Quick Ticket/Court Plea Question

[Jersey Mike]

Got a 87 in a 65 on 287-N, Morris Township, Saturday the 25th. Officer was using Laser (I know b/c my Passport screamed Laser, and he started rolling out before I even passed him )
So, according to what I gathered, the penalties are $200 & 4 points. I have a clean record with no points on it right now. I'd like to keep the points off my record, as much as possible.

Will they plea it down? If so, likely down to what (and what are the penalties associated with it)
and what classes can I take to knock the points off. I've heard AAA has a "free" class for certain members; I have AAA+ so I'll call tomorrow & see if I'm eligible for the Saturday Class to have 2 points knocked off.

What would you suggest to do from here, as far as the ticket/insurance/penalties/etc go?


*edit*
Possibly relevant to potential plea offer: I plead a "Careless Driving" ticket down to "Unsafe Driving" to avoid the points back in March 2008.

[thunder]

u can plea it down to an unsafe operation ticket twice. if the prosecutor doesnt wanna give that to you he might drop it to careless driving which is 2 points

Also call ur insurance company and see if they would let the 2 points slide without jacking up ur rates. They did that for me

[sweetbmxrider]

i thought they changed it to just once? pending a very clean record, they may plea bargain to a lesser speeding ticket, say 11-15mph over. every bit helps and it depends on the particular court.

i think there are two different classes you can take. one knocks off 2 points and is mandatory when you reach a certain point level and the other is extremely long and costs a good bit of change. its been awhile and the memory is a little fuzzy. mvc should be able to point you in the right direction, i'd call em tomorrow.

[Tru2Chevy]

The option to plead down to unsafe operation is available twice within a 5 year period unless they changed that recently, so if the prosecutor is feeling lenient, he or she can offer that to you. As you know it's no points, but expect to pay between $400-$500 for it.

It's more likely that they'll be willing to drop to a careless or similar. It'll prolly cost you a few hundred bucks and you'll still have 2 points, but you lose 2 a year if you have no offenses, and you can take the safe / defensive driving courses to take off 1 or 2 points.

- Justin

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

The option to plead down to unsafe operation is available twice within a 5 year period unless they changed that recently, so if the prosecutor is feeling lenient, he or she can offer that to you. As you know it's no points, but expect to pay between $400-$500 for it.

It's more likely that they'll be willing to drop to a careless or similar. It'll prolly cost you a few hundred bucks and you'll still have 2 points, but you lose 2 a year if you have no offenses, and you can take the safe / defensive driving courses to take off 1 or 2 points.

- Justin

Was it careless or unsafe driving that used to be 2 times every 5 years and is now 2 times over your life?

[sweetbmxrider]

i think unsafe was changed. careless definitely was not changed.

also, its up to 3 points every year you go without a moving violation or suspension. total points can not be less than 0

[Tru2Chevy]

Unsafe used to be twice within a rolling 5 year period. Not sure if it was changed or not. I've managed to only land in traffic court once in 11 years behind the wheel (used my first unsafe at that time too!). Actually had the judge congratulate me on having a clean record up to that point.

- Justin

[sweetbmxrider]

yeah it was originally once every 3 or twice every 5 but i think they changed it cause the courts were abusing it

[btownws6]

you can use the unsafe twice every 5 years but it includes a $250 surcharge and is usually 400 to 500 for the ticket and most courts will only drop a 4 point ticket to a 2 point, it really depends on the town, i know freehold will never drop anything over a 2 point to 0. and if you use the 2 unsafe the surcharges go up to almost 1000 and the ticket is like 750 so speak to the prosecutor bc they can tell you exactly what they'll do.. i used both unsafe operations and i regret it now b/c im screwed if i get another ticket lol also your insurance company offers a course to drop points if not the dmv one drops 2 points

[NJ Torque]

Morris is rough. All depending on what the prosecutor/judge will do for you.

Probably changed to a lesser speeding fine.

[Jersey Mike]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm going back & forth between:

1) sending them a check for the $200 fine, bypassing court, & taking the 4-points. Then taking a class to drop 2 points, and letting the remaining 2 points disappear by themselves in a year.
or
2) Going in to court to plea it down to a 2-point violation of some kind, then taking a point-reduction class.


