your ticket was assigned to accepts online payments, as it varies by county. Required fields are marked *. Find out how to fight a speeding ticket or other traffic offense, and when you should hire our speeding ticket lawyers to help you. You can then choose to fight the ticket in court, negotiate a lesser penalty or pay the speeding ticket and accept the ding to your driving record and the higher insurance premiums likely to result. Theres nothing fun about the feeling you get when those blue lights flash behind you on the highway. Penalties for Speeding Tickets in Ontario: 0 - 6 demerit points; Fine payable according to table victim fine surcharge to be added; A conviction for speeding will stay on your driving record for 3 years; Possible increase of car insurance premiums with 0 to 3 points with a duration of up to 3 years; Definitely increased insurance premiums . As the officer is exiting his car, roll down the driver's side window. Drivers who rack up too many points face consequences like having to take a driver improvement course and license suspension. Evidence could include dashcam video or GPS data from a smartphone app, or photographic evidence that a speed limit sign was obscured. If you dont attend the hearing, your license will automatically be suspended until you do. Although all this may seem like a lot of hassle for a $50 ticket, getting a PA speeding ticket dismissed can save you hundreds over time from increased insurance rates and accumulated driving points. Reviewing Your Ticket 1 Check your ticket for accuracy. Where you cannot win the ticket, delaying the conviction (the finding of guilt . Fighting a speeding ticket is about 3 goals: keeping your driving record clear. Traffic school is one of the best options for most people who get a speeding ticket, so you should at least check to see if it's an option where you live. If you are under 18 and get more than six points on your license or your Pennsylvania speeding ticket is 26 mph+ over, your PA drivers license will be suspended for 90 days and you'll be required to pass a written test and pay a reinstatement fee to PennDOT. That's it! If there's anyone who can verify you were not speeding, call them in to testify. If the officer that issued the ticket doesn't show up, it's almost automatically a win for you. Sign up and well send you Nerdy articles about the money topics that matter most to you along with other ways to help you get more from your money. Check the PAePay websiteto see if the traffic court your ticket was assigned to accepts online payments, as it varies by county. Alabama; Alaska; . Its likely youre reading this because youve already gotten a speeding ticket, so file away these tips in case it happens again: Ask which method the officer used to determine you were speeding and write it down afterward. Gather evidence. Credit card payment by telephone by calling 800-390-7151. Credit card payment online by clicking on the "Pay or Contest Violation" button below. There are other possible ways your speeding ticket can shake out. How to Fight a Speeding Ticket in PA When you receive a speeding ticket or traffic citation, you always have the option to pay the fine and accept the points. Overall, your strategy to beat a photo radar ticket looks like this: Avoid being served, do not respond for four months. Subscribe to stay in the loop & on the road! Many speeding tickets result from the police officer following or "pacing" a suspected speeder and using his or her own speedometer to estimate the suspect's speed. Each time you reach 6 points on your record, there are consequences: You will need to take a written exam about safe driving practices and the penalties for violating them. Incorrect Details on Your Ticket Before you do anything else, take a close look at the citation you were given by the officer. Speeding ticket fines in PAcan range from around $45-over $100. The police officer will aim the radar at the target vehicle. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. A traffic lawyer costs between $250 and $350 on average nationally, according to Thumbtack, an online marketplace for service professionals. Pleading guilty means you're accepting the ticket and paying the resulting fines, which will raise your insurance premiums. Even when the roads are clear I still hit between 20-25 mph, which I believe is not fast enough to where you are moving too quickly to monitor your surroundings. Legal Help for Moving Violations, Parking and Traffic Tickets - Speeding Tickets: 1/2 mile from my house I was clocked (Robic stopwatch) doing 49.1 MPH in a 35 zone (3.37 sec over Speeding Ticket Information (Stopwatch) - Pennsylvania You could receive a deferral, in which case typically youll pay a fine and your ticket will be dismissed after a period of time if there are no further offenses. Keep in mind, missing ANY of your court dates could result in: If you cannot make it to your assigned court date, usually you can request a continuance in writing or in person at the applicable PA traffic court. However, this can increase your insurance rates and put your license at risk, especially if you make money as a commercial driver. If there are any discrepancies in the nature of the violation, you can dispute the ticket within 30 days. Radio Detection And Ranging or radar as it is popularly known works by emitting radio waves. The far greater consideration is that your insurance costs will rise. Besides helping you win