San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

Go with online schools. Much less hassle than their offline equivalents. It's $30-50 on top of $315 that you pay to the court.

I got you beat. My ticket is $363. I'm fighting it in court (pleaded not guilty, trial set for Sept. 22).

I can do traffic school as well but figure it's my right to fight so might as well give it a shot first. If that fails I'll do traffic school.

The online ones are really easy and only like $19.95 usually. The court still wants you to pay the fine + fees but it won't go on your record so your insurance won't go up.

IMO it's all a big scam. I've been driving for 20 years and never had an accident but I get speeding tickets fairly regularly. Traffic school won't help anyone except the courts and the school companies. Not going will help the insurance co. so it's win-win (except for you, it's lose-lose).

I was under the impression that if you fight a ticket in court, you are then ineligible for traffic school. Is that not the case?

Well just to see how it works, I went and sat in the audience at the court. I heard many cases and once you're found "guilty" you can ask the judge if you can do traffic school. If you haven't done traffic school in the last 18 months you will be eligible.

If I remember right, the rule is if you challenge and lose you are ineligable for traffic school, but you can always ask the judge to forgive that part. If you are just an ass, forget it. If you have a compelling story, but are still guilty, you have a decent shot.

You will pay extra for the traffic school. Do it online, so much better. You pay for the ticket, the court "costs" to go to traffic school, and the school fee. Your ticket is only the first two.

You are right, it is all a big scam. The goal isn't to make anything safer, it is to generate income. I watch cops break traffic rules all the time, but no one is gonna hit them sooooo.

I didn't realize the classes were 8 hours. That said I am within roughly two weeks of my court date (9/3) so if I do this tomorrow hopefully they rush the certificate.

Ouch. $287 for speeding. Where were you speeding? Never mind, don't post if you were speeding or not. You probably weren't :). Anyway, where did you get this ticket? CHP or SDPD?

Anyway, if you need to take traffic school, I'd do it online. Because the trafic school thing is a joke and you can pretty much breeze through it on line versus spending a lot of time with traffic school in person.

BTW: I have a online traffic school coupon, i think you can get like 10%. I'll post the coupon code if you're interested, provided you verify that you're eligible for traffic school.

BTW#2: Not a lawyer here. But, my experience (:)) There's actually two ways to contest a ticket, though I wouldn't even bother to try for a speeding ticket unless you either can't go to traffic school or you feel like you've been wronged.

1)You can go to court in person
or
2) You can contest the ticket by doing a "trial by declaration"

If you really want to contest the ticket, I'd do #2 (trial by declaration first). The process is basically you call up the court clerk requesting a trial by declaration. They'll mail you a bunch of forms, and you fill out the form and present your traffic citation case. You have a few weeks to do this. Then you mail it back (certified mail) pre-pay your fine. The court then requests the citing officer to respond to your trial by declaration. Then based on the input from both of you, the judge (I think) makes a decision. If you lose, you can re-appeal in court in person. If you then lose in court again, you can ask the judge to send you to traffic school, which (unless you're a jackass in court and in writing), they'll most likely grant to you (because it's more $$$$ for CA)

If you do #1 (go to court first), you only have one chance. Generally can't appeal the decision made when you appear in person. The only thing you can do if you lose in person is request the judge to send you to traffic school after you lose.

Doing #2 gives you two chances, #1 gives you 1. Plus there's the possibility that if you do #2, the citing officer won't respond in time by the needed date, since he/she has to do this on his own time. Versus if you appear in court, and the court needs to get the officer's statement in person, he/she will be on overtime pay to appear in court(hence the fallacy that "most officers won't show up in court")

Again, I probably wouldn't do this for a speeding ticket, because I doubt you'll win, since it's pretty much hard to convince the judge you weren't speeding.

The only thing i would consider is if you are ineligible for traffic school (you've gotten another ticket within the past 18months), because you have nothing to lose. Often, if you write to the court and/or appear in court in that case, the judge will still let you go to traffic school if it wasn't an egregious violation (since again, the state needs the $$$$)

Anyway, I've had 3 of 5 my tickets were dismissed this way(all were non-speeding related). The remaining two were speeding tickets, the first one I lost by trial by declaration. And the second one I didn't even bother to contest since I deserved that one(hence the online traffic school discount).

