Traffic Tickets

Issuance of traffic tickets are a daily occurrence. Drivers often get pulled over by police officers for a variety of reasons. Not every stop, however, results in the issuance of a traffic ticket. It is only when the ticket issuing authority, usually a police officer, believes that the driver has failed to follow the state’s safe driving laws or speed limits that the driver is issued with a traffic ticket. Different states have different traffic laws and subsequently different laws regulating safe driving practices and speed limits. For example, in state A, the maximum speed on a highway may be 55 miles per hour, while in state B, the same may be 65 miles per hour.

Since drivers are cited for traffic rules violations for a variety for reasons, therefore, there are different types of traffic tickets as well, ranging from traffic tickets issued for relatively minor offences to traffic tickets issued for major offences like accidental deaths, etc.

Types of traffic tickets

Drivers may be cited for minor violations like:

• Insurance or registration laws violations
• Insufficient proof of license
• Child-restraint safety violations
• Seat belt law violation
• Improper or defective vehicle equipment

Some of the more serious traffic laws violations may be in the form of:

• Serious bodily injury or death
• Damage to property
• Willful disregard of public safety
• Multiple prior traffic laws offences

Traffic tickets and the courts

Since traffic laws fall under the legislative prerogative of the states, there are different sets of laws in the United States for each state. For example, in the state of California, once a driver is issued with a ticket, he/she promises to appear before a traffic court. There, he/she can either plead guilty, not guilty or forfeit and pay the fine. Paying the fine is the same as pleading guilty in the state of California.

Not appearing before a traffic court after being cited for traffic violation is a serious offence in California. Similarly those who do not pay the fine may also incur serious penalties. Both offences are reported to the DMV and get registered on the driver’s driving record. This may lead to the suspension of the driver’s driving privileges.

In the state of Connecticut, a driver may decide to pay the fine online or by mail. In the alternative, he/she has the right to plead not guilty (which can be done online, by mail or telephone). The driver may have to go to a traffic court, once plead not guilty. Once the not-guilty plea is received by the state, the driver’s case is transferred to a court in the area where the ticket was issued. That court will send a notice to the driver, notifying him/her of the hearing date.

Attorney for traffic tickets

A day in a traffic court may not be for everyone. State traffic laws could be complex and confusing to a lay person. Therefore some drivers decide to have the assistance of an attorney since if he/she is found guilty by the judge the amount of fine levied will be more than the fine amount on the ticket. An attorney for traffic tickets may do the following for his/her client:

• Help him/her with locating the courtroom
• Help him/her with court schedule
• Talk to the state’s attorney about the case
• When the case is called, stand alongside his/her client and speak on the client’s behalf
• In case if the client decides to answer the judge’s questions, help him/her with understanding those questions

In short, traffic attorneys are like other attorneys, specializing in their field and well-versed in their state’s traffic laws, providing professional services to their clients for a fee. They can be found by either looking up the local Yellow Pages or by searching them online.