I got a speeding ticket, do i have to go to court, or do i just pay the fine and that's it?

Question

I was going 78 in a 60

When I pay the fine(by mailing a money order in) will they SEND ME ANYTHING BACK TO MY ADDRESS (i.e. confirmation letter that they got my money or a court date IF I HAVE ONE??? do i?

does it make my insurance go up?

I am 17 years old

in missouri

Answer 1

You don't have to go to court but I advise that you do. Or at least show intention to do so. That often gets the charge reduced then you pay the same amount fine but your insurance does not raise. Just pay the fine and it will raise your insurance. The courts are backed up as is they don't want people appearing in court for traffic so they often cut you a deal so you don't show up. If you do show up just tell the judge some reason why your don't think you were rightfully cited or should get off.

Answer 2

Your best bet is to pay @ the courthouse-City/County Building-or Police Station in person. All states are different. If you received the ticket in a state other than where you reside then follow the instructions on the back of the ticket. Normally there is no confirmation of the payment, so keep a copy of the ticket and check/money order for yourself.
Check to see if all the info that the officer wrote is correct...ie...clocked @ 77 in a 65 while..."parked." That was checked off on mine and it was thrown out. Check all the info.
Depending on your insurance company, your first ticket shouldn't have an affect...but don't get another or worse, an accident!

Answer 3

Not sure abou MO, but in CA you can just pay the fine. If you want to fight the ticket you have to go to the court on the date shown on the ticket.

Yes they will usually send you a receipt -- if not, you can get proof of paying the fine about 2 weeks later from the court, they will have an office for that.

Yep, as a 17-year-old your insurance rates are going to go up. Absolutely anything at that age will drive them up, especially for young males. But if you avoid any further tickets, the rates will come back down in a year or two.

Answer 4

It should say on the bottom of the ticket if you have to go to court. Yes it will make your insurance go up. In Nebraska we have a STOP class that you can take to keep it from going to your insurance company and it cost my son $174 to take 1 month ago(16 year old) A lot less than the amount his insurance would have gone up plus no points off his license, which he only has 6 until he turns 18 anyway. But you have to be signed up within 10 days of getting the ticket here. Ask your local police department if there is a class there that you can take to do this.

Answer 5

call the police station and ask them, I don't know about there for sure but it is probably the same there as it is here, you have to bring them a check or cash down to the police station and you will want to do this as opposed to sending them a money order, just because I don't know about there but here they won't accept those and also no if you do this you won't have to go to court, but it will make your insurance rates go up and if you are only 17 I suggest you quit your speeding here pretty quickly because when you are a young driver just starting out you are already on a probationary period as is, they will knock you back down to a restricted drivers license and then if you keep it up you will get suspended and your insurance rates will be sky high then and it sucks having to be without a drivers license. also I would reccomend not trying to fight it, it is your word against a police officers word and plus he probably had you on radar and that means that he probably also has it on record, even if he doesn't it is still your word against his which won't go over to well in a court of law, and say by chance you do win, then you are just going to have a cop who is gunning for you now and everytime you make a mistake he will be there, just pay it off and be done with it and don't speed anymore, if you absolutely must speed then go out and spend about 500 bucks on a radar/laser detector it's called something passport anyways you can find it at American or probably even Best Buy, it is supposed to be the best thing out there supposedly twice as sensative as any other radar/laser detector out there and completely upgradeable

Answer 6

Do you have an option to attend traffic school to keep this one violation out of your record in your state?

Otherwise you can either appear in court to fight the ticket or just send in the payment and expect the violation to go on your record and your insurance to jump way up for the next few (three?) years.

Answer 7

you can go to court and argue the charges and maybe get it reduced to a non-moving violation. if they are willing to reduce it to a non-moving violation, it the fine will be more than the speeding ticket, but at least it will not go on your insurance. so in the long run, it will be cheaper to pay the higher fine for a non-moving violation up front instead of paying for it for years to come to your insurance company. most courts like doing it like this because it is more $$$ in their pockets. good luck.

Answer 8

Yep buddy your going to court unless you want a warrent out for your arrest becuase you didnt go to court for your traffic violation. Show up and aske the judge if you can go to traffic school. Since this is your first ticket he will be fair and grant you traffic school. Traffic school is like 8 hours by the way. Very boring. Dont sweat it, just make sure you show up ontime key word ''On Time" if you dont they wont let you in the doors. O and when the judge walks out Stand up. Dont put on a hat in the court room and theres no talking.

hope this helps buddy, drive safe.

Answer 9

Most likely you will just have to pay the fine, but your insurance is probably going to go up. If you do go to court, your penalty isn't going to be very bad, maybe like community service. My sister had to do community service for her ticket, but she was going 65 in a 35.

Answer 10

Speeding tickets are moving violations. You probably will have to appear in court simply because of the seriousness of the ticket. However, you should call the courts or the city information number on the ticket BEFORE you pay or plan to show up to court. This is different from state to state.

Perhaps you could show up to court and argue your way out of the ticket. I'd say its worth a try if you can beat it rather than pay it without trying.