For the amateur, check out http://www.ticketassassin.com/whyfight.html

BTW#3: If you regularly get tickets on the highway (at $300 a pop), you might consider investing in the CHP 11-99 fund (it's probably a myth) :)
http://zo-d.com/stuff/automotive/1199-fo...

I agree. I got a ticket couple of years ago and I was surprised how cheap and easy the online testing process was. In fact it was sort of interesting to learn the traffic laws in detail.

John

You are supposed to spend 8-hours studying online before taking the test. However, I've heard from a "friend" that it can be done in less than 2-hours.

A couple points to add to the bit about traffic enforcement. Police shouldnt be pulling you over for speeding on a highway in my opinion unless you are weaving in and out of lanes.

They should focus on speeding tickets in rural areas. They should focus on Stop Sign and Stop light violations since they happen so frequently. They should focus on people that still drive with a cell phone to their ear. They should focus on drivers that dont use turn signals.

Driving 80 in a 65 or even 85-90 in a 65 should not be a high priority with all the people that break so many rules in rural areas where kids are playing and people are riding bikes.

As far as the traffic school, at least CA has that option. A lot of the old school conservative states in this country have yet to adopt such a policy so if you get a ticket you are screwed.

Your first mistake was showing up in court first.
Do a trial by declaration, and try to drag it out as long as possible. The longer you drag it out, the less likely the citing officer will respond. Show up in court only after you lose the paper response.

Also speeders would be best serviced in investing in a Escort Passport or Valentine 1.

Geeez, what the frack are you all doing to get so many speeding tix?

I drive sports cars (a red one most of the time) and haven't gotten a ticket in over 20 yrs. And i don't even own a detector.

FLU I don't think it was a mistake, I've done the "trial by declaration" thing many times and the past several times it didn't work. I've never actually gone to court and want this to be over ASAP because I have free time right now but am starting another contract soon. So on Sept. 22 I will know. For my own sake I don't want to string it out.

Or, you could just slow down a little. I drive a lot of miles every year and I've only gotten one speeding ticket (1995, I totally deserved it) in the last 25 years. It's not a matter of chance.

I don't mind posting, I was coming over the hill on Santa Fe drive approaching El Camino Real in Encinitas. Guy standing at the bottom on foot with a gun. I just wasn't paying attention and its a steep drop. He had me at 53, which is really too fast. Like I said I just wasn't paying attention and USED to come over that hill pretty quickly as does everyone else. That day however was not our day as John Law was reeling them in...

Try driving around Texas in an Audi with CA plates, I've already gotten 2 tickets in just 3 months!

Hence, the V1 or Escort Passport.

BTW: 56 use to be lightly patrolled. No longer the case... The two favorite hideouts are right next to an overpass between the black mountain rd and camino del sur exit (behind the rention wall) westbound and in a turnout right before the exist to carmel valley road. Most of the time, people are getting pulled over for "speeding", but interesting my detector rarely goes off when they do, and they are always parked. It seems to suggest they'll just pulling people over from a "visual estimate"...I wonder how many people got pulled over without actually be clocked by lindar/radar.

Dont assume your insurance premiums will increase due to this ticket. Especially of you have a very good driving record. Call your insurer to determine if this is indeed the case. If you have to pay the ticket, that's a sunk cost anyway. So now it's down to $20 for the school and 8 hours of your time plus insurance premium increases. So what are the $$ behind each of these? Add em up and then decide your course of action. And if it's cheaper to pay and not go to school then do it. You can always go to school on the next one.

I fought a speeding ticket once and actually won. The issuing officer did not attend the court date since he had moved on to another department.

They can be done in 2-4 hours online. I actually took it twice. 19 months apart. The second time was getting caught in the speed trap they run on coast hwy, between leucadia blvd and Tamarack. 53 in a 40. I was the only one on the road coming or going.

The online course consists of a number of lessons. I think 10-12. After you read each lesson you take a test. After you go through all the lessons you take the real test. You can refer to the course material for reference on the test.

