tcho82

iTrader: (1)

Rolled a stop sign 6 months ago, paid ticket, and took traffic school. I'm not eligible to take it again right?

Happened again. What should I do? Is hiring a lawyer even worth it? Back in Chicago, this was the way to go for ANY type of ticket, but don't know if that works out here.

How much does 1 point affect my insurance rate? The happened in Irvine, Orange County.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks

aznxenon

To answer your question in the most useful and positive manner before stupid comments start to pour in

Contest the ticket and cross your fingers. Do a written declaration and hope for the best, if guilty then take it to court and cross your fingers again. If officer shows up to court you may be able to ask judge if you can take traffic school, reduced fine, etc.

If you win, praise <insert your deity here> and stop rolling stop signs.
If you lose, pay the $$$ and stop rolling stop signs.

and worse case scenario I'd save the money you would've wasted on attorney toward your increased insurance rate and ticket cost.

tcho82

iTrader: (1)

I'm really not sure why stupid comments would pour in? I'm just not quite familiar with how people "fight" or get around points in California. Or if not, if people just accept them as is and just move on. Thanks though.

In one's experience of course, do judges allow traffic school if you've already attended in the last 18 months? If there is somewhat of a chance of this happening then it doesn't sound like a bad plan.

k7q

iTrader: (37)

stupid answer would be "make a complete stop at a stop sign then you have this problem."

1 point affects your insurance rate greatly. well in my case when i had a point, my insurance nearly doubled.

TranV

iTrader: (4)

No traffic school if you already attended in the last 18 months. You actually only have two options:
1. Set a court date - "not guilty" -> get another court date. hopefully the officer doesnt show up and you are clear. No point, no fine. if the officer show up, then you need to fight for your ticket.
2. set a court date - "guilty" ask the judge for a discount and pay the fine and get a point on your record.
normally the discount is pretty generous. i got a ticket for approx. $950 and the judge got it down to $360 with no traffic school and a point on my record. Good luck

Rudiculous

iTrader: (15)

Not every county has this so I'm not sure if OC does, but SD has level 2 traffic which is a weekend session Saturday and Sunday of 8 hours each which cannot be broken up into 2 weekends of 1 day each. It's basically a psych class of why people speed, how to prevent this, etc.

keyframe13

My opinion is not fight it. Chances are 1 point won;t affect your insurance at all or very little. It'll sure cost you more to hire an attorney. Try to stop from now on and think about how bad would be to get another one.
I have hard time stopping at those as well and I feel are so stupid positioned most of the time and such a waste of gas.

tcho82

iTrader: (1)

I think I'm going to take my chances with the steps in ticketassassin. We'll see how this goes...

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

stop signs are usually open/shut cases unless it's less of a question of "if" you stopped vs. "not stopped long enough".

Pay the fine, try your hand at a TBD, lose, learn to stop at stop signs.

1sWt2GS

iTrader: (6)

Stupid answer (but honest answer) would to be just to fully stop...

Driving a modified car, especially slammed, with tints, loud exhaust, and no front plates attracts enough attention from the cops. I wouldn't want to give them anymore reason to pull me over.

As mentioned above, stop sign tickets are pretty much black and white. You can try to hire someone in which they will prob just lower your fine and in the best case scenario have NO point or you can show up to court and ask for the fine to be lowered yourself. Those Mr. Ticket guys aren't cheap though.

Points in CA will significantly bring up your insurance, another reason just to stay safe out there

tcho82

iTrader: (1)

I get that there are stupid answers, but given that this is a forum where most people are inclined to help one another, it didn't occur to me that people would provide stupid answers. Since I'm not originally from California, I was more or less asking for local advice on how people typically handle these types of tickets. In Illinois for instance, you can hire a lawyer for $100 outside the courtroom and get off with 3 months supervision, a low fine, and no record on your history.

Nat

iTrader: (1)

I read above about "stop sign" violation are pretty much a open/shut case. What abut speeding ticket...is there a way to get around that? First ticket is about 6 years...any advise to fight it or reduce the fine.

NoKz

No matter what you say, it will come down to "Did you make a complete stop". When you say no, that's it. Case closed. Don't waste your time and money trying to prove the sky isn't blue.

Speeding tickets can be fought. A simple thing like requesting the service and calibration log for the radar gun can help. They're required to be re-calibrated every so often. If you're lucky, it will be pass due.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

while we are on the subject, the insurance companies are still aware that you took traffic school to avoid getting a point on your license. this may or may not affect your insurance premiums however. there are so many other factors that determine the price you pay to be insured, and it is for certain a point on your licence will only increase it!

in my experiences with traffic violations, i only won 50% of my trial-by-written-declarations where i even went into court to fight it afterwards. despite these poor odds, i still recommend you do it.