Let’s face it. No one would love to receive a traffic ticket from a traffic officer. Unfortunately, one in every six Americans gets a traffic ticket in a day. That translates to approximately 112,000 tickets in a day.
The traffic violations that may cause the police to pull you out of the road may include speeding, driving under the influence, distracted driving, negligent driving, and vehicle defects, among others.
Though you can avoid some traffic offenses like speeding, you may fail to realize some vehicle defects until they get eyed by the traffic police. That said, you may not predict when the traffic officers will hand you the unpleasant traffic ticket.
However, learning the various strategies of dealing with a traffic ticket may help you cut down the insurance premiums, huge penalties, and ticket costs. It can also help you maintain a clean driving record.
Without further ado, below is traffic driving advice that every driver should already know.
What Should You Do After Receiving a Traffic Ticket?
As mentioned above, a traffic ticket can attract substantial financial penalties and even cause the suspension of your license. It would help if you made efforts to reduce its damages or get the ticket dismissed.
There are three main routes that you can use to lessen the impacts of the traffic ticket, including paying the ticket, fighting the ticket, and mitigating the ticket. We shall discuss each of these methods to guide you in your decision.
- Paying the Ticket
Paying the ticket amount can be your best option if you don’t have time to challenge the traffic citation through a court process. Though a convenient method, paying for a ticket has its shortfalls too.
First, you have to cover the ticket amount regardless of whether its cause was justified or not. And, you may end up paying colossal amounts considering that different states have different traffic requirements.
Secondly, your license will accumulate points for traffic violations each time you pay for a ticket. And a higher number of points could mean higher premiums to most insurers. Worse still, the higher number of points may result in the suspension of your driving license.
Finally, the traffic officers may include additional fines and problems, especially if you don’t pay the ticket on the day of citation. That is why it is safe to pay the ticket on the citation date.
- Fighting the Ticket
You can challenge the ticket in court if you feel that the ticket was not justified or want to lessen the fines and penalties. In this case, you will need to be extremely keen on what you present before the court to carry the win of the proceedings.
As such, you need to assemble information on all aspects regarding the ticket. This may include things like the date when you were cited, the reasons for the citation, and any other information that could help with the claim. If you don’t have the guts to represent yourself in court, then you can hire a lawyer to do it on your behalf.
The advantage of hiring a lawyer is that they will help you prepare the claim and fight for your favor in court. And even if they won’t win the lawsuit, they can use their expertise to push for lesser penalties.
- Seeking Mitigation
Mitigation is the case where you accept the ticket and explain the reasons why you violated traffic rules. It is the best option if you have received the ticket for the first time or have stayed for a long time without breaking the traffic rules.
The most probable outcomes of mitigation include:
- Lower ticket amount
- Extension of the payment period
- An alternative to a fine such as attending a traffic-driving course to cut down the penalty
Going for mitigation may not guarantee you all the above benefits. But you can at least push for driving recourse online to reduce the penalties. If you don’t know any reputable driving school online, you can search online or click here http://www.yourpace.com/Tennessee-driving-school/, to find an online driving school that is best tailored for your needs.
Conclusion
Getting a traffic ticket is not fun. However, knowing how to deal with them can help you reduce their worst effects. In the article, we have outlined the best strategies for dealing with tickets. Kindly read through and capitalize on them.