A few days ago, aprox. two weeks ago my dad got a ticket for an improper passing(he passed a truck where the truck was turning right on a LEFT ONLY lane but my dad was going left anyway; he crossed a double yellow lane), and today we got a fuckton of lawyer advertisements you know? Saying they'll fight on your behalf and shit. Anyway, I told my dad we could plea not guilty and fight it off with that(I called the place and made the plea anyway), but my dad said he just doesn't want points on his insurance, just pay the money and go with it. So I need advice, is it that beneficial to get a lawyer and do it? I don't know, I was thinking about just seeing the prosecutor... Anyone had a situation like this before? Oh and the thing he's charged with, I checked with the thing(In NJ, it's 4points on their driver's license).

HeavOnEarth

United States7087 Posts

February 26 2009 03:40 GMT

no but if your dad doesn't want to do it i imagine talking to him first is a good idea
at least make sure he's even going to get a lawyer if 100 people on the internet say its beneficial .

In other words make sure your dad isn't 100% hell-bent on paying it off.

micronesia

United States24493 Posts

February 26 2009 03:42 GMT

Er, do you mean the truck was making a wide right turn, but taking up the left lane in the process, so your dad crossed over the yellow line to pass the truck since the truck was moving slowly?

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 03:42 GMT

well i talked to my dad, he wants to like talk to the lawyer or whatever, but my question is can the lawyer reduce the points to zero?

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 03:45 GMT

On February 26 2009 12:42 micronesia wrote:
Er, do you mean the truck was making a wide right turn, but taking up the left lane in the process, so your dad crossed over the yellow line to pass the truck since the truck was moving slowly?

the truck was going to the right and continuing to go straight. my dad crossed the line to get ahead of the truck and go a bit further and turn left.

CharlieMurphy

United States22895 Posts

February 26 2009 03:58 GMT

draw a picture plz

|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\
| ---Hows my driving?--- | ||'""|""\__,_
| __________________ l ||__|__|___|)
|(@(@)""""""""""""""""**|(@)(@)***|(@)

Smorrie

Netherlands2921 Posts

February 26 2009 04:28 GMT

1 word.. + Show Spoiler +

wut?

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 04:46 GMT

o_O what.

Cloud

Sexico5880 Posts

February 26 2009 05:19 GMT

If youre getting that many offers, then this means its an easy case. Lawyers like to boost their % like this.

Shymon

United States620 Posts

February 26 2009 05:26 GMT

#10

i think very little bad could happen except the cost of a lawyer while the upside would be a high probability of the case being dismissed. generally cops don't like having to justify themselves in court when the outcome is not 100% certain and they don't show alot of times, and other times a good lawyer will simply supeona (i am sure i spelled that wrong...) all the standard documents like the cops motor vehicle license, any notes he took, a copy of the offical report, etc etc. Alot of times a cop might forget 1 or 2 simply beacuse they are so rarely used, and this is an automatic dismissal as well. Then even if it goes before the judge and isn't thrown out beacuse of a no show or missing documents, then there is a good chance the judge will reduce or dismiss the charges.

So all in all i think getting cheap representation is probably a smart thing to do, it's not like you could ever make it any worse by doing so.

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 05:34 GMT

#11

On February 26 2009 14:19 Cloud wrote:
If youre getting that many offers, then this means its an easy case. Lawyers like to boost their % like this.

yeah when i had my shit, theres like 3letters this has... uh, what. 6?

il0seonpurpose

Korea (South)5638 Posts

February 26 2009 05:45 GMT

#12

On February 26 2009 12:58 CharlieMurphy wrote:
draw a picture plz

|^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^\
| ---Hows my driving?--- | ||'""|""\__,_
| __________________ l ||__|__|___|)
|(@(@)""""""""""""""""**|(@)(@)***|(@)

Holy crap nice drawing

GHOSTCLAW

United States17042 Posts

February 26 2009 05:51 GMT

#13

On February 26 2009 14:45 il0seonpurpose wrote:

Show nested quote +

Holy crap nice drawing

I'm hoping that he copied and pasted it- if he wrote it in this text box i'm going to feel really bad about my own ascii art.

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 06:10 GMT

#14

god damn whos the asshole who rated this a 1 i demand an answer.

gchan

United States654 Posts

February 26 2009 08:56 GMT

#15

Firstly, how much is the ticket for? In California, it costs like $400 just to even take it to court. If you win, you get it back. If you lose, you pay ticket + $400. Thats why most traffic tickets, even if fightable, aren't challenged in court.

Secondly, you should explain your scenario better.

Thirdly, have you ever been to court? It takes at least half a day if not more. In a lot of counties here, it's first come first serve so you have to go line up in at like 630 am (they only take a certain number each day). That time standing in line (1.5h) + 4 hour in court (if you're lucky) eats up 6 hours your dad could have been at work. There's a huge opportunity cost to challenging a traffic ticket, so I'd probably say no from a purely monetary standpoint.

If you want to fight it because of the points, then it depends on the situation. Does your dad get tickets often? Can he traffic school away the points? Are there other implications for points in NJ aside from insurance?

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 09:36 GMT

#16

this is his first traffic ticket in 10+ years.

micronesia

United States24493 Posts

February 26 2009 11:43 GMT

#17

On February 26 2009 12:45 Raithed wrote:

Show nested quote +

the truck was going to the right and continuing to go straight. my dad crossed the line to get ahead of the truck and go a bit further and turn left.

This makes no sense you really should draw a picture lol

QuanticHawk

United States32025 Posts

February 26 2009 12:49 GMT

#18

See the prosecutor yourself/himself. Lawyer isn't going to do anything that you can't do.

Raithed

China7078 Posts

February 26 2009 20:53 GMT

#19

like this.

CharlieMurphy

United States22895 Posts

February 26 2009 21:05 GMT

#20

On February 27 2009 05:53 Raithed wrote:
like this.

ah, well yea the ticket is bad imo.

Technically there is never a reason to cross a double yellow, but in order to avoid an accident. That's questionable.