Got a ticket :( 4pts and $200

[Time2Kill]

I got a ticket a couple of weeks ago for Competive Speed Acceleration. I was cruising down Gratiot around 1:00am (all u michigan people should know what that means ) and I was driving my Camaro and dropped the clutch into 2nd @ about 30mph and squeeled the tires and took off like a bat out of hell. Right as I did it, I saw a cop pulling out of a Wendy's, so I cut through a Krogers parking lot and down a side street. Needless to say, the cop caught up with me a couple miles down the road and gave me a ticket. He said he wasn't going to give me a ticket, but since I tried getting away he chased me down and gave me one.

My court date is this Thursday....do u guys think it is even worth trying to fight it? Any suggestions on a lawyer to call if I do that can do something with that short of notice?
How much will 4pts affect my insurance? I'm already paying close to $400/month :Q On a side note, I got a speeding ticket last sept for 2pts, and I dont believe it affected my insurance at all.

 

[pulse8]

hahaha

You're screwed. Be more careful next time.

I doubt the judge will let you off if you tried to get away.

 

[amnesiac]

YOu might as well try to fight it.. A lawyer will cost money but will probably be cheaper than paying increased premiums. He can probably get the penalty reduced. You can bargain with the judge to take traffic school to erase the ticket. You can do that in CA but I dont know about Michigan.

Also if you contest the ticket they'll give you another court date, if the officer doesn't show up you automatically win.

 

[neovan]

4pts is a lot. Its gonna be a big hike in your insurance rate.

 

[Viper GTS]

Was there another vehicle involved? If so, can it be CSA?

Anyway, +4 points will nail you hard, if you're even able to get insurance. Have you renewed your insurance since your last ticket? If not the next time you renew you'll be looking at +6 points.

Bend over, grease up, it's going to be a fun ride. On the bright side you'll be getting holiday cards from your insurance agent.

My advice:

1) Show up for court on Thursday and plead not guilty - They'll set you a new court date, probably at least a month away.
2) Hire a lawyer, let them take it from there. This isn't something to f*** around with, you're talking about your ability to drive here.
3) Don't be a dumbass in the future, dropping it into 2nd is OK but evading cops is a pretty st00pid move.

BTW, gorgeous car. I'd probably be in a hell of a lot of trouble if I had that car too.

Viper GTS

 

[Time2Kill]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Was there another vehicle involved? If so, can it be CSA?

Anyway, +4 points will nail you hard, if you're even able to get insurance. Have you renewed your insurance since your last ticket? If not the next time you renew you'll be looking at +6 points.

Bend over, grease up, it's going to be a fun ride. On the bright side you'll be getting holiday cards from your insurance agent.

My advice:

1) Show up for court on Thursday and plead not guilty - They'll set you a new court date, probably at least a month away.
2) Hire a lawyer, let them take it from there. This isn't something to f*** around with, you're talking about your ability to drive here.
3) Don't be a dumbass in the future, dropping it into 2nd is OK but evading cops is a pretty st00pid move.

BTW, gorgeous car. I'd probably be in a hell of a lot of trouble if I had that car too.

Viper GTS

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to renew my insurance....my parents have a huge insurance policy with them....

So if I plead not guilty, I will get a new court date? From everyone I talked to, I dont believe this was the case around here....

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: Time2Kill

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Was there another vehicle involved? If so, can it be CSA?

Anyway, +4 points will nail you hard, if you're even able to get insurance. Have you renewed your insurance since your last ticket? If not the next time you renew you'll be looking at +6 points.

Bend over, grease up, it's going to be a fun ride. On the bright side you'll be getting holiday cards from your insurance agent.

My advice:

1) Show up for court on Thursday and plead not guilty - They'll set you a new court date, probably at least a month away.
2) Hire a lawyer, let them take it from there. This isn't something to f*** around with, you're talking about your ability to drive here.
3) Don't be a dumbass in the future, dropping it into 2nd is OK but evading cops is a pretty st00pid move.

BTW, gorgeous car. I'd probably be in a hell of a lot of trouble if I had that car too.

Viper GTS

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to renew my insurance....my parents have a huge insurance policy with them....

So if I plead not guilty, I will get a new court date? From everyone I talked to, I dont believe this was the case around here....

They have to have time to prepare their case against you (and you to defend yourself).

Viper GTS

 

[Time2Kill]

Originally posted by: amnesiac 2.0
YOu might as well try to fight it.. A lawyer will cost money but will probably be cheaper than paying increased premiums. He can probably get the penalty reduced. You can bargain with the judge to take traffic school to erase the ticket. You can do that in CA but I dont know about Michigan.

Also if you contest the ticket they'll give you another court date, if the officer doesn't show up you automatically win.

No traffic school here in Michigan.....

 

[bmacd]

d00d...i got a 4 point speeding ticket going 50/25 school zone on just before Orchard Lake road at Oakland Community College in my explorer. I fought it without a lawyer b/c i decided not to tell my parents about it right away (stupidly) and got burned bad. I paid around $600ish for the ticket (including the fact i had no insurance on my body, despite current coverage). GET A LAWYER!!!!! I just got in my first at-fault car accident and almost lost my license due to my 4 points from the speeding ticket. At 7 points, your license is suspended. My accident was originally 3 points, dropped to 2.

hope this helps you realize that the cost of a lawyer is far more valuable than trying to fight this alone.

-=bmacd=-

edit: BTW...i pay $637/month for my explorer and my XJ6 insurance. The Jaguar isn't the reason for my high rates...i was paying $585/month before i put the jag on.

