General Question

lindseyky's avatar

What is the chances that I will loose my liscense?

Asked by lindseyky (3points) November 20th, 2008

I am a college freshman and I live about two hours from where i attend college. I was caught spending doing 26mph over the speed limit. I know this was reckless of me and i admit that i made a mistake. I am scared that i am going to loose my liscense. I have a spotless record, and i am a 4.0 student, what will the Judge do to me?

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17 Answers

CameraObscura's avatar

You may lose the ability to recieve deferred adjudication but beyond that and the fine, probably nothing.

I’ve gotten 3 such tickets this year alone. Not a big fan of traffic police/ municipal revenue collectors.

DrasticDreamer's avatar

I can’t see why you would lose your license. You’re going to get a ticket, for sure, but they won’t take your ability to drive away, especially if this was your first offense.

Evol's avatar

I had a similar ticket a while back in New York. I also had previous offenses but I was a bit older. You will probably pay a lot – but best case is that they reduce it to under 20 mph over in court, if you are calm and rational with the judge = less points on your license. I do not think you will lose your license.

lindseyky's avatar

I have to report in court. By Kentucky law says up to a 90 day suspension..Does anyone know how much the ticket will be?

CameraObscura's avatar

In fact, I just paid one of those today for 86 in a 60. $240 fine but I live in Texas.

lindseyky's avatar

What is the deal withe the defferd adjudication?

Evol's avatar

the ticket will probably be between 300 and 500 dollars. You should do your best in court as the judge can do many nice things for you (like reduce the actual charge to a speeding violation of under 20 mph over and not acting upon his ability to suspend). Because you have to go to court – you are at the mercy of the judge on this one. All they really want is your money. Unless your an a-hole in court and then they will want to teach you a lesson

CameraObscura's avatar

You pay a little more to go on ‘probation’ where you cannot get pulled over for speeding in the same city for 6 months. If you comply, the ticket will not be reported to your insurance.

If I weren’t typing while on the eliptical at the gym I’d elaborate but if I were you, I’d look into getting a lawyer to handle it. There are all kinds of issues and technicalities you’re unaware of. Usually they charge ~$100 but there’s a decent chance you’ll pay nothing beyond that.

Evol's avatar

I would actually recommend not using a lawyer, as it makes you seem argumentative. You did something wrong. present yourself well, fess up, try call attention to any mitigating circumstances (other cars were going that fast, there was no-one else on the road, etc) as quickly and respectfully as you can. Say you learned a big lesson, throw yourself at the mercy of the court, explain you need use of your car for school and to see your family and save money (laundry at home, etc,) and be done with it.

I’m actually not sure if you should plead guilty or no contest. I think I plead no contest, but I’m a risk taker. Be aware of the cultural mores of the small town and use that to your advantage.

gailcalled's avatar

@Lindsey: if nothing else, the judge may send you to remedial English. Slow down and also proof-read

Evol's avatar

If you know anyone from school from the area in which you got the ticket – maybe they could give you advice

jlm11f's avatar

No you will not lose your license. As you said, you have a spotless record. What will happen is you’ll go to court. Sit there for what seems like bazillion hours, then you will be called up, judge will ask you how you plead (guilty, not guilty, no contest). If you say guilty, he’ll ask you to pay your fine and that’s it. Typically judges reduce the fine a bit from what it originally is. You can help this by being nice and cordial to the judge, and also all the clerks in the area (at the end of the day, you don’t know who’s friends with whom).

Pleading No Contest is really for car accidents, so if you later on get sued by the person you had an accident with, the court can’t hold anything against you because you didn’t plead guilty. The procedure for No Contest is same as for guilty, as outlined above. Since you weren’t in an accident, it doesn’t really apply to you. You can plead it if it makes you feel any better, but it doesn’t make a difference.

If you plead Not Guilty, you will have to go to Trial and s/he’ll give you the information on that. Trial is where you can argue the case and question the cop who pulled you over and basically play wannabe lawyer. Or you can hire the lawyer to do the same things. I do not suggest this route. You are a college student, I am sure you have classes and other things to worry about. You just want to get this over with and fast, just pay the fine.

Also, typically the ticket you got has a number you can call to find out the Fine you owe. If this is possible, do it, so you know how much money to have and also can say something if the judge is asking for MORE than s/he should.

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

I’m also from KY, and you will probably get traffic school 12 points and traffic school. You could get a lawyer and plead faulty equipment. It should cost you about $500. Did this happen in Louisville?

CameraObscura's avatar

If you hire a lawyer, there’s a very good chance you will not even have to show up at court, as he will be there representing you. It will be one phone call to provide the initial information about the citation and another to make you aware of what happened. Worst case scenario (if the officer even shows up), an attorney will most likely be able to get you deferred, which will really help out with insurance costs.

As I said, there are many intricacies to legal matters- most of which you’re unaware of. To say that you’ll be looked down upon for bringing a lawyer to court is silly. The state will have a lawyer, there’s no reason you cannot or should not.

ghostofjohn's avatar

Is there a speed limit on spending in Kentucky?

Evol's avatar

in traffic court? – i’ve never been to a traffic court in all the states I’ve been to traffic court where the state had a lawyer…

AlfredaPrufrock's avatar

Yes, you can hire a lawyer and plead down to faulty equipment. She should get 6 points on her license and/or traffic school, unless she’s under age 18.

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