What are the possible penalties for a careless driving offense in CO?

Question

I was driving down from Denver with a friend yesterday to Louisville,CO to my office.
I was at the final destination and I was about to park near by the building where I work. I accidentally went over the sidewalk and then I freaked out and accidentally pressed on the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal to hit on the front of the building. No one was injured thankfully. I got a careless driving and a driving with out insurance ticket as I did not have it with me at that time. Now I know that I can reduce my insurance ticket by furnishing my insurance documentation but what will be the possible penalty that I have to face when I get to court for the careless driving ticket?

I have a clean driving record. This is my first offense. Do I need a lawyer for sure?

Answer 1

off the CO DMV website:
"When you are issued a ticket for an offense that carries points and you end up paying the citation, plea bargaining, or pleading guilty, you are in a sense convicted of the act. The court then sends the conviction to the DMV, which tacks on the points to your driving record."

Careless driving: 4 points
Failure to show proof of insurance: 4 points

If you're under 18 you only need to get 6 points in under 12 months and they will suspend your license or 7 total points before you turn 18.

In CO, you do not need a lawyer when you go to court for the first appearance. The court will advise you of your rights and let you know what the charges are and tell you the possible penalties. You can plead guilty or not guilty. If you find out that the penalty is not something you can deal with, you can then tell the court you want a new court date so that you can get a lawyer. There's also something about how if the officer doesn't show up for the sentencing date it may just be thrown out of court.

You might be able to explain your way out of the careless driving ticket but don't bet on it. My first and only offense (different state) was for putting a parked car in drive and slowly rolling it down a hill without the engine running. No one ever told me that the brakes lock up if you do that and it rolled into a ditch. I was still convicted of 'reckless driving' even with a lawyer and had 7 points put on my license plus a fine.

Read this, it's a simple explanation of what to do in CO when you have a ticket:
http://www.courts.state.co.us/exec/pubed/brochures/trafficweb.pdf

Answer 2

I don't believe there are any valid legal defenses. Simply having a lawyer there with you on the court date will tell the judge that you care about whats happened. Be honest with the judge and tell the story like you have just explained here....i say not guilty....honest mistake..:) Good luck dude
p.s.--How is your driving record??? very important