 

[olds]

You did the crime, now do the time.

 

[tigerbait]

to reiterate what ViperGTS asked, was there another car? if not, then how can they give you a ticket for accelerating too quickly?

If you're at a stop light on a street that has a 45 MPH speed limit, it shouldn't matter if your car get to 45 MPH in 2.5 seconds. You're still not speeding. That's my opinion, though I'm sure the law is different.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

Be happy the ticket's only $200. I know someone who got a 4 point ticket and has just under $300 for it.

nik

 

[vi edit]

In Illinois, you can(or at least used to be able to) get a ticket for "unneccesary use of speed" for peeling out wildly. I think he did it more because of the peeling out factor. If you hadn't chirped 'em, you would have been fine.

Anyway you look at it, I'd say you got off easy for trying to elude him.

 

[Viper GTS]

Originally posted by: ffmcobalt
Be happy the ticket's only $200. I know someone who got a 4 point ticket and has just under $300 for it.

nik

The $200 isn't the issue, I'm sure he would gladly pay $300 if he could avoid the massive insurance rate increase + potential loss of his insurance carrier + potential loss/suspension of license.

the fine itself is pointless in circumstances like these, the real impact isn't the fine.

Viper GTS

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: tigerbait
to reiterate what ViperGTS asked, was there another car? if not, then how can they give you a ticket for accelerating too quickly?

If you're at a stop light on a street that has a 45 MPH speed limit, it shouldn't matter if your car get to 45 MPH in 2.5 seconds. You're still not speeding. That's my opinion, though I'm sure the law is different.

In CA it's called "Exhibition of Speed" and you don't need to be racing anyone.

 

[cavemanmoron]

nice car ,
you Must be young,LOL "Arrest me Red " wrong,Wrong color for a hot car!

tell the judge you meant to shift to third,and hit First by mistake,and when you let out the clutch the
tires cut loose,and as soon as you could ,you shifted up!
Red cars cost more to insure for a reason!!
i have an Old Camaro, but its black,and have Never been stopped in 6 years in it.
My Red '72 Monte Carlo SS,454 i got stopped 5 times in 3 months,the first time i was going 57 in a 55mph zone,Cop says how much you been drinking tonight?! I told him 6 mountain dews,you want one??
He almost put handcuffs on me! jeez,..

here is a pic of my '67 427 Camaro RS {Black}

 

[tigerbait]

you don't need to be racing anyone.

don't worry. I won't. My '93 4Runner does 0-60....sometimes.

 

[Time2Kill]

There wasn't really any cars I was racing, but there was a 5.0 by me and I'm sure a few others...you see Gratiot is the place where everybody goes on the weekends to street race, so the cops down there are assholes. But yea....I'm not worried about the fine at all, just the points. Anyways, I guess I'll be calling a laywer tomorrow to figure out what I need to do.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Squisher]

Yep, red car will cost ya. Get a lawyer, you might get it down to 2pts.

The wife has 4pts.(for 2 different speeding tickets), it pushes up the insurance by 10%

 

[MikeMike]

to bad ur not in Cleveland the Plain Dealer(our suckass newspaper) recently did a write up on wether or not to fight tickets and like 80% of the time the people who fought them got off w/o a ticket cuz the cop didnt show!! now that rox

 

[PowerMac4Ever]

I raced a crown victoria yesterday. I didn't get caught or anything, but I got to see a felony arrest on a main road in my town later that night. 5 cop cars and guns drawn. Interesting to see.

 

[toant103]

Originally posted by: bmacd
d00d...i got a 4 point speeding ticket going 50/25 school zone on just before Orchard Lake road at Oakland Community College in my explorer. I fought it without a lawyer b/c i decided not to tell my parents about it right away (stupidly) and got burned bad. I paid around $600ish for the ticket (including the fact i had no insurance on my body, despite current coverage). GET A LAWYER!!!!! I just got in my first at-fault car accident and almost lost my license due to my 4 points from the speeding ticket. At 7 points, your license is suspended. My accident was originally 3 points, dropped to 2.

hope this helps you realize that the cost of a lawyer is far more valuable than trying to fight this alone.

-=bmacd=-

edit: BTW...i pay $637/month for my explorer and my XJ6 insurance. The Jaguar isn't the reason for my high rates...i was paying $585/month before i put the jag on.

isn't that higher than your car payment?

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: Time2Kill
There wasn't really any cars I was racing, but there was a 5.0 by me and I'm sure a few others...you see Gratiot is the place where everybody goes on the weekends to street race, so the cops down there are assholes. But yea....I'm not worried about the fine at all, just the points. Anyways, I guess I'll be calling a laywer tomorrow to figure out what I need to do.

Thanks for the advice.

I'm sorry, but Gratiot is THE DUMBEST place to do that. That road is ALWAYS busy and at night on a sat. i would consider myself lucky to hit 20mph on it. going 30 on that road was either really stupid because of traffic or stupid because it is gratiot.

 

[pulse8]

tell the judge you meant to shift to third,and hit First by mistake,and when you let out the clutch

What lie does he give when the judge asks him why he tried to get away?

 

[txgixer]

Originally posted by: Squisher
Yep, red car will cost ya. Get a lawyer, you might get it down to 2pts.

The wife has 4pts.(for 2 different speeding tickets), it pushes up the insurance by 10%

Either pay the crime or pay an attorney to "help" you out

I always use an attorney and have a clean record