i got a nice one going east bound on I-70 near Limon Colorado, 20mph over. In St.louis, where we recently moved from, speed tickets were a joke. You forked over $150 to a lawyer and he/she got it reduced to exhaust violation, no kidding. How do they work in Co, are ou pretty much stuck with them? Can lawyers at least get rid of the points? I have a squeaky clean license and would like to keep it that way. any suggestions/past experiences would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Cenk

 

Well, I travel with my family to Colorado several times each year. I take I-70 form Kansas City all the way to limon. I have gotten pulled over several times. I got off with a few warnings, but just ended up paying the tickets. I havent gotten a ticket for 20 Mph over, but i would just pay it if I were you. I dont thinkg that a lawyer can get rid of the points from 20 MPH over. Good luck!

 

i would go online to look for lawyers in the same zip code or area code and give them a call. i'm from st. louis and have had a couple (well, maybe more than a couple) experiences where a lawyer has been able to negotiate a deal with the local courts.

IMO, it's worth whatever it costs to not get the points.

 

If you can afford a lawyer, go that route. Otherwise, just pay it. It's cheaper than a lawyer. I'm not sure if it will affect your point system on your MO licence, but the states do have a link showing who hasn't paid their tix. In case you get pulled over elsewhere and still show that one outstanding

 

My in-excess-of-20-Over ticket was in Denver - got it out at the airport, I wasn't paying attention when the limit dropped near the terminal. I've had other tickets in Denver over the years and they always reduce to non-moving violation with a high fine. This one they did not. I had to appear...it was reduced to a 3 point violation with large fine.
I'd take it seriously..and do whatever you can to get a reduction. 20 overs seem to trip their collective trigger.

Peter

 

This is in NJ, my son got a ticket for doing 78 in a 45 zone. He first went to court by himself and the prosecutor told him that he needed a lawyer as going that much over the limit would result in a trial and his license could be revoked. He got a lawyer who managed to get it knocked down to 49 in a 45 zone by just talking to the prosecutor. YMMV. It cost him $750 for the lawyer but it sure beat the possible consequences. I'm sure most places are just interested in the moola.

 

Can't you take defensive driving (online) or is this only in some states? I did it for my ticket in Texas.

 

Dude. The cop did his part better than you did yours, so you got caught.
Pay the ticket.

 

Fight it, no matter how. My experience has been (in NY) that going to court and talking with the prosecutor (and in one case the judge directly) immediately resulted in a 10mph reduction in the penalty. That's only one state, I know, but I think you've got nothing to lose (except for court costs) by fighting it.

 

Are you able to just pay or do you have to show up in court. Sometimes 20 over means you need to go to court.

 

Some states don't allow driving school for speeding 20 mph over the speed limit. If he's lucky, he can go that route.

 

Funny. I think it should be mandatory.

 

Interesting. In Texas, you can take it for any ticket that is no more than 25MPH over the limit, and pay just the court fees (I paid like 90 dollars, plus cost of defensive driving) and the ticket is off your record. This can only be done once a year though.

 

We can only do traffic school once every 2 years in Cali, I think. We have to pay the traffic fine and the school fee (used to just be the traffic school fee and the ticket was canceled). I did online traffic for a speeding ticket back in 2003 to keep it off my driving record.

I'm not sure if it's still the law, but it used to be that driving more than 15 mph over the posted speed limit was considered wreckless driving. Maybe somebody from Cali can verify that?

 

Dunno about CA bout in some other areas I've heard 20, its at the discrestion of the officer (and then it is an arrestable offense)

 

I wonder if they are cracking down more in Colorado than they did when I lived there throughout the 90's?

I got more warnings than you could shake a stick at.

Edit: YuccaPatrol post, not PPE!

 

Ancedotal stories about different states are moot. Each state is different. In CO, 25+ is reckless driving. Under that ...
Go to court, fight the ticket on your own and hope the cop dont show up ... ask for probation before judgement.

 

I believe the anedote was to get a lawyer - that's probably the same in every state.

 

thats cool but even for a small ticket, its really not necessary.

In your case, it was probably WAS reckless driving and therefore a lawyer a smart move.. I was just trying to point out the difference since in CO, its just a normal speeding ticket.

 

Good job teaching your son how to avoid consequnce Im sure he will be well served throught life by this lesson

DO NOT get a lawer ..... Why should you get a lawyer? You were quilty right? Do everything YOU can to get it reduced to a non-moving violation or do traffic school. By getting a lawyer you are really just making more slimy lawyers rich and slowing down the already slow justice system just to save you money.....that is in my opinion abusing the justice system, and not doing anyone any favors.

Do some homework on the county web site where you got the ticket. search for traffic school or diversion. In my area you pay $150 for bassically probation (diversion) if you do not get pulled over for 9 months they will dismiss the ticket....If you do get nailed again, both infractions will hit your record, you pay both fines in addition to the diversion fee. If you are normally a safe an law abiding driver this is the easiest route to go around here.

 

It's a revenue generating system, everywhere

Yes, CO has gotten worse, they need the $. And if you do 25 or over, it is a felony here. Still, they have the system set up so you can argue away at it. A friend got his 8 ptr reduced to 2... yep, without a lawyer. Or, take it to jury trial and the officer may or may not show. The officers are fined in many cities now, Denver one of them, if they do not appear for a court date involving jury trial. 9/10 it is EXTREMELY much more difficult to argue a laser gun with speed involved.

The last ticket I got, it was like walking up to a teller at a bank. Asst DA's have it down to a science and already have an idea what they will reduce it to by the time you get to the counter. The officers comments on the ticket assist in that decision.

Still, get a lawyer if you want, but sometimes it doesn't make a difference, unless your lawyer can guarantee it's dismissal for a hefty fee

 

FYI, ace, my son is 23 and transports people who can't drive themselves to medical appointments. He was late picking up someone who needs kidney dialysis. He knows he shouldn't have been driving that fast and has certainly learned enough from his one mistake without potentially losing his license and means of making a living. Save the venom and nastiness for someone else. I was merely offering some advice to chilimac who asked for folks opinions. I don't see where your attitude is warranted. Sorry if my replying has teed you off so much - I'll do my best not to write anything more on YOUR board.

 

My 25 year old son drives an ambulance for a living. He has been instructed that in other than life-threatening situations, he is not immune from ANY traffic laws, including red lights, stop signs, yielding the right of way...etc.

Hopefully, your son has become educated.

 

Very true Hugh, he has learned his lesson and believe me, it was discussed at length at home. He was actually in his car on the way to work at 4:40 A.M. on a Saturday. He was running late and wasn't driving the medical transport yet.

My rant was with the tone of an earlier reply.

 

Hey, let's lower the level of rhetoric here.

We are offering comments based on our own experiences. We cannot judge the situation...we were not there. Let's try to be helpful.

From my experience, in many localities there seems to be a push to maximize revenue. That means that they are more attentive to traffic violations. It behooves all of us to drive considerately and smartly.