Posted: 11/1/2007 9:33:42 PM EDT
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I have a few questions about a minor traffic violation I received recently. I was coming home in Milledgeville,which is in Baldwin County,and I got a citation for "Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device"(Code Section 40-6-20). I was behind a car turning left at the red light and as soon as the car in front of me reached the red light,the driver turned on his left blinker and turned left. As soon as the front of my truck passed the white line to stop at,the light turned orange and then red. I was stuck behind the car turning left,in the middle of the intersection while the light was red,so I had to continue on or risk holding up traffic. The officer was at the same intersection on the same street the car in front of me was turning left onto. First,how much could I expect to have to pay for the ticket? Secondly,when the officer wrote up the ticket,in the vehicle description he wrote down a red 2002 Dodge Ram when I really drive a red 2002 Dodge Dakota. The car is registered under my name and the insurance is registered for a red 2002 Dodge Dakota,not a red 2002 Dodge Ram. Could I contest the ticket on the above mentioned grounds and possibly win or should I just go ahead and pay the ticket? Thanks in advance for all your help. 
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Pay the ticket. If you go to court on it you'll be assessed court costs [$125 in my county] and surcharges and a bunch of other crap [if you lose]. Call the Clerk's Office [Should be Probate Court] and ask them how much your offense is usually charged. Shouldn't be too bad. Baldwin County Clerk's Office is (478) 445-5391. ETA- I called 'em for ya. Fine is $110 if paid on time. The difference between a Ram and a Dakota could be easily explained as as mistake in recognition. I wouldn't push it. It's almost the difference between candy apple red and cherry red. Not quite but almost. |
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Find out if there are additional court costs. Here, there are not. Some places there are, it just depends. As far as the Dakota Vs Ram thing, it's of no consequence, really. If you feel like you were given the ticket without having commited the violation, by all means, go to court and argue your case. Yes, this ticket can make your insurance go up. |
| Thanks for all your help guys. I think I'll just pay the ticket and avoid the headache of going to court and trying to contest it. I'm hoping it won't be that much. One more question though:If I had questioned the reason for the traffic violation and politely and respectfully described,from my viewpoint,the situation,to the officer that pulled me over,would it have made the situation worse? Not making excuses or anything but just curious,in case a similiar scenario arises again. |
Ok. I'm here now.  Fine out what the cost is first. TVB (Traffic Violations Bureau) tickets are payable before hand. You can always go to your arraignment and pay it there after speaking to the prosecutor about the fine. Often if you tell them I can only pay $X today, they will work with you. There should only be court costs if you take it to a trial and lose. Every county is different though. You cannot talk your way out of a ticket. Anything you say can and will be used against you. If they pull you over they already have determined probable cause for arrest (or citation). Sometimes they don';t give tickets and your demeanor is paramount but don't think you can change their minds based on what you say. On points. You can plead nolo and get no points. Your insurance will always go up, sometimes even if you weren't at fault. But we can protect your license by preventing points. The other option is to do a defensive driving course after a guilty plea to wipe points off your license. Remember you can only plead nolo once every 5 years. I generally recommend only pleading nolo for violation 5 point or over. |