So I was going to the beach today and I was clocked going 68 in a 55...

What do I do? Guilty or not guilty? go to court or just send in the money, will it rasie my insurance?

 

pay it go to traffic school done, insurance wont go up.

 

I agree with Brettster!

 

Not in NY. Your insurance will go up. Plead not guilty. Request an appearance before the judge with the District Attorney present for a reduction in charges. On a first offense, you'll mostlikely get a non-moving violation. You may still have to pay the original fine, but you won't get the points on your license.

 

Here's a tip for next time:

After the cop pulls you over and writes you the ticket, request the make, model, and number off of his radar gun. [Don't worry. He'll give it to you] Then, call the police barracks where he is stationed the next day. Request the last time the radar gun was calibrated. If the calibration date doesn't fall within the required limits required, you can plead that the gun was faulty and you're off clean. Regardless of whether the faulty part is true or not, you are guaranteed to have all charges dropped if the officer failed to properly maintain his radar gun.

I have a couple friends and family members who are police officers, and I can tell you for certain that the calibration is sometimes forgotten about.

Hope this helps everyone.

 

Do I request the District Attorney when? and How?

I will pay off the fine, I know I was speeding, I just can't afford my insurance to go up so I want to go to traffic school.

 

When you send in the ticket pleading not guilty, attach a letter stating that you would like to request an appearance before the judge while the DA is there. There are certain days of the week that the DA is required to be at the court. They should send you back a letter detailing your court date.

Now, with my last speeding ticket, I did this as well as sent a letter to the DA with a copy of the ticket (COPY EVERYTHING). I got my updated court date and the DA ended up getting everything completed before the court date. Knocked it down to a noise ordinance violation - $150 and zero points. All done through the mail without me having to go anywhere.

So long as your record is clean, they'll typically do this unless you were being wreckless...

 

Any specific way the letter should be set up?

 

Just a formal letter. When I get home I can look for the letters I sent.

You should be able to find the DA's information on the county website to contact him/her.

 

I found the DA for Erie County is Frank Clark. So I mail the letter and the ticket to the Town court and send a copy to Frank Clark. Asking for a reduction in charges, do I have to give a reason?