What Do I Do After Getting a Speeding Ticket in New Jersey?
On New Jersey’s fast-paced roads with its fast-paced lifestyle, even the best driver can receive a speeding ticket or other New Jersey traffic violation. Although sometimes your natural reaction is to simply to pay your ticket, which requires an admission of guilt, pulling back for a moment and contacting a New Jersey traffic ticket attorney may be in your best interest.
New Jersey Traffic Ticket Options
If you receive a New Jersey traffic ticket, depending on the severity of the offense you generally have a few options. You can plead guilty and pay your fine outside of court unless your ticket specifies otherwise; you can attend court on the date specified and state your case, which may result in you pleading guilty to a lesser offense, or you can attend court and plead not guilty, which may result in dismissal of the ticket if you mount a successful defense.
New Jersey Traffic Ticket Penalties
Before deciding how you wish to proceed, you should take into account the penalties associated with pleading guilty to a traffic offense. According to the State of New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, these include the following:
- Points on your license, which may result in license suspension;
- Increased insurance rates; and/or
- Surcharges on registration and license renewal.
Although you may believe that once you pay a ticket the matter is closed, beware of unexpected increases in insurance rates and DMV surcharges over the next few years. These fees may hit you suddenly, and you may rethink your plea of guilty.
How to Fight a New Jersey Traffic Ticket
If you are determined to fight your traffic ticket, hiring a New Jersey traffic attorney may be in your best interest. Although not necessary, certain attorneys specialize in traffic violations and may know the ins-and-outs of traffic court and the judge you appear before. Further, if you decide to contest your ticket all the way through the trial stage, many times the citing officer will not appear, and you may be entitled to have your ticket dismissed. Hiring a traffic ticket lawyer may help you reduce your charge along with any associated fines and surcharges. Further, many traffic ticket lawyers adjust their rates so that it is worth hiring an attorney in the long run.
Contact a Specialized New Jersey Traffic Ticket Attorney Today
Before pleading guilty to a traffic offense, be sure to consider all of your options. John C. Iannelli, Attorney at Law is your go-to New Jersey traffic ticket attorney, and he is available today for a confidential, free consultation regarding your New Jersey traffic ticket. Call him at 856-227-2434 or contact him online!
