They finally got me
 

Yep.. .was going 78 in a 60.

Am trying to decide what to do... hire a lawyer, go to court date myself, do nothing (not sure if it would raise insurance rates or not... would be first ticket "on record")

Also was wondering if I could just call the court and see if I could take an online traffic course and also pay the fine to wipe it off my record.

Anyone have any advice? Anyone know the effects that this would have on insurance?

let it go bud... first one is nothing

in MN it doesnt even affect ur insurance...

and there is nothing u can do to say u were not speeding... cuz u were...

There are several factors that will be dependent on your state. Here in IL, you can ask for what's called "court supervision". As long as you don't get another ticket within 3 months of starting this program, the original ticket will not go on your record. You just pay the fine, and are on your merry way. I don't know if you have similar programs over there, or not, but I would suspect there's something comparable. Also, if a cop isn't here on the court date, and you plead not guilty, the ticket is thrown out since the cop isn't there to present his case against your defense.

The insurance thing will vary, as well. Some don't count the first ticket against you (or first ticket in x amount of driving time) to raise the rates, while others will. I'd call anonymously, as if you're asking for a quote, and ask them what their policy is on that issue. Or if you have a good relationship with your insurance agent, you could just ask him/her outright.

Good luck!

Go to traffice court and see if the cop shows up if he does go to the cleark and ask for an ajournment they'll ask for another date and a reason (lawyer had previous engagement,etc etc make somthing up) tell them the latest you can give me. Repeat this process until the cop doesn't show/gives up on you :)

Yeah that sucks. My adivce is try to see if they is program so ticket will not count.

They have a class here that you can take and the ticket won't show up on your record. See if they have something similar in your area.

:lol: I remeber my first , and only, ticket (so far). 79 in a 50. Good thing he got me when I had slowed down :D. My insurance wasn't affected at all, in fact it hasn't even shown up on my driving record and that was a year and a half ago. I don't know if the fact that it wasn't in my home state had anything to do with that.

Anyway, I say pay the ticket, They got you fair and square. If you think it might affect your insurance look into traffic school or some other program.

Well, having gotten one or two in my days, i can tell you what I did. For each, I pleaded not guilty and showed up on the day I was told. Usually the officer or DA was there and offered a plea down to a loweroffense, usually non-moving, such as parking on a controlled access highway, failure to obey traffic control device, defective speedometer, etc. That or it was reduced to 5mph over. I found that unless the officer reduces it when he gives it to you, you best bet is to plead not guilty and go in on the date specified. I have also never had a lawyer. the cost of the lawyer would negate any break you get since you can take a Defensive driving course to remove any points you may get on your license. and making excuses til the cop doesn't show is not a smart move either. they are persistant and you'll probably run out of excuses first.

I had one four years ago and insurance never noticed.

Suck it up and just pay the fine. You did, afterall, break the law.