Four Steps You Should Take if Charged with Speeding

1. Take a Deep Breath! We have all been there. You are running late for work. You have to pick your kids up from school. You are preoccupied and not paying attention to your speed. And the next thing you know, you see flashing lights in your rear-view mirror. What was already a stressful day has become worse.
2. Determine whether your ticket has a mandatory court date. Certain speeding tickets, such as those involving driving that exceeds the posted speed limit by more than 30 miles per hour, require a mandatory court appearance. In most cases, our office is able to appear on behalf of our client, even in those cases that involve a “mandatory court date.”
3. Call Pinellas Ticket Defense to Evaluate Your Options. Many clients are surprised to learn that they can call our office, at no charge, and speak with a member of our traffic ticket defense team to learn their options. During your “no pressure” consultation with a member of our team, we will explain each option that exists in your case, answer all of your questions, and evaluate what our office might be able to do to help you with your speeding ticket.
4. Take Action Within 30 Days. If you have received a ticket, you only have 30 days to take action. Whether you choose to hire an attorney, pay the fine, or contest the ticket on your own, you must take some action within the 30-day jurisdictional period. Failure to do so may result in a suspension of your privilege to drive, points being assessed against your license, and increased fines.

Can I Just Go to Court Alone and Plead My Case?

In Pinellas County, there are two County Court Judges assigned to hear traffic-related cases, as well as a number of traffic magistrates who preside over traffic tickets in night Court. Our team of Speeding Ticket Defense Lawyers at Pinellas Ticket Defense have represented thousands of individuals charged with violations of Florida’s traffic laws over the past three decades. Through our vast experience, we have had the opportunity to witness drivers represent themselves and raise a variety of defenses. For example:

• “The officer clocked the wrong car.”
• “I was keeping up with the flow of traffic.”
• “My speedometer was defective.”
• “I put larger wheels on my car than what was put on by the factory, causing my speedometer to read lower than what I was traveling.”

Although many individuals choose to represent themselves in traffic court, there is an old saying that “a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client.” It is likely that you are unfamiliar with the practice preferences of our local judges and magistrates. Similarly, you likely have little experience with speaking in Court, cross-examining police officers, or verifying the sufficiency of a police officer’s laser or radar logs. As a result, an inexperienced individual representing himself in traffic court is likely at a great disadvantage compared to those individuals who secure the representation of a highly-skilled traffic ticket defense lawyer.

How Can a Top-Rated Traffic Ticket Defense Lawyer Help?

While every speeding ticket case is different, the lawyers in our office commonly hear that clients have the same objectives:

• The client does not want points on his or her record;
• The client wants to avoid having to personally attend court;
• The client wants to avoid attending traffic school; and
• The client wants to save his / her five lifetime traffic school elections for a time that he or she might really need it.

Although no Florida lawyer, in any case, can guarantee a client of any specific outcome, our Speeding Ticket Defense Team offers a money-back guarantee that your case will be resolved with no points being assessed and without the need for you to attend court.