So i was in Paige Texas coming from Austin to Houston and the highway was in medium traffic and the cop had someone pulled over and was outside he pointed to the other lane but i didn’t think he was talking to me.. idk I’m 19 i have been driving since i was 16 and never gotten pulled over or anything. There was no way to get to the left lane ... it was full and so i kept going and then he stopped giving this guy a ticket and chased me down and was so rude to me.. he didn’t even acknowledge that i had a dog in the car and i had explained that there was no way to get over and i had thought the law said to just go very slow and i did.. ugh i asked for a warning and he just said no sorry.. and slaps me a ticket for 200$ which isn’t the worst but I’m 19 year old college student i can’t afford that. How do i get out of it??? There’s a court date if i wish to do court but is that expensive??? Should i get a lawyer? I’ve never been to court or had to do this??? Should i just suck it up and pay it??? But i feel like i should’ve gotten a wanting not a ticket
What can i do?
Answers & Comments
You pay the fine or go to court and try to fight the ticket. Who knows you may even win or get a suspended sentence. If you cannot afford a $200 fine you sure cannot afford a lawyer. Even a mediocre lawyer will charge you that an hour.
It costs nothing to go to court. First read the ticket. It mentions a specific statute that you are alleged to have violated. Read that statute. Determine if you have violated the precise language of that statute. Then, go to court on that day and plead not guilty. Find out the local process for meeting with the prosecutor. If your analysis was that you are guilty, meet with the prosecutor and try to reach a plea bargain. If your analysis is that you are not guilty then skip the plea bargain and go to court on the day of trial. At trial, question the cop and get him to agree with your analysis.
IF you cannot afford a $200 ticket, you cannot afford an attorney. When I was your age I just paid the fine and learned the lesson, which in your case was to PUT ON THE TURN SIGNAL and start moving over.
Here are your choices:
1. Plead guilty or no-contest and pay the fine.
2. Plead guilty or no-contest, ask the court to take a defensive driving course which will keep the ticket off of your driving record and pay court costs plus the cost of a DD course.
3. Plead not guilty, get found guilty because you are guilty, and end up paying the fine plus court costs.
I would recommend #2, because #1 & #3 likely result in your insurance company raising your premiums.
Well your better off going to court and 85 to 95% of the time it gets lowered and forgiven and go on YouTube and watch videos which help you in contents and knowing what to do but it does not go on your recorded and it shows your not complain about the problem and your fixing it and then you will fell so so much better going into the future and this is what you should do.
Why do you think he needs to acknowledge that you have a dog in the car?
The only way you win in court is if the cop doesn't show up.
It doesn't cost anything to go to court and theres no need for a lawyer. If you go to court and tell your story to the judge he can suspend or lower the fine. The officer who wrote the ticket will be there with dashcam footage so dont try to lie to the court.
How do you get out of it? You don't. Just pay the ticket.
You can stop being an idiot and pay the ticket. It’s a law now that you have to move over a lane if a policeman has someone stopped. Grow up.