Were you really guilty? Contact a Pennsylvania Traffic Attorney

So, you have just got a traffic violation ticket and are wondering if there is anything you can do other than pay the fine?

If you pay a speeding ticket or a traffic citation in Pennsylvania just because you think it is more convenient, then you are immediately considered guilty of that offense.

Do you really want that? It may seem simpler, easier and cheaper at first to just pay up, but we’re guessing that the very reason you are using this website is that you have a sneaking suspicion that there is a better way.

If you contact a Pennsylvania traffic lawyer, you can ask for an obligation free quote. You will then be surprised to find that when you do the math, you will be far better off fighting your citations and keeping your record clean.

Think about this carefully before acting. Pay up and you will be considered guilty of that offense, whether you were or not. What does that mean further down the line? For a start, you will have to pay a hefty fine and you will gain points on your license. You may lose your license. You may see your next insurance premium payments go up. For some offenses you might even go to jail. When you add all those possible penalties up and compare it with an attorney’s fee, it just doesn’t make sense.

Use a Pennsylvania traffic lawyer to clear your name of the offense you have been charged with and, if you win, you don’t have to pay a thing except a fee. If you weren’t speeding or you are sure you didn’t commit the offense you have been charged with, then why come out with a record which says you did?

Were you given a speeding ticket by a cash hungry municipality?

There is nothing wrong with speeding limits and of course they should be enforced, but it is common knowledge that many Pennsylvania towns are helping to fill their coffers by handing out as many speeding violation citations as possible. This is big business and is nothing new. The trouble is that not everybody who gets a speeding ticket really was speeding and sometimes it can just seem so much easier to pay up than fight the citation.

What happens when you admit you were speeding?

If you pay a speeding ticket, then you are admitting guilty to speeding. That is how the authorities see it and that is how you will be punished. It doesn’t matter if the whole process seems intimidating and you are just paying up to make your life easier. It might not be so easy as you think. For a start, you will get unwanted points on your license. How many points you get depends on what they say you were doing over the speed limit. It can be any thing from a minimum of 2 for up to 6 mph over the limit to 5 if you were caught 26 mph or more over.

You may find that your next insurance premium will go up. If you are worried about this, then by all means ask your insurance company what is possible if you pay the fine. Speeding violations are considered as moving violations and insurance companies usually raise the premiums substantially if you have one of these on your record.

If you are convicted of speeding in an active work zone, then you will see your license suspended for 15 days, as well as have 5 points on it.

A Pennsylvania traffic attorney can help to get you off these charges.

Red lights and stop sign violations

If you have been handed a citation for any of these violations, you may find it is better to use a traffic lawyer to fight the charge. Of course, you can pay the fine. It is so much easier, but you may find that the real costs of doing so keep mounting up. You gain points; you may also lose your license for a period. How are you going to get to work? Pay for taxis? You may find that your insurance premiums go up, too.

The only time we suggest you pay the fine is if you were caught by an automatic camera somewhere in the state. These cameras are in operation in our larger cities such as Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In most cases, the photograph clearly shows the violation and it is not cost effective to fight it. If you pay the fine, normally $100, you won’t lose points, either.

Careless and Reckless driving

Careless and reckless driving are serious offenses in Pennsylvania and anybody who is convicted of either of these offenses can face hefty fines, loss of license and in some cases imprisonment. The number of careless and reckless driving citations has gone up in Pennsylvania recently and in many cases the person who has been charged is not guilty of the offense.

If you have been charged with a careless or reckless driving offense anywhere in the state, and you feel that you are not guilty of the charge, you should contact a Pennsylvania traffic lawyer and discuss the circumstances of your case. In many cases, it is worth fighting the charge. The consequences of a guilty charge are not worth considering if you think you were not!

What is the difference between careless and reckless driving?

Careless driving is classified as any driving which could lead or does lead to somebody getting injured or being killed. The only trouble is that some law enforcement officers view many apparently harmless situations as being “careless” driving. These include distractive driving, such as using a mobile device like a cell phone, reading a newspaper or a book. Even using a GPS could be considered as an act of careless driving, because it takes your eyes off the road.

In many of these situations, it is very hard to be proven guilty of the offense unless you were seen by a police officer. In most cases, it is worth using a traffic lawyer to fight the charge as the penalties are more severe than you might think.

Reckless driving is considered more severe than careless driving. If you were recklessly driving, the state authorities consider you as willfully driving in a manner that could be a danger to property as well as people. The key difference here is that to be proven to be recklessly driving it must be shown that you knew that you were driving dangerously.

The penalties for reckless driving are similar to careless driving and you will gain points (normally 8), suffer a license suspension, pay a fine and possibly go to jail, let alone have your insurance premium increased substantially, too.

There has been a recent habit of law enforcement officers slapping you with a reckless driving ticket at the same time as a speeding ticket, so if this has happened to you then it may be your best option to contact a reckless driving attorney to fight both charges or, at least, the reckless driving charge, which is more serious.

 

 

 

 

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Contact Our Traffic Lawyers

1500 John F Kennedy Blvd,
#557,
Philadelphia
PA 19102
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