Speeding ticket in Garden City (Nassau: insurance, lawyer, schools)
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Hi all, my wife got a speeding ticket in Garden City for doing 40mph in a 25mph school zone. I'm trying to find out if anyone knows whether Garden City has a plea down program where you plead not guilty and when you go in person to court they plead you down from a points violation to basically a huge fine. Trying to decide whether it makes sense to fight this on our own or whether to hire a traffic attorney. Thanks!
Hiring an attorney can cost hundreds just the same - I've done it - he got me down to a lesser charge but of course I still had to pay him and then the court a processing fee too. It wasn't worth it considering another ticket (non-moving violation) my wife got I plead down on my own. Points don't matter much unless you're nearing 11 anyway. Plea not guilty on the ticket to get an appearance date. The purpose is usually to plea guilty to a lesser charge while there and subsequently a lesser cost. If you go in and maintain your innocence, you're going to sit in front of a judge which is yet another day in court. At least that's how it works in the Nassau court I was at - not sure why it would be different in your case. Then again, all the villages and their special police confuse me.
Thanks rh71 for your feedback. This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. We are not necessarily trying to fight it to get it removed, but would like to get it reduced, so the insurance impact is minimal.
Try making sure you wife drives slower by schools...that will make sure you wont have an impact on your insurance.
We actually have clean driving records and don't normally speed, but I had called my wife at the same time she was nearing that area to tell her about our daughter who was sick and throwing up, so she got distracted. Before making assumptions about the call, my wife has blue tooth hands free on the car. Either way we know the laws and follow them, but sometimes things happen. Thanks for your feedback.
I would go to court solo to see if they will offer you a plea on the ticket. I don't have any experience with GC court so I can't say for sure but my educated guess would be that they will knock the ticket down to a parker as long as you pay them money. That is what this is about, money.
If you go to court and for some reason they will not plea it down to a non-moving violation then plea not guilty and ask for a court date at a later time. They will do this no problem.
Then get a traffic court lawyer. You don't want a speeding ticket on your license, just one will increase your insurance.
I don't think you'll need to go the lawyer route though. They should plea it down as a matter of habit. $$$
This is not about simply obeying traffic laws this is about the CHILDREN.
Your wife got upset and endangered perhaps hundreds of CHILDREN by driving 60% above the speed limit.
There is no excuse for that and no court should plea bargain with any ticket that involves a school zone.
My wife got worried and not upset as any mother would react upon hearing about their children being sick, so before you start assuming you know all the details please keep your comments to yourself. We are not kids and know the implications of driving faster than posted in a school zone. We are not perfect everyday, but it seems like you are, so like i said before, we don't intentionally speed especially in a school zone. Perhaps we can be like you one day, in the interim if you don't have anything positive to add to this thread then keep them to yourself.
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