against speeding tickets in PA, DoNotPay can help you solve all your traffic ticket needs and other issues. Merely visiting our websites does not create an attorney-clent relationship with the law offices of Colgan & Associates, LLC. Your trial will occur within 45 days of the day you enter you plea. After pleading not guilty to the traffic violation(s), the court will assign you a date to return for a pretrial conference OR trial before a judge. % of people told us that this article helped them. Join 1,972,984 Americans who searched for Car Insurance Rates: In Pennsylvania, you must submit your plea of not guilty to the traffic court handling your case, within 10 days of receiving the traffic citation, if you wish to fight your ticket. This will not work on every police officer, so the driver will need to read them to see what might be effective. Call a Traffic Ticket Attorney It makes sense to call someone who does this for a livingwhose job is to fight traffic violations for people like you. Her work has been featured by USA Today, U.S. News and World Report and The Associated Press. The defendant is you, as you're the person fighting charges. One of the easiest ways to pay for your speeding ticket in PA, especially if you do not live in Pennsylvania, is by paying it online. The court handling the ticket should be included on the ticket. Afterward, write down everything about the incident, including the time of day, location and anything that might have affected the circumstances, such as obscured or missing speed limit signs. Prepare to achieve this goal. Traffic attorney explains 20 ways to defend yourself if you have a speeding ticket. Otherwise, to fight your ticket you'll need to plead "Not guilty" and challenge the officer's measurement of your speed or their identification of your vehicle. Submit a request for certain public records. "Pacing" is a method often used by officers to determine whether a driver is speeding. Typically in mitigation, you admit to the offense and present information that would lead a judge to grant you leniency. The details you wrote down earlier in terms of the incident you were pulled over will come in handy here. Worse, being rude or uncooperative can be counterproductive. Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant, / h a r m ju l s i z / HY-rm yoo-LISS-eez; April 27, 1822 - July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. If you plead "not guilty," focus your defense on either challenging the officer's means of measuring your speed or his identification of your automobile. How to beat a Photo Speeding Ticket A notice appears in your mail telling you that you have been caught speeding or running a red light. You can fight your traffic ticket by scheduling a court hearing. As per the instructions, I am writing to plead 'not guilty' to this charge. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. If you choose to plead guilty to a speeding ticket in Pennsylvania, there are several ways to pay the fine within the deadline stated on your ticket. HOW THE POLICE CATCH YOU SPEEDING. 4 ways to beat a speeding ticket. If you would like to request a hearing within 30 days of the date of your Notice of Violation, you have two options. We have helped over 300,000 people with their problems. Also, pay attention to the traffic conditions and look especially for extenuating circumstances that could have caused inadvertent speeding. For more tips from our Legal co-author, like how to prepare for your speeding ticket trial, read on! If the judge rules against you, you can appeal the case to a higher court. A jury will usually not be called in for traffic court. Speeding Ticket in Pennsylvania | Ticket Counsel Speeding Ticket in Pennsylvania Fines and Fees Speeding 1-10 miles over: 2 - 4 points / $85 - $170 Speeding 11 - 15 miles over: 3 - 5 points / $115 - $235 Speeding 16 - 24 miles over: 4 - 6 points / $135 - $306 Speeding 25 - 35 miles over: 5 - 7 points / $160 - $380 Visit 800 Spring Garden St. on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. If you dont attend the hearing, your license will automatically be suspended until you do. However, this can only be used once. I've never had an issue until this particular morning, and I assume I was just severely unlucky this day. You can view a breakdown of Pennsylvania's traffic fines, updated in 2014, on the Traffic Injury Prevention Project website. In other cases, fighting the ticket may be the best option. You can call in witnesses, including any passengers in the car when the ticket was issued. If you opt to represent yourself, you'll need to have some familiarity with the procedures of Pennsylvania traffic court before fighting your ticket. Dispute Your Band C Speeding Fine Without a Lawyer and Win. But for a civil complaint such as simple speeding - do not pay! Many people don't bother fighting a traffic ticket because it may not seem worth the time and effort. You can appear before a judge and enter a Not Guilty plea as well as a request for a court date. Lacie is a NerdWallet authority on insurance products and loves data, analytics and solving SEO mysteries. When evaluating offers, please review the financial institutions Terms and Conditions. Here is a list of our partners. At Berman Law, our Media, PA attorneys represent drivers in Chester County, Delaware County, and Philadelphia County. Arguably, both are required to accurately testify to speed and identity of the correct vehicle. In