You might get a traffic ticket for such offenses as speeding, running a red light or stop sign, or changing lanes without signaling. If you find yourself in this situation, there’s no need to panic. You have a few options of what happens After You Get a Traffic Ticket, and if you play your cards right, you can resolve the incident fairly easily and move on with your life in a timely manner.
The Most Important Thing to Know After You Get a Traffic Ticket
The most important thing to know is pretty simple: do not, under any circumstances, ignore your ticket. Doing this can turn a minor inconvenience into a pile of more serious complications for your life. As nerve-wracking and annoying as it may be, you do have to deal with the issue. Failing to do this can lead to additional fines, the loss of your driver’s license, or even a bench warrant for your arrest. If you won’t be able to pay the fine by the deadline you’ve been given, or you cannot make your scheduled court date, contact the court to let them know. So with that out of the way, how do you resolve the problem responsibly and put it behind you?
Option 1: Pay the Fine
After You Get a Traffic Ticket the first and easiest option is to simply admit fault and pay your fine. You can find the information you need to complete this process on the citation that you received. This can usually be done online, and you won’t be required to appear in court unless your ticket was for a more serious offense, like significant speeding or an accident that caused serious injury to another person.
The downside to this option is that you will get points on your license, and once you’ve racked up too many, your license can be suspended. In Utah, points on your license range from 35 for minor speeding violations up to 80 for reckless driving. If you accumulate 200 points within a three year period, or 70 points if you’re under the age of 21, your license may be suspended.
One mitigating factor here is that if you keep a clean driving record for one year, your points will be halved, and after two years they will disappear entirely. You also have the option to attend a defensive driving course or traffic safety school, which enables you to remove 50 points from your driving record once every three years.
Option 2: Fight the Ticket
You may prefer to fight your ticket. If you choose this option, you will have to appear in court and plead not guilty. You probably don’t want to try this on your own, but you can visit trafficlawut.com to find an experienced Utah traffic lawyer if you want to take this route. At this point, you and your attorney can attempt negotiations with the prosecutor on your case. If you don’t succeed in reaching an agreement, the case will be scheduled to go to trial, where you can tell your side of the story to the judge or jury, the officer who wrote you the ticket will testify, and you and the prosecutor can call witnesses.
Ideally, though, with the help of your traffic or speeding ticket lawyer, you will be able to come to an agreement with the prosecution to prevent the trial from happening and resolve your case. You may be able to plead guilty to a lesser offense for lower penalties. This can shield you from some of the more serious consequences by reducing or eliminating the points that will go on your driving record.
