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There are two broad categories of traffic tickets. Knowing which you have is important when determining what to do in your situation.

A lot of times when you have a minor violation and it wont result in any points on your license its best to go ahead and pay it and avoid trying to challenge it in traffic court.

Traffic tickets fall under one of two categories: non-moving violations and moving violations. Non-moving violations typically involve parking your car illegally or minor ‘fix-it’ tickets. These violations are not as serious as their counter-parts (moving violations) and usually involve much smaller fines.

Also these don’t show up on your record, and your auto insurance wont get wind of them either.

Non moving violations can be things such as not wearing your seatbelt, a broken headlight or improperly parking your vehicle.

These types of violations are usually better dealt with by just paying the fine. Taking the matter to court is more of a hassle on your part because the fine being imposed is normally not more than $50. The amount of time, energy and cost involved in contesting the charged violation is not worth it. Besides, these types of tickets are very hard to beat in court. I mean, either you parked illegally or you didn’t.

However if the ticket can cleared easily you should certainly try. For example a ticket for a non working tail light can be dismissed if you show proof you fixed it in most cases.

A moving violation on the other hand, is any violation of the law, committed by the driver of a vehicle, while it is in motion. The term “motion” distinguishes it from ‘non-moving’ violations. While parking tickets are charged against a vehicle (which will be towed if violations go unpaid or are frequent), moving violations are charged against the person driving. Moving violations are usually classified as infractions or misdemeanors, but serious violations can be considered felonies.

In most places, moving violations involve fines which must be paid as well as punitive points assessed to the license of the driver. As a driver accumulates points, he or she may be required to attend defensive driving lessons, re-take his or her driving test or even surrender his or her license.

Here in the United States, citation fines are nominal dollar amounts, usually between $50 and $500. In some countries, however, they are proportional to the violator’s income and fines in excess of $100,000 can be assessed to wealthy individuals.

Common moving violations include: speeding (by far the most common violation) , running a stop sign or red traffic light, failure to yield to someone with the right of way, failing to maintain a single lane, not stopping for a pedestrian in a crosswalk, crossing the gore (striped area), failure to secure a load to a truck, driving in a car pool lane illegally, or driving too slow for road conditions, particularly in a left-hand lane

Some examples of serious moving violations are drunk driving, racing on a public road, road rage and vehicular homicide.

Also, traffic violations can either be criminal or civil. They both come with fines and points on your record, but a criminal violation is the only one that can get you jail time.

Sentences imposed in criminal cases are obligations owed to the state for violation of their laws. The term state can be applied to cities, towns, state or federal governments or any other kind of municipality. Obviously these are the moving violations you need to avoid at all costs.

Common Sense Alternatives Drivers Can Prevent Moving Violation Tickets Take notice of things like bridges and up coming turns in the road, these can be speeding ticket magnets.. traffic fines Know the territory. Knowing where you’re driving is also very important.

There have been, over the years, some pretty pathetic defense strategies when it came to fighting a traffic ticket. Someone would read some information somewhere or use some advice from a relative or friend.

In this article we will go over the 5 most common mistakes used by people when trying to fight their traffic ticket. Use these as a guide of what not to do.

Mistake #1- Delaying the traffic court date

Almost every other book I’ve read on traffic tickets advises you to postpone the trial by asking for a continuance. They claim the longer your traffic court trial is from the original infraction, the greater the chance the officer will fail to show up to court on your traffic ticket.

Delaying the court date will not improve your chance of having your traffic ticket dismissed.

The question I’ve always had was if you do put off your court date, what do you do when he still shows up?

This may be a little known fact, but police officers get overtime pay to be in traffic court.

Mistake #2- Request the Prosecution’s Evidence Before Trial.

By law you do have a legal right to see everything the prosecution plans to convict you with. This process is called ‘discovery’ and can be useful in a murder trial. But this isn’t a murder trial and doing so can actually hurt your case.

If you file a motion for discovery this tells the prosecution that you intend to plan a defense. In almost every case the prosecutor will make sure his case is airtight so you have virtually no chance of winning.

Don’t request anything or even contact the courthouse at any time prior to your trial about your traffic ticket. DO NOT let them know you are familiar with the traffic court process.

Mistake #3- Doing a lot of needless research

Who likes to spend their free time at the courthouse researching boring piles of books pertaining to law? Trust me, there is no need in doing this.

For most traffic tickets it is pointless to read up on case law before traffic court. Except on the rare occasion that you may want to see how a certain statute is worded.

