|
Intro To Traffic Violations |
By:
Baily Richards |
|
|
I have always been a law-abiding Citizen. It is true that from time to time I have gotten traffic violations, but the worst ones so far have been a parking citation and a traffic speeding ticket. So when I got a reckless driving traffic violation, I was naturally incensed. The injustice of it struck me hard. It seemed like the cop was just in a bad mood when he pulled me over. Perhaps I changed lanes without using my signal, or perhaps I drifted out of my lane for a moment as he claimed. Whatever I did, I wasn't driving recklessly. I am not a criminal, and I was determined not to be seen as one. I decide to fight the traffic ticket with everything I had.
There are many different ways to go about fighting traffic tickets, and figuring out whether to do it and how to do it can be a matter of strategy and guesswork. You see, sometimes it isn't even worth fighting traffic violations. In some areas, they have such a high rate of upholding traffic ticket citations that you shouldn't even bother. Other times, you are more likely to do well if you represent yourself than if you bring in a lawyer. Many traffic judges do not like to see litigants come in represented by lawyers. If you bring in the big guns in these courtrooms, you are likely to get the big fines. At other times – especially when you're dealing with a fairly serious charge – your best bet is to hire a good lawyer. That was the position I was in. Reckless driving is more than a minor traffic violation.
It turned out that luck was on my side. While many judges have no tolerance for people appealing traffic violations, I was lucky. The judge I got was very warm and sympathetic, and was definitely willing to listen to my side of the story. He placed a high burden of proof on the officer trying to testify that I was driving recklessly, and in the end I won. The judge didn't dispute the fact that I was not driving well, but he felt that reckless driving was a bit excessive. To him, reckless driving is serious criminal behavior, and should only be used to describe extremely dangerous driving. He criticized the cop strongly for bringing minor traffic violations into his court disguised as major offenses.
|
|
Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article52528.html |
|
|
|
|
|
