Cars

Take Your Ticket to the Judge

Even if going to court doesn't save you a fine, it can save you money.

By Mark Solheim, Senior Editor

From Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, April 2005

Next time you get a speeding ticket, take it to court. It's likely to be time well spent.

I can testify to that because I recently returned from a Baltimore County courthouse with a smile on my face. Last summer (yes, the docket was that full) I was nabbed by radar going 86 miles per hour in a 65 zone. I was test-driving a powerful, quiet German car (designed for the autobahn!) and took my eye off the speedometer for a few minutes. I had no idea I was going so fast (honest). So I decided to go to court -- not in hopes that the cop might not show or that I could argue that the radar gun was malfunctioning. I was prepared to own up to my mistake, plead guilty, and apologize for not paying attention -- and hope for a little mercy.

As for my defense: I would point out that my livelihood depends on driving, so having a clean record is important. I would explain about the German sedan. I would emphasize how much safe driving means to me. I'd show I'm not a serial speeder by citing a single ticket in the past 20 years. I was resigned to paying the $275 fine but hoped the judge would reduce the points or, even better, offer "probation before judgment." That would keep the ticket off my record as long as I didn't get another one within the next year.

It was easier than I expected.

The judge was a nice guy who announced he was mostly interested in a clean driving record, especially in the past year, and confirmation that those of us who stood accused had been polite to the state trooper who pulled us over. As the officer stood by, a parade of mostly twenty- and thirtysomethings stood up and pleaded guilty "with explanation." "What's the explanation?" the judge patiently asked each one. Most of the stories were uninspiring -- late to work or keeping up with the flow of traffic. A couple were truly lame, such as the guy who said he was low on gas and racing to a filling station. It didn't seem to matter. If they had a clean driving record and had been polite, they got a reduced fine and probation before judgment. And without delivering the speech I'd rehearsed, I got off, too. The fine was cut in half, and the ticket will disappear after a year in suspended animation.

Financial wallop

I'm not saying speeding is okay if you can get away with it -- high speeds undeniably lead to more fatalities. But even well-meaning, law-abiding people get caught speeding sometimes.

Here's my point to you, my law-abiding friends: Even if going to court doesn't save you a fine, it can save you money. A speeding ticket, especially if you already have a ticket or accident on your record, can push your insurance premiums sky-high for at least three years. So if the legal system offers a way to preempt an alert to your insurer, why not let it?

The way a ticket affects your premiums depends on your insurer, although the law in some states leaves little wiggle room. In California, where Proposition 103 calls the shots, each ticket that shows up on your record results in a single point, and each point typically results in a $150-a-year premium surcharge for three years, says Jennifer Miller, an insurance agent in Novato, Cal. Get another ticket and you get another $150 surcharge and lose your 20% good-driver discount. If you started with, say, $1,000 a year in premiums, over the next three years you could pony up an extra $1,600.

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