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@elfdoctors wrote:
The only traffic ticket I’ve gotten in the past 15 years was a speeding ticket I got in my home town of Grantsburg. There was a new young zealous cop who gave me a ticket for going 41 in a 25 zone. I was guilty so I just paid the fine.
However, in order to keep all the fine money (rather than sharing it with the county) I was actually charged with disorderly conduct (with speeding listed only when you look deeper) so my public record now has that charge. The county DA was surprised that I hadn’t hired a lawyer as lots of charges are written off. The police officer (who was eventually fired by the town within a few months) thought he was doing me a favor. I would rather have had the points on my driving record rather than the disorderly conduct.
I would probably show up in court to better understand any ramifications of any charges. You obviously have shown remorse. There is a good chance that you can get a lighter (or no) fine. At the least you will have a better understanding of the court process in case you ever have to go to court again.
Sure you got your ticket for speeding but….
I heard you roughed up the police officer afterwards and that is why you got a Disorderly conduct ticket. 😉We feel your pain! We were out with Team Honeybunnies this weekend and I got caught doing 16 over the limit! The officer reduced it to 15 over to be nice since I haven’t had a ticket in about 8 years. The ticket came to $160! Sounds like I will have to be in Fond Du Lac in January to try and get a bit of leniency!
On top of everything, we only found 21 caches. Added to the gas price, we paid about $10 per cache. Who said this sport was cheap!? 😥 👿
@bandits wrote:
We feel your pain! We were out with Team Honeybunnies this weekend and I got caught doing 16 over the limit! The officer reduced it to 15 over to be nice since I haven’t had a ticket in about 8 years. The ticket came to $160! Sounds like I will have to be in Fond Du Lac in January to try and get a bit of leniency!
On top of everything, we only found 21 caches. Added to the gas price, we paid about $10 per cache. Who said this sport was cheap!? 😥 👿
You wren’t in rosendale were you? If you were, you need to go back to the gas station…they have t-shirts…. and no I’m not kidding…at least they did at one point… Rosendale is rough on speeders..
VOICE OF EXPERIENCE:
Go to court if you can get points reduced to 2. This may mean a higher fine, but the 3rd point can put you on an alert list that insurance companies scan for risk. Your name on that list may mean increased premiums for up to 5 years.
if the ticket stipulates 2 points to begin with, pay the fine and forget it.
thanks for the input on the points.. the ticket is more than 2 i’m afraid.
that’s really what I would like to impact if possible… I am told the fine is half of what other jurisdictions charge for similar offense. this is according to one of the officers on the scene. I dont imagine the fine lowering but that’s fine. Tis the season to be broke anyway!
i will post a followup next wednesday or thursday to wrap this one up.. (i hope!)
-cheeto-
nobody was bringing up the cost of going to the court. is it in your hometown, or do you have to drive aways to get there? do you have to take off of work to go?
my daughter got a ticket and went to court. all she got out of it was a payment plan. no reduction in points, no reduction in payment. she had the time to go, but if it were me, i’d just pay it. oh yeah, that’s what i did when i had my geocaching fender bender.some statistics…
My original posting on inattentive driving has had 23 replies and 1816 “views”.
The podcast has been downloaded almost 2000 times and most shows hit about 2300 according to an email I received back from them.
My plan: Show up in court (at 6pm, so no missing work) and plead guilty and ask to share why the accident happened (may need to explain geocaching), how much remorse I felt for what I have done and that I am sorry for my actions, and share how I have tried to open other geocacher’s eyes to what can happen with a single moment of distraction while behind the wheel during geocaching. (WGA posting & Podcacher Podcast). Then I will ask if it is possible that the points can be lowered. Regardless of outcome I will take out my handy dandy checkbook and pay my fine (plus court costs) so that they do not proceed to arrest me in the parking lot.
thank you zuma for the inspiration and to all the rest of you for the ideas, feedback, criticism, and all around camaraderie. you guys rock!
-cheeto-
CAVEAT EMPTOR: I AM NOT A LAWYER — but my experience (learned the hard way) is that the officer who shows up on the scene of an accident will typically issue a citation to the driver(s) who was clearly at fault in the accident.
The purpose of the citation is two-fold. First, is to penalize bad behavior. Fines for traffic tickets should discourage the sort of mayhem that can occur when you are trying to figure out where the the nearest waypoint is whilst driving
The second purpose is to manage a situation where the party at fault has no insurance or inadequate insurance. The citation is used as a way to suspend your license if you cause mayhem and are unable or unwilling to pay for the damage you caused. The citation could also be evidence in a lawsuit against you.
My advice is to show up in court. If your insurance situation is under control, it is likely that your ticket will be reduced — it may even be dismissed. If you are having issues with your insurance company, or are uninsured, or if your license is in jeopardy, a court appearance AND an attorney aren’t really optional.
Good luck — to quote Jim Morrison, “Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel.”
update: I modified my plan just a tad and pled No Contest. I am not a lawyer and do not pretend to be one but this was a better plea given the circumstances and what happened.
Municipal courts have no control over the number of points issued on your WI state drivers license. They can modify the citation but when all the evidence points to the violation in question there’s not much too change.
On a positive note, he dropped the fine by 2/3’s. Then tacked back on court costs of course.
Thanks again to all who replied. In the end it didn’t matter much what I said. It was my clean driving record and remorse that mattered.
If you ever find yourself in the Town of Menasha Municipal courtroom, word to the wise… sit on the right side if you want to go earlier. Not sure if they change this up but that’s how it went tonight.
-cheeto-
Glad to hear that you got something out of it.
Congrats on your fine reduction and thanks for the heads-up if I ever have the experience of visiting municipal court. 😀
Hi Cheeto,
Glad it worked out, and ya got the fine reduced. Even more glad that even though your car didnt make it, no one got hurt, and we all here got a good lesson on driving while cachin.
z
All’s well that ends well!
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