1180D speeding in NYS, 80 in 65

[VADriver7]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? VA, ticket was in NY

1180D speeding in NYS, Otsego Co. 80 mph in a 65. I Am a VA driver.

It was a pretty straightforward event, so I think fighting it successfully would be difficult. So, I plan to ask for a Reduction in Charge, so would like to ask for advice on what’s best to use for the “Proposal” and “Reason(s)” section of this form: ([url]http://www.otsegocounty.com/DEPTS/DA/documents/Application-for-Reduction-of-Charges-Feb-2009.pdf[/url])

Should I just propose “request reduction in charge”? Or “request a dismissal upon completion of a driver improvement program here in VA”? Or “request reduction to a lower speeding charge or a non-moving violation?” or some other specific request?

I have a clean driving record – no convictions and +5 points. There is an “Accident” on the record from 3 years ago which was not my fault. The record also indicates that accident information does not indicate fault or no-fault. Do I need to explain this accident on the Reduction form?

Thanks in advance.

[Maestro64]

I was going to say NY will not care, they are only interested in you paying the fine, it is hard to plead a ticket down if your not willing to show up in court. However it appears that town is willing to cut you a break. It is probably worth a try, you have to look in the vehicle code to see what are the option available to reduce the ticket to and make the recommendation, at always worth going after a non-moving violation

I think they do not care about you going to driving school in VA and probably will not dismiss on that, again they just want your money, why else offer a form to reduce the ticket, they do not want to waste money having someone show up in court. Also, NY levies an additional cost for tickets, so you will have to pay about $100 for a couple year to remove points, NY is one of the few states they assigns points to out of state drivers and makes you pay to remove them. This is one of things you might want to have reduced or removed altogether.

I am not sure how you have 5 point on your license and have no convictions, does VA assign points for having an accident?

[VADriver7]

Thanks

I didn't know about that points thing in NY and having to pay for them even if out of state - I'll definitely have to look into that.

As for the "+5" points - I think that's a good thing - they give one point per year of safe driving to a max of 5, and take away for convictions. My friend showed me his record and he has like 3 convictions and "-2" points total.

[HighwayMan]

Originally Posted by Maestro64

...Also, NY levies an additional cost for tickets, so you will have to pay about $100 for a couple year to remove points, NY is one of the few states they assigns points to out of state drivers and makes you pay to remove them...

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Points DO NOT get removed by paying a fine. When you accumulate 6 points on your NY driving record you have to pay a Driver Responsibility Assessment, which is an extra zing for bad drivers. Has nothing to do with out of state drivers.

NY assigns points to ALL drivers for moving violations. Those points stay in NY, if that's the right way to describe it. If you have an out of state license then as soon as you get a ticket in NY you get a NY driving record and the points are tracked here. This way if you accumulate too many points NY can suspend your privilege to drive here in NY.

[Maestro64]

Originally Posted by HighwayMan

You have no idea what you are talking about.

Points DO NOT get removed by paying a fine. When you accumulate 6 points on your NY driving record you have to pay a Driver Responsibility Assessment, which is an extra zing for bad drivers. Has nothing to do with out of state drivers.

NY assigns points to ALL drivers for moving violations. Those points stay in NY, if that's the right way to describe it. If you have an out of state license then as soon as you get a ticket in NY you get a NY driving record and the points are tracked here. This way if you accumulate too many points NY can suspend your privilege to drive here in NY.

That is what I said with less word... Points get assign no matter what and you pay extra, unlike other state where they only assign points and extra fee for in state drivers. NY does not discriminate.

[HighwayMan]

Originally Posted by Maestro64

...Also, NY levies an additional cost for tickets, so you will have to pay about $100 for a couple year to remove points,NY is one of the few states they assigns points to out of state drivers and ma kes you pay to remove them.

I am quoting your words above.

Once again I will say you are wrong. Points do not get removed by paying a fine.

[HighwayMan]

VADriver:

You got written for 15 over the limit - only 4 points, which is not a concern for you unless you drive in New York alot. Those points should not affect your Virginia license, but you would have to check with VA DMV to be sure.

Since it's only 4 points you will not be subject to the Driver Responsibility Assessment.

Since they seem to be encouraging a plea, use the form to ask for a reduction in charge. If you have a clean record then they might be more lenient.