Mistake #4- Attacking the officer’s credibility

If your defense is to go to traffic court and try to make the officer who gave you the traffic ticket look like an idiot, don’t waste your time. Using any number of ridiculous excuses like the police officer singled you out or that he used the radar gun improperly will not work.

Challenging the officers training of a radar gun will always draw scrutiny from the judge. He will take the officers side and will insist you ask the next question.

The officer will NOT have to prove his training qualifications in the courtroom. Let’s face it, the officer has been properly trained and knows how to work the radar/laser gun. No question about it. If you try and go this route you will be disappointed when the judge asks you to provide evidence supporting your claim.

Mistake #5- Showing up to traffic court unprepared.

This is by far the biggest mistake people will make when fighting a traffic ticket. They go to court, thinking they’ve done their homework, when in reality everything they did leading up to the trial was in vain. They’re research was done the WRONG WAY and as a result, they lose their case before they even had a chance to defend themselves.

And then there are the people who show up to traffic court thinking the judge will have pity on them if they just tell their side of the story. Yeah right!

Look, I know the thought of going to traffic court can be a little scary for some, but this isn’t a murder trial. It’s just a simple traffic ticket. Traffic court is set up to be extremely ‘user friendly’ due to the large amounts of people who go there every day.

If you avoid these 5 mistakes you will have a better chance of winning your case in traffic court, and hopefully getting that traffic ticket thrown out.

Keeping it clean and up to date will help you avoid the eyes of the law. Common Sense Alternatives To Prevent Non Moving Violation Citations traffic law Keep alert. Stay awake while driving. Cops can be anywhere.

The way cops hand out speeding tickets has its limits. A police officer can pull over only one car at a time. As far as the governments view this is too expensive and slow.

So now technology has developed to the point where different ways have been cleverly created to give out tickets quicker and less expensively.

So the government in its great ‘wisdom’ decided it wasn’t collecting enough money with the old system.

There are just too many factors: First, they have to hire the cop to pull you over. This also means the use of a police vehicle which also costs money. Next, the traffic stop itself is a dangerous situation for the officer and potentially other drivers or pedestrians. Third, after it’s all said and done, the driver may still end up driving away without a ticket (if the officer decides to just give a warning).

And last, in the time it took the officer to pull you over and write a ticket, many more people go speeding by, so there was money lost from not pulling them over!

So the photo radar was introduced to take handing out tickets to a whole new level. They can do the job of many officers.

With photo radar also known as traffic cameras, speeding tickets are simply mailed to the offender. Talk about customer service!

Since its’ beginning, photo radar has been proven to: Save police department’s time and money. Improve conviction rates in traffic court. Maximize city resources available for traffic enforcement. Increase individual insurance rates.

Currently only 20 states or so use the photo radar for speeding detection, but it is on the rise.

However, the popularity of photo radar is growing by leaps and bounds.

More and more cities across the nation are beginning to catch on to the money making potential that photo radar has. Its relative simplicity and monetary benefits makes photo radar a good choice for many cities.

In areas that are financially strapped, photo radar gives them an immediate answer to their money misery.

Looking at it from the municipalities’ point of view it makes perfect sense. One photo radar can do the work of what would normally take a small army of real officers.

So how exactly does this photo radar work? What it does is take a picture of your license plate when the built in radar gun catches you speeding. Its programmed to take a photo at a predetermined speed.

For example, if a certain street’s speed limit is 25 mph, the radar gun might be set to activate when any vehicle travels over 30 mph.

So when the photo radar unit detects a car passing it at a speed over the predetermined speed it will take a picture of your plate. This picture is stored and the process keeps going on 24/7. Courtesy of big brother, bundreds of drivers can be ticketed this way.

On the following day the photo radar pictures will be accessed and gone through by several people.

What the examiners are looking for is the clarity of the picture and if the plate number can be read.

Once a legible license plate is found, the examiner will then look up the license plate number with the bureau of motor vehicles. The BMV will send back the name and address of the person the car is registered to. If the name comes back as a male, the examiner will then look to see if a male is sitting behind the wheel of the car. If there is, BINGO! The examiner will then send the registered owner of the car a speeding ticket in the mail.

This process is repeated with the next picture and so on until all available photos have been examined. Photo radar enforcement is on the rise, hopefully this article will give you a heads up about it.

speeding fines Common Sense Alternatives Drivers Can Prevent Moving Violation Tickets Common Sense Alternatives You Can Avoid Speeding Tickets Keeping it clean and up to date will help you avoid the eyes of the law.