Other notables:
*As of right now, I pay $7xx every year for insurance (liability only).
*The car that pulled me over was a blacked out Charger.

[sweetbmxrider]

you will look better going to court now somewhat clean then later on if you are ticketed in the future. its a toss up but i would go to court for a 4 point ticket especially with a good record.

[WildBillyT]

Originally Posted by Jersey Mike

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm going back & forth between:

1) sending them a check for the $200 fine, bypassing court, & taking the 4-points. Then taking a class to drop 2 points, and letting the remaining 2 points disappear by themselves in a year.
or
2) Going in to court to plea it down to a 2-point violation of some kind, then taking a point-reduction class.


Other notables:
*As of right now, I pay $7xx every year for insurance (liability only).
*The car that pulled me over was a blacked out Charger.

#2 in my opinion. That's what I did pretty much, but I didn't go to the class.

[thunder]

#2 no doubt

[KirkEvil]

They will most likely knock it down to a lesser speeding ticket with 2 points and a hefty fine $400+.

In my experience with insurance companies, my rates never went up for speeding tickets but sky rocketed from a careless driving. I would not opt to have a speeding knocked down to a careless. You end up paying more for insurance the next 3 years than it would have been to pay the fine and deal with the points.

[maroman88]

#2

wat does it being a bad ass cop car have to do with anything??

[BonzoHansen]

If you don't choose #2 you are a knucklehead. And not to carless, to the unsafe no point deal. or at least a lesser speed.

[NJ Torque]

Originally Posted by maroman88

#2

wat does it being a bad ass cop car have to do with anything??

X2.

There is no law stating the car must be marked.

[BonzoHansen]

I think he was 'just saying', not that it mattered at all.

[Whiplash Performance]

I got a tailgating ticket up in Parsipany last April my driving record has been clean prior to it.The prosecutor dropped it to a careless driving 2 point ticket.
Each court is different, try calling the court see if they'll set you up a date with the prosecutor. Some towns require to make an appearance in court before getting an appointment with the prosecutor.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

If you don't choose #2 you are a knucklehead. And not to carless, to the unsafe no point deal. or at least a lesser speed.

Well it's safe to say if he was carless he wouldn't have received the ticket.

[r0nin89]

Man I got lucky when I was in highschool.... Point Pleasant prosecutor dropped a 5 point Reckless to 0 point unsafe. Cost me like $475.

He told me "I really appreciate the fact that you took this serious and are respectful. Your dressed up nice (slacks and shirt & tie), you brought your mother being that your a minor, and I wont lie I had a Camaro in my day and burnt rubber more than a few times..."

I could have sworn that when I was there it was mandatory that he inform me that I was only eligible to have points dropped like this twice every 3 years.Then said being that this was my first ticket he said he better not see me back here and that he hoped I was appreciative of his kindness and learned from my mistakes.



Also remember that depending on your insurance company receiving the points and then taking classes to remove them does not cancel out the offense in their eyes. IF your rates go up I'm sure removing the points with a class will help but it definitely wont cancel it out.

[Tru2Chevy]

Originally Posted by r0nin89

Also remember that depending on your insurance company receiving the points and then taking classes to remove them does not cancel out the offense in their eyes. IF your rates go up I'm sure removing the points with a class will help but it definitely wont cancel it out.

Yes, insurance points and DMV points are not the same. AFAIK, the insurance company will only see what ends up on your DMV record, not what you were actually ticketed for in the first place. So if you get this down to a lesser speeding offense, they'll never know how fast you were actually going. Also, when you take classes to get rid of DMV points, that doesn't affect your insurance points. Any offense that your insurance sees typically lasts 3 years no matter what.

- Justin

[Jersey Mike]

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

Yes, insurance points and DMV points are not the same. AFAIK, the insurance company will only see what ends up on your DMV record, not what you were actually ticketed for in the first place. So if you get this down to a lesser speeding offense, they'll never know how fast you were actually going. Also, when you take classes to get rid of DMV points, that doesn't affect your insurance points. Any offense that your insurance sees typically lasts 3 years no matter what.

- Justin

Didn't know that. Thanks, Justin.
I guess we're goin' to court. Here's to hoping Morris isn't as bad as they say.