A Guide to Steer Clear of Traffic Tickets. While simply not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle is the surest way to ensure that you won’t be pulled over for traffic tickets, this is not really a possibility with most people. And for people who wish to refrain from using public transport, any advice in this regards is always welcome. This article shall guide you in how that speeding ticket can be avoided in the first place. Know that it’s generally a minor offense that most of us get pulled over for, and after the officer in question starts going through our credentials, other charges laid against us in the past can also come to his/her attention. In this way, you can also get booked for your previous offenses.

Additional charges which are commonly reported include not wearing a seat belt, a broken taillight, an expired license, improper/expired insurance, etc. And in case you’ve had a little to drink before getting behind the wheel, you can easily add DUI to this list. With this list of offenses that you can be booked for in addition to speeding, being a little cautious will only help. After all, this can help prevent your being fined ridiculous amounts of money as well as your license being suspended.

Here are some pointers that should help.

Dealing With Traffic Tickets

Keep an Eye on the Speed:
If you’re hoping to avoid speeding tickets, this pretty much goes without saying. And in case you need to satiate your need for speed, head to the highway. Know that speeding within city limits will not really get you to your destination any sooner. After all, you have to contend with aspects like traffic signals and all the traffic in your way. If you’re trying to rush through this, you’re simply aggravating yourself, as well as your vehicle’s engine. Therefore, whilst driving inside city areas, take it easy.

The Vehicle’s Condition:
Keeping your vehicle looking presentable and clean will definitely help in maintaining a low profile traffic tickets, and this can help your not being noticed in the first place. If your vehicle has chipped paint or dents, you should think about getting this fixed. Make sure that the car is cleaned periodically, and looks alright aesthetically.

Take Proactive Measures;
By taking proactive measures you can minimize the chances of your getting a ticket considerably. Take some time to inspect your car to ensure that everything’s in order. Areas to address include the taillights, the headlights, the bumper, the blinkers, the mirrors, the number plate, etc. And while you can’t really predict when a bulb is going to go kaput, checking frequently will only help.

Traffic Tickets Truths

Another thing to do is to rid your car of any kind of stickers that affect your view in any manner. Make sure nothing is dangling right in front of the rear-view mirror, and also keep large things away from the rear windshield. Know that you can also be booked with an ‘obstruction-of-view’ charge if the officer deems it to be appropriate.

Ensure that the license plate registration is up-to-date. Keep the tires suitable inflated. While these might seem trivial when you’re reading through this, know that an officer can and might pay attention to these aspects if he/she so desires.

Alertness:
Staying alert while driving is quintessential, and nodding off or sleeping behind the wheel is a big no. Ensure that you have a good view of the surroundings, and pay particular attention to traffic tickets all the curves and turns on the road. Make sure that you are cautious when approaching underpasses and bridges, and sit upright so that you have a clear view of what’s ahead.

Staying alert also involves not doing other things like talking or texting on the phone, or getting overly engrossed in the music that you’re listening to. Also bear in mind that it is not necessary for an officer to appear from the front.

Turns and Curves:
Staying attentive while taking a turn or a curve is particularly important since there is no telling what you can expect after that. It could be a stationary vehicle, or a cop.

Avoid Drawing Attention:
The kind of vehicle that you drive can play a role in attracting unwanted attention. For example, driving an expensive convertible is sure to attract way more attention than a simple sedan. This does not mean that you trade your Ferrari for a Ford, but you should know that the vehicle you drive has a bearing on how you are perceived.

In addition, cars such as Mustangs, Vipers, and Corvettes are known for their speed. Add to this a touch of bright body paint and loud music, and you have a certain recipe for attracting attention and being pulled over. If you’re hoping to avoid attention, steer clear of colors like yellow and red, and try to stick to black and silver.

Avoiding Suspicion:
The kind of vehicle that you drive can also play a role in your getting pulled over traffic tickets. For example, in case you’re driving an almost broken down pick-up in the middle of an up market neighborhood, there is every chance that you’ll be treated with suspicion. And sadly, the same can also holds true in case a person from an ethnic background is found driving through a predominantly white high class neighborhood.

While driving anywhere is a right that you have, trying to avoid areas where you’d stand out will only help. After all, the freedom that exists looks much better on paper.

The Left Lane is not Right:
Unless you need to use the left lane to exit a highway or to overtake a slower moving vehicle, steer clear of using it. Know that the left lane is often referred to as the fast lane, and this is the lane cops tend to target in looking for people who are speeding. Driving in the middle lane offers you maximum protection.

Know the Area:
Irrespective of where you’re driving, try to get some knowledge about the local area. While the place might look devoid of cops, you never know what might be lurking ahead. Know that the police are known to use parked vans with computerized speed detecting equipment installed in them, and these parked vehicles are then used to nab speeding vehicles. The police are also known to use concealed photo radars to capture images of speeding vehicles, and these are generally found on roads with heavy traffic.

Learn to Identify Police vehicles:
There are a number of drivers who have no clue that the car waiting up ahead is a police car, and continue to speed right along, only till they’re pulled over. If you can learn to identify unmarked police vehicles, you can avoid trouble in many instances. Know that most unmarked vehicles look pretty much like regular cop cars, albeit without the writing or lights.

Some common car models which cops are known to use as unmarked vehicles include the Ford Taurus, the Chevy Caprice, the Ford Victoria, and off late, even the Dodge Charger. In case you’re driving in the southern part of the country, you should also look out for the Dodge Intrepid.

Know that these vehicles are devoid of all police markings, and are also devoid of common accessories like hubcaps that you would find on regular vehicles. What should catch your attention is a bunch on antennas on the trunk, or even a spotlight placed on the door where the driver is seated.