One thing all of the 50 United States have in common is speed traps. These are places where law enforcement have made a reputation for handing out an unusually large number of traffic tickets.

There are common areas for speed traps. They can be in areas where there are bends in the road, stretches of road where the speed limit changes often, or where it might be difficult to see the posted speed limit.

They also exist in small cities or towns near major highways or interstates, where road travelers are not likely to return if they get a traffic ticket. Law enforcement can also render radar detectors useless by setting up on long stretches of road where they can time a car between points with a stop watch to determine the rate of speed. This way drivers cant be alerted by a radar signal.

What happens in this case is that they will use a mathematical formula to determine your speed by using the time it took you to pass between the preset points. Its pretty simple for them to do this. So if they determine you were speeding, usually another police officer down the road will be alerted to the make and model of your car, what your speed was, and they will pull you over.

Whether this is legal or not has been debated for many years. Increasing the numbers of drivers ticketed has always been supported by law enforcement and politicians alike. Their argument has always been that it is done in the name of safety. Even though everyone knows its to increase revenue.

The truth is, using deceptive means such as speed traps is unethical. Not to mention illegal. But law enforcement gets away with it all the time. Deceptive practices of writing traffic violations is quite literally worth billions of dollars yearly in America.

Next time you go on a long trip, do a little research ahead of time to find out where likely speed traps might be along your route. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth many hundreds of dollars in cure by avoiding speeding tickets.

Common Sense Alternatives People Can Avoid Parking Infractions Don’t go round them curves too fast. traffic lawyer Take notice of things like bridges and up coming turns in the road, these can be speeding ticket magnets..

A Georgia speeding ticket will set you back a lot of money, sometimes as much as $1000. New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, and Illinois join Georgia as states that have steep fines associated with speeding tickets.

Certain factors can influence how much a Georgia speeding ticket can cost you. How much over the limit and points on your record are the most common ways fines are increased. But if you are caught speeding in a construction or school zone, you might just spend a night or two in jail.

Some states including Michigan, Texas and New Jersey, operate under so-called “driver responsibility” laws, which, in some cases, can result in a further fine of up to $1000 leveled a year after the conviction. Virginia, which until 2008 had some of the strictest penalties for speeders, repealed its driver-responsibility laws last year after a public outcry.

But Georgia is just getting warmed up. They recently added $200 to current fines for what they call “super speeders.” These are individuals who exceed more than 10 miles an hour over the posted speed limit. That puts a Georgia speeding ticket in line with Missouri, Oregon and Maryland who have fines up to $500, before court fees.

The super speeder act, passed in May 2010, also tacks on $200 to those exceeding 75 mph on a two lane, or 85 mph on highways. And depending on the county you are caught speeding in more a thousand bucks is already added on for municipal fines.

According to Bob Dallas in the Office of Highway Safety, the increased fines are justified in order to deter speeders. He stated the additional speeding fines will go to Georgia’s hospital trauma centers.

He has organized public awareness about the super speeders act to make people aware. So what’s the lesson here? If you drive the speed limit, you won’t get a Georgia speeding ticket.

The best method to avoid getting a speeding ticket is to not drive. moving violations Common Sense Alternatives You Can Avoid Traffic Infractions Don’t sleep and drive. Keep yourself alert by sitting up straight and being aware of your surroundings.

More than 100,000 speeding tickets are issued daily. That comes to more than 36,500,000 traffic tickets yearly.

One in every 6 drivers will get a speeding ticket this year.

An average speeding ticket will cost you $150.

36,500,000 x 150.00 = $5,475,000,000 That’s almost 5 and a half BILLION dollars per year in speeding ticket fines alone.

$900 is the average increase a speeding ticket will cause your auto insurance premiums to increase over three years.

Multiply 900 by 36,500,000 and you get $3,285,000,000 (3.28 BILLION dollars) in extra insurance money the insurance industry makes in a single year just from speeding tickets.

Over 95% of people who receive a speeding ticket never contest it and just pay the fine.

The other 5% who make an effort to fight their ticket usually have their case dismissed or receive reduced charges that don’t get reported on their driving record.

There are almost 200,000,000 licensed drivers currently in the US.

Immediate grounds for dismissal of a traffic ticket is the officer not showing up to traffic court. This happens 40% of the time.

Paradise Valley, Arizona, in 1987 became the first town in America to use photo radar.

Brooklyn, Ohio became the first city to mandate seat belts while driving back in 1966.

The age groups between 17 and 24 years of age receive the most speeding tickets.

