hello. First, i am sorry for posting this message because it really doesn't belong here. but, please help me. I have to go to the court for speeding ticket I got. I know this is really sad. I have never been to the court. I like to know what i should bring with me to the court. Also, if I am pleaded guilty, do I pay the court with cash?? Or do they take personal check? How about visa or mastercard?(J/K).. Pleae give me some info on this if you had the similar experience with this.. Pretty depressed...Thanks for reading. I will delete this after I get some answers from you. Thanks again.

I paid with a check. They also will take cash and probably now they have the capability of Visa/MC. BUT THEY DON'T TAKE AMERICAN EXPRESS! VISA-IT'S EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE----EXCEPT IN COURT!

Another tip-Make sure you get a receipt saying you paid it and keep it with you or in your car. My wife had paid a ticket and after about a year, she got pulled over and found out that the ticket was never put into the city's system as being paid. They said they sent out delinquent notices but we had moved since that time. It took my wife forever to find her receipt, but eventually she did and it got cleared in the system.

------------------
FrankieZ
84 500sel EURO 87K

I'm not sure if this will help at all but maybe give it a try.10 years ago I was on an extended holiday to the States (from UK).I bought a car whilst there and for insurance I had to have an Arizona DL.One night returning from Texas I got stopped for speeding.At the time, roadworks were in progress on the interstate.To cut a long story short,I wrote to the court to explain that the lights of the cars going the other way were blinding me and that I was Concentrating on keeping the car on the road
and did'nt notice the speed I was doing.My fine was cut in half! Give something similar and you never know!I'm not encourageing anyone to speed but we all do it at times without realizing it.Good luck!
Peter.

------------------

AMGCClass,

Sounds like you're stressed out over this. Don't worry about it. Go talk to whoever you have to, be courteous with them, and work through it. They won't throw you in jail for this.

It depends on your local court as to whether or not you will have to pay in cash. But, I would think that if you take plastic and your checkbook, you will be set to take care of it.

I guess I don't speak for everyone that posts on this site, but I don't think you have to apologize for this post. We're all becoming friends in certain ways. If you can't talk to your friends about these things, who can you talk to?

Relax and good luck,
Larry Bible

Thank you so much for your support. It is really encouraging to hear from you guys. I feel much better now thanks to you. Yeah, i guess I was rather worried about it for it's my first time going to the court. Hmm... after all, I shoudn't delete this post. If the webmaster thinks it's irrelevant to post it here, I will delete it. I am not the boss here... Well, thank you again..This site is the best....Take care everyone. bye.

From Justin

I just got a speeding ticket in Virginia along I-95 for 72 in a 55. The whole traffic stop took about 10 minutes. They encourage you to pay by mail or Visa or Mastercard; that way the cops don't have to waste time in court.

I've had my share of speeding tickets in my life as well, losing my license twice but I've been pretty lucky so far. If you feel you have a chance to fight it, you can ask to see the calibration papers for the speed timing device (radar, ESP, Vascar, laser, whatever).

I got out of one ticket this way because the papers were dated two days after my ticket, 46.5 in a 35 zone. "Not guilty by a technicality" is what the magistrate said, but it was a local ticket and it ticked me off to get pulled over in the first place, especially because the cop told me that they were only ticketing for 46 and over.

Good luck, and I hope you don't lose your license. Fight it, if you can. It only cost $5 more in PA at the time of my last ticket if they found me guilty, and if the cop doesn't show up they should drop the charges.

------------------
Robert W. Roe
1984 300SD 169K mi

Court? You must have been going terribly fast. You can almost always avoid going to court by pleading guilty and paying the fine. If you were truely speeding, this should not cause any heartburn.

Also, if you were truely speeding and going to court hoping to get a fine reduction or get off on a technicality, I would like to point out that this would be a terrible waste of our resources! I would prefer the police on the road doing their job and the courts locking up criminals. Does this sound too idealistic?

I admit I speed too, but I try to be responsible when I do it and I am willing to pay the consequences if I get caught.

Hope I did not offend anyone, but felt obligated to comment on this.

------------------
Deezel
87 300TDT
150,000 miles

If you have a very clean record, you can try asking the judge to let you go under the advisement for 90 days. That means you cannot get another ticket of any kind within 90 days, or else......
I got out of mine by doing so. Good luck!!

95 R129
98 ML320

Was it the RI state police or a local?? How fast were you going, what road were you on. How much over the limit were you?? What did the citation say? criminal or civil? Need more info..

------------------
Jeff L
1987 300e
1989 300e
1987 BMW 325

[This message has been edited by jeffsr (edited 03-25-2000).]

Well let see, how many tickets have I had, 8,9,10,... I Hate Highway Speed Limits with a passion obviously!
Fight IT!! Always plead "Not Guilty" and talk to the Judge, be honest and forthright. If you plead Guilty, they will try and "teach" you a lesson, you'll loose some money and your Insurance may go up. If you can think of any circumstances that can lean in your favor by all means, tell the Judge. Remember, they have to PROVE that you broke the law, was it radar, him pacing you?
If you plead Not Guilty, the fine is usually less and you really are not at any disadvantage, (unless you look really, really guilty, j/k).
If its your first ticket in a couple of years, (call the Police or Court House prior and check to see if your state has a "Defensive Driving" class) ask the Judge if you can take this, when you explain why you where speeding in the first place, tell him you where late or in a hurry. This class is to help you slow down, and if you say you where in a hurry, he may see a need, (the ticket stays off your record and is usually only a Sat and $50).
Hope this helps, any time I can help someone avoid pay for a ticket, you'll here me chime in. Any other details of the ticket that could help the post come up with a plan?



------------------
96 C280

Hello again. WOW i was amazed by the responses I got from you guys. haha all I wanted to know was what I should take with me to the court. Yes, I have a good driving record. The last time I got a ticket was like 1 year ago(parking ticket). Well, Thanks for your stories. BTW, this wasn't my car I was driving. It was my girlfreind's 97 E420. I just wanted to see how fast it can go. I guess i will have to face the consequence. No prob... I will deal with it.. My girlfriend got pissed off...take care everyone.





[This message has been edited by AMGCKlass (edited 03-27-2000).]

One more thought...my only speeding ticket was years ago, and in addition to all the other great advice by our colleagues here...I simply asked the judge if it would make a difference if he knew that my record was (had been) free and clear. He said "yes," and although I paid the fine, he didn't enter it on my record.

Good luck!




------------------
Tom

'87 560 SL
'74 MGB