some cases, you may be able to look up your traffic ticket online. Do not say, "I was going 62 in a 55 zone," for example. Learn about different traffic ticket defense strategies, from disputing the officer's presentation of evidence to arguing your ticketed driving was somehow justified. Pleading "Guilty with explanation" means you admit to speeding but want to the court to take certain circumstances into consideration, which may result in your insurance premiums staying the same. In most cases, this includes the Pennsylvania traffic ticket fine AND any court costs and surcharges. A few tears while explaining the circumstances and showing extreme remorse may be all that is needed. $25 fine for motorists not traveling with their headlights on in posted work zones. The options that the traffic court gives you are: pay the ticket. Ask specifics. Remember, only 50% of people who fight traffic tickets get their tickets dismissed. In a 65 or 70 mph zone, you'll pay $52.50 for driving 10 mph above the speed limit and $102.50 for driving 35 mph above. In addition to the speeding fine, drivers also must pay a surcharge based on the mph over the Maximum Speed Limits outlined in the table below. You'll receive an appeal letter that contains state vehicle codes to boost your case. If convicted of aggravated assault by vehicle in an active construction zone, drivers can receive up to 2 additional years of jail term. Speeding ticket fines are the same throughout Pennsylvania, and are set based on fast you were going, and what the posted speed limit was: If you were in a work zone at the time you were clocked speeding, your fines will be doubled. There is another choiceyou can go to court and fight the ticket with the help of the best Pittsburgh Criminal Defense Attorney. Log-in to DoNotPay and find the Speeding Ticket product. Why You Should Fight A Speeding Ticket The state of Pennsylvania bases the amount of your speeding fine on how fast you were going and what the speed limit was in the area where you were caught speeding. The penalties that you face may include the cancellation of your driver's license. Therefore, you will incur the cost of the speeding ticket, and the PA Department of Transportation may add points to your driving record. Our opinions are our own. If there were many other cars similar to yours on the road that day, the officer may have pulled you over by mistake. Note that paying your speeding ticket in PA is considered an admission of guilt. Our office accepts e-mails from parties that visit this website, but the sending of such e-mails does not create an attorney-client relationship and therefore these communications cannot be treated as privileged or confidential. How to Get a Speeding Ticket Dismissed In Tennessee Quickly. In fact, roughly half of the drivers who do take a speeding ticket to traffic court end up winning the fight. There are three main types of devices that officers may use in order to determine a person's speed: Radar, VASCAR/ENRADD, and the officer's speedometer. Note as many small details as possible. Contact the Pennsylvania traffic court in the county where you received your citation for more specific information on how to enter your plea of not guilty. 1) Admit guilt and pay the fine, 2) Attend a defensive driving class (at your expense) 3) Request a trial be set by mail. This article was co-authored by Clinton M. Sandvick, JD, PhD. You have the right to cross-examine anyone who testifies against you, which usually means the officer who wrote the citation. That's it! I checked my speedometer." How to Fight a Speeding Ticket - What to Do in 10 Steps Contents Remain calm and respectful Sign the paper copy of the ticket Check your contact information on your ticket copy Make sure you know how to handle the citation Read the instructions on how to pay your speeding ticket Attend defensive driving school instead of paying the fine A speeding ticket can result in huge fines and an increase in your insurance premiums. It is possible to beat a radar speeding ticket. Handle this PROMPTLY as your court may only accept continuances submitted within a specific time frame. For more tips from our Legal co-author, like how to prepare for your speeding ticket trial, read on! All Rights Reserved. However, an appeal is not a new trial with new witnesses. 9 Best Car Insurance Companies of March 2023, The Difference Between Comprehensive and Collision Coverage, Get more smart money moves straight to your inbox. 4) Tell them who the actual driver was. Know when to fight The time to fight that traffic ticket isn't when the officer is writing you up. If he refuses, ask him to note the request. An Ohio appeals court issued an interesting decision the other day on the issue of pacing. MORE: How much can I save by refinancing my car? All this said, can I counter argue this citation, especially given my status as a teacher? Generally, you must inform the court in person if you plead not guilty. Her work has been featured by USA Today, U.S. News and World Report and The Associated Press. We are good at it. Say as little as possible. Several hundred dollars are now being demanded from you because the camera captured your car and license plate. You mayget a judge to dismiss a speeding ticketor significantly reduce the charge if you are prepared for court and can justify the unfair ticket. You can pay: Online. The judge is the person overseeing the case, who has final authority on the rulings.