Speeding Ticket in Seattle? Some Advice From a Traffic Lawyer.

It's happened to all of us. You aren't paying attention, traffic is just zipping by, and before you know it, you are doing 12 to 15 miles per hour over the speed limit. And before you know it you've been popped with a Seattle speeding ticket. You don't want your insurance rates to skyrocket, but you aren't sure what to do to give yourself the best shot to win.

Well, you lucked out, because I'm a Seattle speeding ticket attorney and I'm going to at least get you on the right track to beating that Seattle speeding ticket. And the first thing you need to do is make sure you let the court know that you want to fight this thing. Fighting it is the only way to keep it off your record, so even if you were speeding, contesting the ticket is the only way to go. Pay attention to learn how to do just that.

Three Options for Dealing with a Speeding Ticket

If you look at the back of your ticket, you will see that you have three options:

Pay the ticket
Ask for a mitigation hearing
Contest the ticket

Each box carries its own pluses and minuses, which you need to think about before you decide what to do.

1. Pay The Ticket

The first box, paying the ticket, will save you a lot of time and energy (but not necessarily money) for dealing with your ticket. All you have to do is check the box, write a check, and send it in. You are done with the ticket, at least until your insurance rates start stacking up.

2. Mitigation

The second box, mitigation, is a little better than the first box. Mitigation is going in front the court, telling them you were sorry, and asking them to reduce the fine. Often they will reduce it as far as they can (minimum fine plus court costs). But, there again you still have those pesky insurance costs chasing you around for three years. Mitigation doesn't keep the speeding ticket off of your driving record, it only reduces the fine.

3. Contest the Ticket

If you want to keep the ticket off of your record you must contest the ticket. And if you are going to contest the ticket, you must have some kind of a defense or reason as to why you shouldn't pay the ticket. And honestly, if I wasn't a Seattle traffic attorney, I wouldn't have the faintest idea about how to fight speeding tickets. But because I am a lawyer I know the rules, I know what the cops have to prove, and I'm usually able to convince the judge the cop messed up somewhere and they should dismiss the ticket. And you may have to hire someone to help you with that too.

Time Limits

The one thing you want to keep in mind is that you only have 15 days to decide what you want to do. I always recommend checking the third box to contest the ticket and deciding what you want to do later. That option keeps all of your options open so you can pay or mitigate if you decide that's what you want to do later.

From the author: Seattle speeding ticket attorney

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