93_xj said:
I was following a van on a road i had never been on before and i ran a stop sign. The van ran it also, and they made no intention to slow down and due to the size of the van and the location of the stop sign, i followed them, and my friend who was following me also got a ticket. i had no clue there was even a stop sign there it was in the middle of nowhere on a strait road.
124 dollars for Failure to obey a stop sign.
Never had a ticket before, and im only 17 so i was alittle nervous, but I am going to bring it to court and hope that the cop doesnt show up or that the ticket price is knocked down.
told my dad and he wasnt too mad because the insurance wont be raised, but he just wont help me pay the ticket , but its all good because i have the money anyway.
any advice? whats it gonna be like going to court?
Court isn't bad - it's usually a bigger hassle for me get past building insecurity than to actually deal with court (I've had a few tix myself, and I've got two boys...)
Shine your shoes, wear decent clothes, look at the judge when you're talking to him/her/it, and don't forget "Your Honour" or "Sir/Ma'am" - a little of that goes a long damn way.
If you expect to provide any supporting dox/pix/whatever,
bring them with you! I can't stress this enough - the best picture of an obscured sign, for instance, does you
no damn good sitting on the table at home! It's best to stuff everything into a folder (neatly!) the night before and put it on your shoes after you shine them and before you go to bed (sneaker and jeans -
not a good idea! Borrow something decent if you have to - it need not be a suit, but trousers should be Dockers or better, and a collared shirt is a plus. Shoes should be leather and shined. Boots are OK, if they're clean, presentable, and shined. Iron your trousers and your shirt, as well. You'd be surprised...) Remember - dress clothes should
fit. Do not "sag" (or "droop," or whatever that asininity is these days...) If you don't have decent clothes for things like this, you'd be best advised to buy some - since you don't need a suit, you don't need to spend a lot of money on this.
Plan what you're going to say before you say it. The judge won't hold anything against you at all if you take a second or two to answer, if you sound like you've put some thought into it. (This applies to coversations in general. I don't usually go "well?" until five seconds or so have passed, especially with some of the questions I ask...)
Be civil. Be agreeable. Do
not be argumentative - I've seen people end up paying a few thousand for a two-hundred-dollar ticket because of this ("Contempt of Court" really sucks.) Judges expect people to argue - that's why you're there. But, there's no reason you can't be civil about it.
Organise your key thoughs ASAFP.
Write them down! There's nothing saying you can't refer to notes once you're in court - but keep the notes neat, so you can refer to them easily.
If your court date is a ways off, a little research may pay off (maybe not in this case, but get used to the idea.) I buy a copy of the California Vehicle Code from DMV about each time I renew my driver's license (should cost rather less than $10 - I think my last copy was $4. The vehicle code for your state will actually tell you what you should expect to pay.) DMV/BMV should have copies on hand, and you can probably find it online as well (Google "<your state> Vehicle Code") That four-dollar book has saved me a couple thousand by now!
Arguments against you -
"Unfamiliar road" is
not a positive defense for missing signs. Period.
If the sign was obscured by the van, it could be argued that you were following too closely.
If the sign is misplaced or obscured by environment, go take a pic
immediately! If the sign is behind a bush, you don't want it to get trimmed before you can take the pic! (I've seen this happen a couple times...)
Speed? You may have missed the sign because you were going too fast. If you were speeding, the cop doesn't have to put that on the ticket (and cops
do have some discretion in citing - I got hit, years ago, for 45 in a 35 (I was doing about 85 actual!) for being co-operative. I was disinclined to argue the ticket...)
Arguments in your favour -
Environment. Time of day - was it dark? Was there an overhead light near the sign? Check vehicle code for applicable sections governing lighting of signs and placement of signposts.
Don't be afraid of traffic court - unless you do something insanely stupid to get there or while you're there, they aren't going to put you in jail. Traffic Court is a step below Criminal Court, and running a sign is an infraction, if no-one is hurt.
If they offer you traffic school,
take it! Yes, it costs a little more. Yes, it pisses away a Saturday. Yes, it will save you more in insurance premiums than you pay for the class! It's boring, it's tedious, and you can't usually eat or drink in class (and sleeping is an automatic failure. Out here, you can get 30 days for sleeping in traffic school!) All else being equal, it's worth it to just go, stick it out, and be done with it. NOTE - you can usually go to traffic school (and get the benefits for doing so!) once every three years.
Anything else? As you can probably tell, I've been through this a few times (for me and for others...)
5-90