Males receive more speeding tickets than their female counter parts.

More women fight their speeding tickets than men.

The age of drivers responsible for the most traffic accidents is 17.

Two men in Seattle were fined for their speeding horses. In 1879.

The first automobile made by Henry Ford in 1894 only went forward.

Traffic lights were used before the advent of the motorcar. In 1868, a lantern with red and green signals was used at a London intersection to control the flow of horse buggies and pedestrians.

Washington D.C. area photo radar cameras since 1999 have been responsible for almost 3,000,000 traffic tickets worth almost $200,000,000.

The earliest known speeding ticket on file was issued in 1910 to the Prime Minister of Canada’s wife. She was traveling at a whopping 10 mph over the limit.

Doctors receive the most speeding tickets than any other profession.

In salary and benefits an average police officer will cost a city around $75,000 a year. He will also make the town an average of $150,000 in that same year. Cops are good investments.

Top 10 States Notorious for Writing Tickets:

1. Ohio 2. Pennsylvania 3. New York 4. California 5. Texas 6. Georgia 7. Virginia 8. North Carolina 9. Massachusetts 10. Connecticut

It goes without saying, but if you want to avoid speeding tickets, then DON’T SPEED! traffic law Common Sense Ways You Can Avoid Traffic Citations Common Sense Ways You Can Get Out Of Moving Violation Infractions

It is possible that the rate you pay for your current car insurance coverage is not what that policy is going for currently. Auto insurance companies change the rates of policies frequently. And they will not inform you if your policy has become cheaper to new customers.

Your same low rate car insurance coverage can likely be found cheaper from a different provider or sometimes even with the same provider you are presently with. When you are looking for cheap, inexpensive car insurance coverage, free private websites can help those who are searching for lower rates.

Fact: Cheap car insurance coverage for teens is available for many that qualify.

The internet has made an impact on the way people shop for and buy things in today’s world. Many websites have been developed that can either compare car insurance quotes for you, or even offer you auto insurance outright.

Fact: A cheap car insurance coverage comparison is the easiest way to find out how much you are over paying. These websites are also a great place to go when you are curious about whether or not you are paying the lowest rate possible for the coverage you have.

One of the great things is that auto insurance websites allow you to get car insurance coverage without even having to talk to an insurance agent. Literally a few minutes on the internet can save you hours of calling around to different insurers and maybe even hundreds of dollars a year in premiums.

Just taking a quick look will tell you right away if you could be getting a lower car insurance coverage rate with the same company or by changing companies. Taking the time to do a quick search can help you get the most competitive rate possible whether you plan to change companies or stay right where you are.

The search is free and there is no obligation to buy anything or change your insurance company.

If its possible for you to save some money, and do it all online, why not give it a try? In some ways the recession has given people opportunities to save even more on their auto insurance.

So give it a try, and take advantage of this recession.

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This article should give some hope to people who have received speeding tickets because there are ways to fight speeding tickets.

One thing you could do is file a discovery request with the prosecutor to acquire any documents relating to your case. These documents could include things such as the calibration records of the radar or speedometer of the car that clocked your speed. You would want to do this in advance of your traffic court date so you would have time to go through them for inaccuracies. But the possible downside of this is reminding the officer who gave you the ticket to show up in traffic court.

To fight speeding tickets remember that speed detecting devices such as laser detectors and radar can be subject to human error. And in a lot of instances police officers have neglected to provide proof of proper positioning of these instruments and thus cases have been dismissed.

Everybody has heard of cases of all kinds being dismissed because of a technicality. And this does happen. Certain things have to be done correctly for a speeding ticket to be valid. If for instance the officers badge number or signature is illegible you may a valid point to have your speeding ticket dismissed.

Be Brief: When fighting speeding tickets, keep in mind that judges don’t have a lot of time. Give a brief report. Additionally, use of visual evidence, such as a photo of a road sign obscured by foliage may help your case.

Officers rarely have a good reason for missing traffic court. If you go to court to fight speeding tickets and the officer isn’t there and the court asks for a continuance you should respectfully object. This is an example of winning your case by default and it happens more often than you might think.

Obviously not getting a speeding ticket in the first place is the best way to fight it! Speeding tickets and other traffic violations can increase your car insurance for years to come.

Common Sense Ways People Can Prevent Moving Violation Tickets Most cops will admit to targeting the left lane of the highway when looking to give out speeding tickets. traffic law Common Sense Ways Drivers Can Get Out Of Traffic Infractions