John

I got a speeding ticket in what I now refer to as "Speed Trap" Kern County. I was speeding at 75, but the officer wrote me up for going 92 (I had my car set at cruise control and he didn't even care when I protested). The ticket came and it was $380 plus would be additional if I went to traffic school. I used my group legal plan and got it reduced to $150 but the officer wouldn't let me do traffic school and it was 1 point off my license. I called my insurance and they said with my PERFECT driving record (16 years) my rates are not going to go up for a 1 pt. so I elected to just pay the $150 and not fight it further as even my lawyer said I would probably lose (even she said the officer was a big jerk).

So, I learned three things from this nightmare that I would like to share for everyone's future reference:

1) If you get a speeding ticket in a different county than where you live, tell the officer you want your case heard in your home county (this is your right by California law) and when you sign your ticket, write "COUNTY SEAT" above your name. PRESS HARD SO IT GOES ON ALL THE COPIES;

2) Your auto insurance won't automatically go up with a speeding ticket, especially if you have a good driving record (it never hurts to ask);

3) CHP in Kern County SUCKS!!!!!!!!

I learned to not visit NH or Vermont ever. I'll be spending my tourist dollars at Whistler this year.

The nice thing that I learned is that if you get a ticket in boston, it won't show up on your CA record. Because the system that MA reports ticket violation to isn't the same system that CA listens to for out of state tickets (there are two systems), and most states use both, except MA and CA.

I forgot I had one from Boston minutes stepping out of the airport.

Anyone else notice that more police are on the roads lately? Im a 4s renter and have seen them on side streets along dove canyon. Also saw them in between santaluz and Del Sur in that pull out at the bottom of the hill. CHP was parking under CVRoad on the 56. I always see the bike CHP hidden in the bushes on the median of the 56 (probably once or twice a week). Usually he lurks in between the CVRoad and Camino exits.

My buddy got a ticket on Camino right near westview - they were at the bottom of the hill past the high school standing with a gun. Another got picked off on Camino in between the 15 and 4s but he deserved it, he was going 75 which is way too fast.

Oh, the Humanity(g).

John

Just to update:

I pleaded not guilty a while ago and my trial was today. I was hoping the cop wouldn't show up but he did, even though it was his day off. A couple people in court had their cops not show up and the cases were dismissed.

He told his version, I told mine, the judge found me guilty but reduced the fine. So instead of $363 they reduced it to $287. They also let me do traffic school so it won't show up on my record.

Just FYI if you plead "not guilty" then are found guilty in a trial, it is the judge's discretion whether or not to then allow traffic school. The judge in my case decided this by asking the officer if I was respectful during the traffic stop. The cop said I was courteous and polite, and he even remembered exactly our conversation. I was truly amazed.

Anyhow, just FYI don't go off on a cop because it may work against you in court (or the cop may shoot you). Even though the judge thought I was guilty she let me do traffic school because I was nice to the cop.

amateures.... :)

http://www.escortradar.com/9500ci.htm
or the cheaper version
http://www.escortradar.com/sr7.htm

Of course, you should install it in inconspicuous places (like the alerts should be installed into your instrument cluster).

$300/ticket for speeding, it pays for itself if a few years :)

Note: does not help those that run red lights or stop signs (thank god).

Also, disclaimer
http://www.radarbusters.com/californiara...

"The PASSPORT 9500ci is the ultimate custom-installed radar and laser defense system. With blistering all-band radar protection and precise 360 degree laser "shifting" technology, speeding tickets can be a thing of the past. ESCORT continues to lead the industry by incorporating its patented GPS technology that automatically identifies the source and location of all radar signals. Real threats are processed in less than a second, while false signals are learned and eliminated. Now all you have to do is drive! It also comes pre-loaded with thousands of Safety Camera locations, (red light and fixed speed cameras) throughout the U.S. and Canada. and can be updated through ESCORT's web site."

FLU I have something similar but I never plug it in... too many things going on in the car.

BTW there were a couple dozen speeding violations in court yesterday and guess what::: not a single one was radar related. There is some course cops take in which they get good at estimating speed. The cops are tested with 100 vehicles driving by and they have to guess the speed. If they guess right a high percentage of times, they get some kind of certification that says they are qualified to estimate speed.

Also, they spoke a lot about the calibration of the speedometer of the police car. Many of the speeders were "paced" by the cop in his car.

I have used this company twice (limited to once every 18 months)

http://www.safe2drive.com/

Easy peasy.

John