Dealing with a Speeding Ticket in California? Is Traffic School the Best Option?
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Perhaps you got hit with a speeding ticket from a cop having a bad day, and you don’t want to have the points on your driving record because of how this can have long-term negative consequences. They will record this on your DMV record, and it will cause your car insurance rates to go up. Not to mention, if you get too many of these, you won’t be able to get insurance after a while, and you could have your driving license suspended.
That’s why a lot of people have considered going to traffic school for speeding ticket in California. However, is that the best option?
The Problem with Traffic School
The biggest misconception about traffic school is that it gets your traffic ticket dismissed. However, this is not true. You will still have to pay the fine and the ticket remains on your driving record. Simply, traffic school “hides” the point from insurance companies. Therefore, helping you avoid increased insurance premiums.
In the state of California, you will pay $230 for a traffic ticket over 1 to 15 miles per hour, and you will pay $360 for a speeding ticket between 16 to 25 mph over the speeding limit. If you happen to be going over 26 miles per hour, you can expect to pay $500 for a speeding ticket fine. Not everyone can afford to pay expensive California traffic tickets.
It’s not that you shouldn’t go to a traffic school for speeding ticket in California, but there is another option that can get your ticket dismissed. This option is also easier, faster and more affordable.
Trial by Written Declaration
Instead of going straight to traffic school, you might first attempt to use Trial by Written Declaration to have your traffic ticket dismissed altogether. Trial by Written Declaration means fighting your ticket in writing instead of in court. If the ticket is dismissed, no points will be put on your record and traffic ticket payment will be refunded.
In general, we would usually recommend that you first try Trial by Written Declaration to see if you can get your ticket dismissed. Ticket dismissed means no going to court, no points, no penalties, and no hours wasted doing traffic school. Keep in mind, if Written Declaration does not work, you can still do traffic school.
Understanding the Ticket
A traffic ticket will stay on your record for up to three years. Many times, people want the ticket to simply go away, but after you have signed the ticket and paid it, there’s not much that you can do. It will remain on your record for three years, and this will have a negative impact on your insurance rates. After you have received a speeding ticket, you could see your rate go up as much as 13 percent on average. You go to traffic school with the intentions of getting the points off your record, but you could still expect to pay the fine.
Many times, if you agree to go to traffic school, it can reduce the fee that you will pay for your ticket, but it won’t completely remove it.
To Keep from a Suspended License
The courts won’t usually suspend your license if you only have one or two moving violations, but that doesn’t mean that they will take this lightly. In fact, each point that goes on your record that you haven’t successfully contested will go against you, and if you get too many, you can have your license revoked or suspended.
If this happens, you will first be entitled to a hearing with a judge or police officer. You will have to explain to the judge why you didn’t fight these tickets, and you will also have to explain why you haven’t driven more carefully. You might find that you can keep your license if you explain that you need your license for your job. However, you will have to be extraordinarily careful from this point on because if you get another violation, the courts won’t be lenient at all.
Making the Effort
One of the advantages of going to traffic school is that it shows how you have made the effort. You have shown the courts that you are willing to learn how to be a better driver, and they will often go more lenient on these drivers. Having a clean driving record will leave you room for mistakes.
You should, however, understand how attending traffic school for speeding ticket California isn’t a get out of jail free card. You will still have to pay the fees. And most states put a limit how often you can do traffic school. For example, in the state of California, you will be eligible for traffic school once every 18 months for vehicle violations that are only one point.
Common Mistake People Have Made
We should also point out that you shouldn’t sit in the class for eight hours and not send proof to the courts. You want to prove to the courts that you have attended, but we have seen sometimes where people will attend traffic school and fail to show proof of it. This is as good as if they hadn’t attended traffic school at all.
GetDismissed Ticket Dismissal Services
In general, we would recommend that you first try to fight the moving violation with Trial by Written Declaration because you can have the points on your record and fines dismissed altogether. That’s why we will often say that traffic school should be your second option when fighting a speeding ticket in California.
Instead of going with traffic school, why not hire GetDismissed ticket dismissal service first. Let us help you build a written defense to beat your California speeding ticket.
Follow a manual added link
Photograph your ticket & license.
*If you don’t have your ticket handy, it’s okay — you can still start the process and just add it later!
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Provide info through guided questions.
*Be sure to quickly add as many notes about the stop as you can so you don’t leave out any important details!
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Sign & send your defense to court.
*We will send you a completed packet for the court that just needs your signature and a stamp!
What Types of Tickets Do We Help With?
GetDismissed produces results in fighting all kinds of tickets. Unfortunately, this list does not include exhibition of speed citations. Your best bet in fighting one of these infractions, is to contact an attorney. An attorney can negotiate on your behalf to try and reduce fines, or even to reduce the charges to a lesser infraction which could possibly qualify for traffic school.
We do however, contest infractions revolving around speeding, red lights, red light cameras, cell phones, signs (primarily stop signs), carpool violations, U-turns, out of lane violations, and commercial violations. If you receive a citation and have questions, contact us today.