Another aspect that can help you identify these cars is their taillights and headlights. When you’re driving at nights, these can be your only means to identify unmarked police vehicles.

Pay Attention to Break Lights:
This does not mean your own break lights, but the ones of the vehicles traveling in front of you. Know that people traveling on highways use their breaks rather sparingly, and in the event that you see a number of brakes being applied in tandem, there is every reason to believe that it is because of police presence. If you see many vehicles breaking simultaneously, make sure you slow down, and there is a good chance of your seeing cops in the vicinity. Looking in your rear-view mirror to see if a cop car coming from behind triggered a chain reaction of sorts is also recommended.

Speed Traps:
Speed traps are used quite commonly in the U.S, and they are used in almost every state. If you can manage to identify where the ones in your vicinity are placed, it would definitely help. In addition, make an effort to find out if any of the roads you frequent have any installed.

As long as you can manage to adhere to these pointers, you should be alright. Most importantly though, bear in mind that speed limits are in place for a reason, and the best way to avoid getting a speeding ticket is by simply adhering to the speed limits set forth by the authorities.

Whether you should contest a speeding ticket or not is not an easy decision to make; and this article aims at simplifying this decision making process for you. For starters, know that contesting all kinds of traffic related tickets is a right that you have, and in the event that you choose not to, you could end up bearing significant costs owing to fines and/or insurance.

However, should you contest a ticket even if you’re guilty? Well, although you might have broken an archaic traffic related law, the main question is how unsafe your actions were. This is simply because these laws are said to be in place to promote safety. Therefore, for a ticket to be justified, you ought to be responsible for the creation of hazardous circumstances which were otherwise absent.

To simplify things, ask yourself these questions:
· Did your action/s put any innocent bystanders at risk?
· Was the ticket the result of your negligible and/or reckless driving?
· Did your action/s become the cause of a probable accident?

In the event that you’re answers to these questions are ‘no’, there is a good possibility of your successfully contesting the ticket in question. And in such a scenario, your ticket, in all likelihood, is simply a means for the system to earn some revenue.

Know that the running of modern cities requires a fair amount of capital, and an assortment of levies and taxes are the system’s way of generating revenue. The sad thing is that this is also done by issuing tickets which aren’t really deserved. So if you don’t mind filling the city coffers with your money (through unjustified means), there really is no stopping you. Your money, you can be sure, is always welcome.

Conversely, in case you’re of the opinion that your ticket is not justified, there is every reason for you to contest it and have it erased. The money that you end up saving will simply be the icing on the cake.

Just what are your options when you get a ticket? One, you can choose to ignore it. Two, you simply go ahead and pay it. Three, you choose to contest it.

Ignoring it:
If you feel that the ticket is not justified, there is every reason for you to feel bitter about it. However, will simply tearing it up or throwing it away solve the problem? No. This is because there’s a traffic tickets good chance that the paper you chose to tear or throw away came with a court date that required your presence. In the event that you ignore the court hearing, the passing of an arrest warrant with your name on it is very probable.

Yes, ignoring a ticket can come with serious repercussions. In the event that you choose to ignore a ticket, here is what you can expect.
· Sometime in the future, you are pulled over for some reason.
· The pending arrest warrant comes to the officer’s attention.
· You are arrested immediately.
· In case the warrant is from a city which is close by, you are taken to the local station and then have to wait until the relevant authorities come for you. The wait can be in between a few hours or an entire night.
· While you are arrested, there is a good possibility of your vehicle being towed.
· You might have to skip work the next day.
· You would be required to call someone who can come and bail you out.

So, this is what ignoring traffic tickets can entail.

In terms of the money that you’d have to shell out in the process, you might have been better off having paid the fine in the first place. Here’s an example of how your expenses would run in case you ignore your ticket.
· The bail – this is generally the amount mentioned in the ticket in question
· Getting you vehicle out of the pound – $80 to $100
· Lost pay – one day’s wage

In addition, this is something that will not pass the eyes of your insurance company, and you can, as a result, expect your premium to rise. So, although you might be tempted to simply ignore your ticket, know that it really isn’t a good idea.

Paying It:
If you choose to steer clear of going to the court to contest the ticket and opt to pay it instead, here’s how it’ll pan out.
· You pay the fine amount, and speeding fines cost around $150.
· Your driving record sees the assessment of points, and this will depend on the charge’s severity. While 2 points is quite common, if you’ve crossed the speed limit considerably, you can also expect the addition of around 6 points.
· Three years will have to pass for these points to be erased.
· Your insurance company will know of these points, and will accordingly brand you as a ‘high liability’ or ‘unsafe’ driver.
· The next step is the increasing of your premium. This, again, if for a three year period, and at an average of $300 for each year, you’d be spending close to $1,000 just for this.

If you take into account all the factors that go into paying your fine, contesting it does seem like a logical thing to do. Moreover, if it was simply a matter of paying the fine, the best thing to do would to pay-up and start being more careful henceforth. The truth, though, is that it does not stop at having paid the fine.

Contesting It:
If you are choosing to contest the ticket, you obviously do not like the previous two possibilities. This will result in your taking the plea to the relevant court. In such a circumstance, you would be pleading ‘not guilty’ and would then have to wait for the trial’s date.

Know that in case the officer in question fails to turn up at the hearing, your case would be dismissed. So, by simply pleading ‘not guilty’, you actually give yourself a fair chance of something like this happening.

Irrespective of what you’ve heard about contesting speeding tickets, know that the process is not at all complicated, especially if you know what to expect. As long as you’re aware of what’s required of you, there is every possibility that you could end up beating your ticket. This, though, makes it important for you to know what to expect, because otherwise, you might be held accountable of something you aren’t even responsible for traffic tickets.

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