IF you have a clean record then you should start off by asking for a reduced charge of Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) section 1110 subsection a. This is called disobeying a traffic control device (technically a speed limit sign is a traffic control device). That infraction is only two points and a much smaller fine. They may counter offer with a reduced speed.

If they take your offer - great. If not then I would probably accept what they offer you. You can always post here for more advice.

Hope that helps.

[You Are Guilty]

To expound a bit on Highwayman's advice, the DRP is only implicated when you get 6 points in a (rolling) 18-month period. So if you're not planning on any NY driving for the next year and a half, I wouldn't sweat the NY license points.

As for the plea, the cited section is the lowest point violation that you can get and probably the most common plea. You can try asking for something even lower like an equipment violation (s. 375 I think, but I don't have my VTL handy to double check), but don't be surprised if they turn that down. Generally, they do care more about the fine than the points, so use that to your advantage.

Please come back and let us know how it goes. Good luck.

[HighwayMan]

It's a bit unusual to plea with the DA's office and have the town/village court accept or reject that. I don't know why the county even gets involved in something like this.

It might be because troopers are not allowed to plea their own cases anymore and alot of the town/village courts have no prosecutors. What town/village did this ticket get returned to?

In any event, it's to your advantage that you can take care of this by mail.

If you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask. And as "You Are Guilty" has said, let us know what happens.

[HighwayMan]

Almost forgot...

You asked for help with the "proposal" and "reason" blocks on the form.

Proposal is a reduction to VTL 1110(a)

Reason? Well, maybe you can remind them that you are a good driver, clean record, no accidents, etc. You get the idea. Put down anything that makes sense - you seem intelligent. The DA is probably looking for anything reasonable you might have to say.

In any event, a reduction of some sort seems pretty much assured.

[BL]

Many many moons ago , I got a speeding ticket for 81 in a 55 . I appeared and the fine was reduced to a fair amount ( can't recall the exact amount ) .

I believe they tag on some sorta a court cost fee too.( I may be wrong ).

Ask for the reduction in the interest of Justice . ( but whatever ) . The courts use the term for dismissals .

[HighwayMan]

Forget about the "interests of justice" line. It'll get you nowhere - and it's gotten real old.

In addition to any fine there is a state surcharge, nothing to do with court costs. It's just a way to hike the fines. It's a bit silly - alot of the fines in NY for traffic offenses are ridiculously low compared with neighboring NJ and CT. They should just increase the fines and eliminate the surcharges because it causes alot of confusion. In many cases the surcharge is greater than the fine.

For example, in the case of VTL 1110(a), the minimum fine is $40 but the state surcharge is $80! So the total is $120.

[VADriver7]

Thanks all for the replies - appreciate it. I'll update the thread when I get the results back from the DA/Court (Town of Oneonta).

[navkay]

Hi all,

My situation is similar. I got a speeding ticket on 25th Dec 2009 on I-90 near Town of Dunkirk for doing 90 mph in 65 mph zone.

I am an Ontario resident with driving license from there driving an Ontario plated car.

The section quoted on the ticket is 1180D. They gave a court appearance date of 25-Jan-2010 or mail a guilty plea and then the court will tell what the fine would be. I am thinking of calling them to ask what the fine is.

In Ontario a similar offense get's one 4 demerit points.

Can anyone give me a suggestion on what to put in Section A - Plea of Guilty under "Additionally, I make the following statement of explantation", so that this not show up my Ontario record and I have to pay the least amount of fine.

I have been licensed in US first in 1998 and then moved to Canada. So in the last 11 years of driving, I have never got any type of ticket. I was thinking of writing and maybe mention that I had a 4 year old with me who had just woke up (it was 9:30am, we started driving from Toronto at 6am while he was still sleeping) and needed to go to rest room right away.

Other thoughts that come to mind was that a freezing rain was forecast in that area, so I was trying to get out of the area quickly, as we had to drive all the way down to Bethesday, Maryland.

Any advice you guys can give will be appreciated. I am really frustrated that I got this ticket, when it was all good for 11 years of driving.

[FlyingRon]

navkay, start your own thread rather than hijacking this one.

Your excuse is lame. There is no justification for 90MPH.
You can make all the statement of explanation you want but you're still going to get the conviction.

You've got little option to plead guilty by mail and take your lumps or appear in court.