No Traffic school in PA???????

[paddyflan1971]

What is the name of your state? VT

Hi I was caught doing 81 mph in a 65 zone on I-84 in Pa a couple of weeks ago. It was a bummer because my radar detector failed to pick up the state trooper. Anyway, the trooper became obsessed with my radar detector, asking all sorts of questions. I tried to be as evasive as possible but he made a note of it on my ticket. I am contesting the ticket

Even though radar detectors are legal in PA, I figure that it won't look too good when I go in front of the judge so I decided in enquire about the option of traffic school as a means of keeping the ticket off my record. However, the PA DMV told me that there was no option of traffic school for eradicating a ticket and that I would have to take it up with my home state of VT? Is that right???????

With regards to the actual ticket, I am not too concerned as VT doesn't assess any points for any out-of-state tickets. HOWEVER, I am very worried about the effect on my insurance. Even though, I have always had a clean driving record up to now and I have made no claims etc, my insurance has taken on a life of its own, going through the roof**************...so this is the reason why I am desperate to keep the ticket off my record, which is why I am fighting it.

[NWO]

Fighting it on what grounds? If you have no defense its a waste of time in my opinion. You could always hope the cop doesn't show up for your speedy trial. The chances of that happening aint too good. You might improve your chances by pleading not guilty at the clerks window and getting your trial date set up the day you get the ticket, instead of waiting till the date on the ticket to plead not guilty. Maybe the cop has some quality time scheduled already and won't show up.

[Bravo8]

No traffic school in PA. Sorry......

The Judge's office will attempt to be fair to the police officer as well, so your hearing will be scheduled for some time in the future. It makes little difference when you plead, as long as you plead within the prescribed time period (10 days).

[paddyflan1971]

Hey folks I accept that I was caught for speeding which is why I was looking for a way to do some kind of punishment in order to keep the ticket from my record. On the ticket there was no option for pleading guilty with a court apearence, just guilty or not guilty. I have no illusions that the cop will show up to my court appointment because I was caught right out in the sticks where the biggest crime is probably speeding or fishing without a license etc.

If insurance companies ignored a first offence then I wouldn't be concerned about the ticket, I would just learn from it. Back in my home country of the UK, a first speeding ticket is ignored by all the insurance companies but a second ticket within 3 years rightly leads to a huge increase of premiums. It appears that the insurance industry over here looks for the slightest excuse to bump up the premium. You can imagine my surprise when my insurance company treated a previous time when I was pulled over as an incident and an excuse to bump my premiums. I was pulled over a week after I had changed states and because I didn't have an inspection sticker even though I was well within my rights not too.

So tell me anyone**************...are there any states in the USA that allow traffic school as a means to reduce the effect of a ticket????????

[Happy Trails]

Originally Posted by paddyflan1971

Hey folks I accept that I was caught for speeding which is why I was looking for a way to do some kind of punishment in order to keep the ticket from my record. On the ticket there was no option for pleading guilty with a court apearence, just guilty or not guilty. I have no illusions that the cop will show up to my court appointment because I was caught right out in the sticks where the biggest crime is probably speeding or fishing without a license etc.

If insurance companies ignored a first offence then I wouldn't be concerned about the ticket, I would just learn from it. Back in my home country of the UK, a first speeding ticket is ignored by all the insurance companies but a second ticket within 3 years rightly leads to a huge increase of premiums. It appears that the insurance industry over here looks for the slightest excuse to bump up the premium. You can imagine my surprise when my insurance company treated a previous time when I was pulled over as an incident and an excuse to bump my premiums. I was pulled over a week after I had changed states and because I didn't have an inspection sticker even though I was well within my rights not too.

So tell me anyone**************...are there any states in the USA that allow traffic school as a means to reduce the effect of a ticket????????

Yes, there are states that allow points to be removed if they complete a traffic school program. Because hopefully they will become a better driver.

The insurance industry raises premiums on people with traffic violations, because drivers with these violations are considered to be at a higher risk for an accident.

higher risk=higher rates