WOW I got screwed in court... - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

madness410 · 05-02-2008, 11:51 AM

well...sort of...heres the story

Ok so today was my court date to go in for a speeding ticket i got a few weeks ago...86 in a 55. 31 over. 5 point ticket.

I got there 45 minutes early, dressed really nice, was polite to everyone

I show up and theres a kid there who got caught doing 96 in a 55. He went to talk to the prosecutor before me and he was given an obstruction of traffic violation, 0 point ticket.

Then i go in and the prosecutor is a real d-bag...hes like: 84 in a 55, 4 point ticket. take it or leave it. Im like, sir can i please plead for unsafe operations, he said "you can, but im not going to give it to you"...then im like, sir i have my driving record (which is clean) to prove im not a trouble maker...then hes like "did i ask for your driving record or did i say take it or leave it?" so i took the 4 pt ticket while grinding my teeth ..and feel like i really got fcked because the kid that went in before me got 0 points...and was speeding worse than i was.

then the judge came in after i was waiting in the courtroom and read out loud what i had to do..pay 225 dollar fine or something, 4 point ticket...then i was polite and said your honor can i please plead for unsafe operations...he said no, but he did arrange it so i did get a 2 point ticket, 156$ fine plus a 33 dollar court fee.

after today though im a strong beleiver in that quote "everything happens for a reason"...because actually, i paid 189 for fines, as opposed to 439 for unsafe operations, got 2 points as opposed to 0, but i called my insurance and they said there will be NO surcharge for the ticket. so i paid a cheap fine, no insurance surchage, was out of there in less than 3 hours, AND i still have cash left over to buy stuff for the camaro

but anyone reading this please take my advice...DONT SPEED! i sure as hell learned my lesson. it doesnt pay to speed, and you really can kill someone, or even yourself, i really think i got lucky today..but that doesnt mean anybody else will on another day, so do yourself a BIG favor and avoid the situation before it happens.

...dont speed people

chrisfrom nj · 05-02-2008, 11:59 AM

that sucks i had to pay 440 no points for a wreckless driveing ticket the cop gave me a ticket in my own driveway

redbanditZ28 · 05-02-2008, 12:36 PM

I was waiting to hear how it went for you. I am sorry to hear about that man. Some people really are dicks, especially when they favor some people and not others. Still, I think you did everything right that you could have. Personally, I am sure a lot of people would disagree with me, but I really think you would ahve faired better with a lawyer. Sure they are scumbags and are out for your money, but I am a firm believer that the traffic court system has a deal worked out with lawyers, that if you get a lawyer to fight a ticket, you will automatically be in the judge's good graces.

Think of being in the judges shoes. He sees a well mannered guy dressed up nicely, who had a speeding ticket. He may have thought you dressed nice to try to get into his good graces. Regardless, I've never met a judge who showed favoritism towards a person defneding himself over a lawyer defending a person. The judge wants to see you spend your money on a lawyer. Otherwise he thinks you just a reckless kid trying to get off lightly like the rest of us who went to court for the same thing. I am not calling you that, I am just trying to prove my point. I was in the same situation, but I feel the lawyer was worth the money in the long run.

But I am sorry to hear that man. It goes to show you that not everything is in your control. Some people do everything right and still get those things wrong. You went about it the right way though.

Just forget about it now. Set out with what you said, with keeping it under the speed limit or doing the speed limit and stick to that. I am sure gradually you'll work your way up again slowly like the rest of us to at least do 5 mph over the limit. Maybe even more. I haven't reached that point yet. I still mostly do 5-8 mph over the speed limit, since my last ticket 4 years ago.

NJ auto insurance scares me more than the cops in my rearview.

madness410 · 05-02-2008, 01:16 PM

Quote:

NJ auto insurance scares me more than the cops in my rearview

amen to that.

but i do understand about the lawyer...i just didnt really have the cash to shell out for that, and it really wasnt garunteed that they could do anything more than i could. if the judge were smart he would put two and two together and think: teenagers are usually poor maybe he couldnt afford one.

but i did man up and admit that i did make a mistake and of course there are always penalties but i am actually happy with two points, and the 189$ fine without having a lawyer present, and my insurance rates wont go up. i didnt really expect to go scott free

the one thing that ticked me off was someone about my age, dressed like crap, who broke the law worse however...did. just goes to show you how screwed up that system is sometimes.

then again there was someone who was caught doing 105 in a 55 and the prosecutor didnt even offer them a deal

79CamaroDiva · 05-02-2008, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbanditZ28

NJ auto insurance scares me more than the cops in my rearview.

