New York speeding ticket - what are my options and likely results?

[stuckwaiting]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? State: NY

I'm a California resident, with a California drivers' license. I was visiting NY for a week and got a speeding ticket while trying to rush to the airport in a rental car. The ticket was for going 80 in a 65 zone and the officer's statement says that the speed was verified by a laser.

The officer stopped me while I was doing 5; he said that he had recorded me doing 83 a while back, but I can't pinpoint where he said that he was. I've had a perfect driving record for the past 12 years.

I need to decide between pleading guilty, pleading not guilty and handling it myself and pleading not guilty and hiring a lawyer.

I need to figure out:

1) The total cost if I plead guilty. There is no fine amount listed on the ticket
1b) I find the lack of fine amount suspicious; it makes me think that they expect people to plead guilty in expectation of a $100 fine and then bill them $5000 in the end.

2) How many points would end up on my license. Will NY put points on my C.A license? How much would this add to my current "perfect driver" insurance rates? How long would it stay on?

3) What my chances are of either getting found not guilty or getting the level of speeding reduced if I plead not guilty.

4) If can plead not guilty and have a lawyer appear in my place (since I live in CA)

5) If there are any traffic school or volunteer time arrangements that I can make to keep the ticket from appearing on my record or minimize the amount of the fine.

Any info?

 

[xylene]

Pleading guilty on the ticket, is basically stupid. You get nothing out of it.

1. The fine is set by the judge within the guidelines. There are also court costs. Assuming this was not in a construction/safety zone, this is like $600 (the NYS DMV has the fine table, the court cost depends...) You will get the max if you plead guilty. It wont be 5000.


2. You need to consult the NYS DMV and CA DMV regarding points. Insurance is somthing that will depend on carrier.

3. You have not presented any evidence... it isn't a dice game.

4. Most likely. Call a traffic lawyer asap.

5. There is traffic school.

You should really get a lawyer, or plead not guilty anf go to court.

You can try to plea bargain.

 

[HighwayMan]

Not sure where Xylene got his/her information from but some of it is incorrect sorry to say.

First of all, what court is this? Which City/Town/Village?

1) The total cost if I plead guilty. There is no fine amount listed on the ticket
1b) I find the lack of fine amount suspicious; it makes me think that they expect people to plead guilty in expectation of a $100 fine and then bill them $5000 in the end.

There are far too many violations to list a fine for every one. If you want to make sure call the court involved. 15 over the limit should come out to about $190 total give or take a few dollars. It will NOT be $600 and there are no court costs. In this case there is NO Driver Responsibility Assessment since it is only a 4 point violation and one needs 6 points for the extra financial penalty to kick in.

2) How many points would end up on my license. Will NY put points on my C.A license? How much would this add to my current "perfect driver" insurance rates? How long would it stay on?

4 points will be put on your NEW YORK STATE driving record. I doubt that means anything to CA and it's also doubtful your insurance company will find out about it, but to be certain check with CA DMV to find out how out-of-state points are dealt with.

3) What my chances are of either getting found not guilty or getting the level of speeding reduced if I plead not guilty.

Chances of being found not guilty are extremely small. Every court and judge is different. Some judges will permit plea bargains to non-speed offenses and some won't. Since the speed is not particularly high reducing it will not help you noticeably with points or fine.

4) If can plead not guilty and have a lawyer appear in my place (since I live in CA)

Yes, unless you want to fly in from CA to save yourself $50.

5) If there are any traffic school or volunteer time arrangements that I can make to keep the ticket from appearing on my record or minimize the amount of the fine.

Absolutely not. That is not done in New York - there is no such thing. Some courts, like City of Yonkers, will mandate a traffic safety class as part of a plea deal, but this "traffic school" arrangement as it is in CA does not exist here. In addition a traffic safety class must be New York State DMV approved - that means you have to take it here in New York.

 

[HighwayMan]

Re: traffic safety class...

This will remove up to 4 points from your NYS DMV driving record. DMV counts points for suspension purposes. Unless you are driving here in New York quite a bit the points don't mean much and they do go away on their own 18 months after the violation date (NOT adjudication date).

 

[You Are Guilty]

Re: traffic safety class...

This will remove up to 4 points from your NYS DMV driving record. DMV counts points for suspension purposes. Unless you are driving here in New York quite a bit the points don't mean much and they do go away on their own 18 months after the violation date (NOT adjudication date).

Granted, it's been a while since I took one of them, but I thought I had read in the last year or so that the Legislature approved online versions of the point reduction classes? If so, are they limited to NY residents? Seems like it might be a cheap way to reduce the points for someone across the country.

 

[HighwayMan]

Haven't heard about the online classes. Not sure if it would be worth the expense...

Honestly, if you're visiting NY once or on occasion then the points really don't mean anything. If you are an average driver and rarely get stopped for anything it all means nothing.

The conviction is still on your record - the points are just there to count towards a suspension of NY privilege by NYS DMV.

 

[HighwayMan]

Indeed, some course providers are approved to offer online courses now:

https://transact.dmv.ny.gov/pirp/