When to Hire a Lawyer to Fight a Speeding Ticket

Aside from parking violations, speeding tickets are one of the most commonly issued traffic citations in any jurisdiction. Local and state governments stand to derive significant revenue from speeding ticket fines and fees, and in turn, law enforcement tasked with issuing speeding tickets may be encouraged to issue citations, while at the same time, not understand the true and defined nature of the laws they are enforcing. From the perspective of drivers issued speeding tickets, most cases present significant room for defending the traffic violation and for garnering a dismissal. However, the process is more complicated than simply showing up to court and hoping an officer does not appear. In reality, any serious attempt to fight a speeding ticket, for whatever reason, should involve a lawyer with experience in handling traffic ticket cases. With legal counsel, drivers stand a more than fair chance at having their citation dismissed, and in certain cases, arranging a deal with prosecutors that prevent points on one’s license or other administrative action.

Situations Where Legal Counsel Should Be Used

Every driver wanting to contest a speeding ticket will possess different reasons for doing so. However, the individual nature of each citation and the individual nature of each driver’s license status and needs make defending traffic citations cases very case-specific. The following outlines situations where almost every driver, if facing these scenarios, should hire a lawyer to fight their speeding ticket.

Certain speeding offenses, often past a certain speed above the posted speed limit, will constitute more serious charges than a simple speeding ticket. Often these elevated charges, which can include reckless driving, aggressive driving, or racing on public roadways, carry significant penalties in a criminal sense (fines and threat of incarceration), but also, carry imposing administrative penalties as well (license suspension, license revocation, mandatory traffic school attendance, and all the costs and hassles of meeting these obligations). A driver faced with speeding charges that are elevated to offenses that are more serious should consult with a lawyer about their speeding ticket.

Certain drivers face suspension or revocation based points in their state, should the current speeding ticket be recorded as a guilty plea or conviction. In order to retain their driving privileges, a driver must consult with a lawyer to defend against their latest traffic citation.

Much like the case above, some drivers may garner sufficient points from an impending speeding ticket conviction that their license will be in jeopardy should another citation occur. Being proactive and preventing one’s license from being in danger of a points-based suspension is always a good idea, especially if the current citation can feasibly be dismissed. It is impossible to tell if the driver’s next citation will be as easily dismissed or not.

Certain drivers, especially persons under the age of twenty-one (21), will incur large costs down the road following a speeding ticket conviction in the form of insurance premiums. Many drivers are wary to fight a ticket based on the time spent doing so and the cost of legal counsel, but in reality, a speeding ticket remains on most drivers’ records anywhere from one (1) year to five (5) years, depending on the state. In turn, insurance companies set premiums based on these and other driver-specific factors.

Getting Legal Help with Fighting a Speeding Ticket

Every speeding ticket citation case will vary, however, when compared to other criminal defense cases, traffic violations contested in court fare very favorably for a defendant. In many cases, a dismissal is a very real possibility, and in others, the courts have streamlined the process that legal counsel can negotiate a plea bargain agreement that mitigates the penalties incurred by a driver. Consult with a lawyer to learn more about disputing your speeding ticket as soon as possible.

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