If you've received a traffic ticket in California, it's extremely important to know your options. Without knowing what your choices are, you may act quickly and send a payment to the Court only to find out that you have essentially pled guilty and will receive points on your driving record, which could significantly increase your insurance rates for up to three years. For this very reason, this article will cover what your four options are when you receive a traffic ticket in California, which option is best given particular scenarios, and how we can help you trash that ticket!
Option 1: Pay the Fine
We never suggest simply paying the fine when you receive the courtesy notice from the Court in the mail reminding you that you have received a ticket and must act quickly to address the citation. Yes, the Court will actually send you a letter to remind you that you were cited, and they will include language that seems to say that you must pay a certain amount by a certain date. Don't make any payment to the Court when you receive the courtesy notice unless you are fine with increasing your insurance rates for up to three years and giving up your right to contest the citation.
The date on the courtesy notice should match the date on your citation and, essentially, this date is simply an appear-by date, which means you must take some form of action on your case before this date. Failure to take action on your case by the appear-by date listed on the courtesy notice will result in a failure to appear bench warrant being issued for you, which leaves you subject to arrest.
Due to the fact that this option means that you are pleading guilty to the charges against you, you will likely have at least one point added to your DMV driving record, which is why we would never suggest to simply pay the fine.
Option 2: Traffic School
If you haven't attended traffic school in the past 18 months, you were not cited for traveling more than 25 miles per hour over the posted speed limit, and you were not traveling 100 miles per hour, you have the option of requesting traffic school for many moving violations. Traffic school will result in the same fine you would have if you were to simply plea guilty; however, you will have an additional fine of approximately $60-65 to attend traffic school, plus the actual cost of traffic school. If you successfully complete traffic school by the date provided by the Court, you will not receive any points on you record and your insurance rates will not increase.
It is important to note that if you are a commercial driver and were driving a commercial vehicle at the time of the citation, you will not qualify for traffic school. A commonly misunderstood section of California traffic law, however, states that if you were a commercial driver and driving your personal vehicle at the time of the citation, you can complete traffic school to keep points from being added to your driving record.
If you have a relatively clean driving record, or are a commercial driver who was in your personal vehicle when you were cited, traffic school may be beneficial to you by providing the ability to keep your insurance rates from increasing and ending the case quickly.
Option 3: Correctable Violations
If you were cited for a correctable violation (e.g., no registration, no insurance, window tint, or driving without a license), you can have the citation signed off at a local law enforcement agency of by the California Highway Patrol if you have, in fact, corrected the violation that gave rise to your citation. By having the ticket signed off and providing proof of correction to the Court, your case will likely be dismissed for a $25 dismissal fee per count. That means if you were cited for not having insurance or registration and you provide proof of both valid insurance and registration to the Court, your case will likely be dismissed for a total of $50.
If you were cited for multiple violations consisting of both correctable violations and moving violations, you will still have to determine how to best handle the moving violations.
This option may be beneficial if you were cited for only correctable violations.
Option 4: Fight the Ticket
If you are not eligible for traffic school, were cited for traveling over 100 miles per hour, or if you are a commercial driver who was driving a commercial vehicle at the time of the citation, our best advice is to fight the ticket!
If you fight the citation and win, you will not have to pay any fines or fees to the Court, you will not receive points on your record, and you may avoid a license suspension (if you were charged with driving over 100 miles per hour).
Why Hire Trash That Ticket
Our office is experienced with handling traffic tickets in California! We know what the officer must prove, how he must prove it, and what defenses may be available to you. We have secured hundreds of dismissals and we fight to get you the best possible outcome in your case. Having an experienced traffic defense attorney may make the difference in significant increases in your insurance premiums for three years or even keeping your job if your job duties include driving. Our prices are extremely reasonable and our knowledge is extensive. Let us help you try to trash that ticket!
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