AllState FTW. My policy won't go up regardless of if I get any moving violations. After 2 speeding tickets last year, I STILL got my "safe driver bonus" and my rates went down. As long as they don't have to shell out money, it seems they don't care what you do

redbanditZ28 · 05-03-2008, 01:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 79CamaroDiva

AllState FTW. My policy won't go up regardless of if I get any moving violations. After 2 speeding tickets last year, I STILL got my "safe driver bonus" and my rates went down. As long as they don't have to shell out money, it seems they don't care what you do

How'd you manage that? For your policy not to go up even if you have moving violations?
I mean my policy didn;t go up for me either when I got my only two moving violations 5 years ago. I think that was mostly due to the lawyer. Liberty mutual isn't a horrible provider, but they probably aren't the cheapest either. I acutally looked up a quote for me through allstate, and their policy was a lot more than what I am paying now for LM. Its weird too. I have a clean driving record as far as the insurance knows, since I never got any points.

EchoMirage · 05-03-2008, 06:42 AM

NJM is the cheapest in the state. also the hardest to get into.

79CamaroDiva · 05-03-2008, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbanditZ28

How'd you manage that? For your policy not to go up even if you have moving violations?
I mean my policy didn;t go up for me either when I got my only two moving violations 5 years ago. I think that was mostly due to the lawyer. Liberty mutual isn't a horrible provider, but they probably aren't the cheapest either. I acutally looked up a quote for me through allstate, and their policy was a lot more than what I am paying now for LM. Its weird too. I have a clean driving record as far as the insurance knows, since I never got any points.

I think its called All State platinum policy or something.. You get the accident forgiveness, and I forget what they called it for not going up for moving violations, but when I was debating goign in to fight a ticket, I called them up to see how much my policy would go up wtih 2 points, to see if it was even worth fighting. The agent said that it didn't matter if I went on a speeding frenzy and racked up 7 points, my policy wouldn't go up because of whatever I signed up for

BonzoHansen · 05-03-2008, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redbanditZ28

How'd you manage that? For your policy not to go up even if you have moving violations?

Remember that every company has different underwriting standards & practices.

zuuhlsT/A · 05-03-2008, 09:34 AM

2 points aint so bad. Keep your foot off the loud pedal and not get a ticket for a year and the points drop off.

jims69camaro · 05-03-2008, 10:15 AM

yes, it definitely pays to keep out of trouble. when i was 17 i got the book thrown at me for being on a dirtbike on the street, the cop went wild and the judge was wilder, still. anyway, i ended up with 7 points, plus 5 for RECKLESS driving, and guess what, 12 points ftl... then, i'd go a year with no violations and get a speeding ticket and, whammo, i'm back on the suspended list.

thankfully, i learned my lesson and have stayed violation-free for more years than some of you have been alive. i've also been in the situation where i weighed whether to take a lawyer with me or not. it's not a decision to make lightly, since you end up paying the lawyer $500+ for a court appearance, versus the possible fines you could catch from a judge in a bad mood. it's still something i think about, even after all of these years, what would have happened if i had taken a lawyer with me that first time...

FBODS4EVER · 05-03-2008, 01:37 PM

i hate court. justice the call it? not always. some courts operate like a mob. all stick together. judge lawyer prosecutors. but remember 1 thing they are all lawyers who stick together. someone is always out for free money. ive been innocent in alot of things getting screwed. but dont get me wrong i was bad at alot as well. seems like when im bad. things are easier to deal with in court. here's to the justice system

laws are made to make money.

sweetbmxrider · 05-03-2008, 02:03 PM

i tried to get two different attorneys to represent me for my last ticket....both said they couldn't do a thing! i have had more luck going to court with state troopers and by myself than with a lawyer. every situation is different though

madness410 · 05-03-2008, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sweetbmxrider

i tried to get two different attorneys to represent me for my last ticket....both said they couldn't do a thing! i have had more luck going to court with state troopers and by myself than with a lawyer. every situation is different though

wow what kind of ticket was that?