You’ve got an unbelievably exciting day planned: after breakfast, you have to swing by your ex-wife’s house to pick up your kids, then drive to the Seahawks game, where Russel Wilson will assuredly destroy the San Francisco 49ers in the second-loudest outdoor stadium in the NFL.
But on the way, you chanced upon road closures. Then, once you got to your ex’s house, the kids were slow to get ready and get in the car. You hit even more traffic on the way to the game and decided to take a shortcut through unfamiliar surface streets, when suddenly, you see a flash: in about two weeks’ time, you’ll get a ticket in the mail for exceeding the speed limit in a school zone.
Deciding that there is no way that fate could frown you twice in one morning, you press the accelerator a little harder once you get back on the suddenly clear freeway. But now, the flashing is coming from behind you, and it is red and blue. Two tickets in one day.
Okay, nobody is that unlucky, right? But even one ticket is too many. If you have been hit with a traffic ticket in the Seattle area, you have probably wondered what the consequences are, and whether it is worth hiring an attorney to contest the ticket. Here are the most frequently asked questions from people searching for a Seattle Traffic Ticket attorney:
What is a traffic lawyer?
A traffic lawyer, or a traffic ticket lawyer, is an attorney that primarily focuses on fighting all those annoying speeding, cell phone usage, and illegal turn tickets. The business model of these attorneys depends on charging less than you might expect per ticket, while making it up by handing a whole lot of tickets each day in court. It is a volume business, in other words. After all, if they charged as much as other lawyers, people would just pay the tickets and deal with the consequences later, like license suspensions and higher insurance rates.
Some traffic lawyers also practice in the related area of DUI law, for those who have been caught driving under the influence. And some even do criminal law, defending those accused of more serious crimes. But many stick to traffic tickets alone, operating an efficient machine based on probing each ticket for any number of possible defects in the way the ticket was written or shortcomings in the way the ticket was handled by the police and prosecution. They will also negotiate for any possible deals to reduce the consequences that flow from the tickets if outright victory isn’t an option.
Is it worth getting a lawyer for a traffic or speeding ticket?
It depends! Let’s say you already have five tickets in the last year. If you get another ticket, your license will be suspended and you will no longer be able to get to work. Is it worth hiring a lawyer? Probably. On the other hand, if this is your first ticket, it is a camera ticket, and you weren’t driving, you can probably handle filling out the form on the back of the ticket that says “it wasn’t me!” yourself – the ticket will be dismissed automatically.
Regardless of what form of ticket you have received, there are some factors to consider when deciding whether to hire a lawyer:
· If you pay the ticket outright, you are admitting guilt. For most moving violations, including speeding tickets, this will bring additional consequences for your driver’s license and insurance rates.
· You must decide quickly – the ticket must usually be answered within fifteen days.
· Contesting a ticket will often mean going to court: even if you win, most people will have to take time off work or away from family to spend the entire day waiting for their opportunity to be heard.
· Most moving violations will go on your driving record – six in a period of 12 months, or seven in 24 months will result in a suspension.
· Your driving record is available to insurance companies, all of which love any excuse to raise your rates.
· Hiring a lawyer can give you a better chance at beating the ticket and most defendants never have to go to court.
So, is it worth it to hire a lawyer? For most people, yes. But you will need to weigh the cost of a lawyer against handling it yourself or capitulating and paying the fine.
How Much is a Speeding Ticket?
In the state of Washington, there is a statewide fine listing available for all types of traffic violations, including failure to yield to a horse-drawn vehicle. Horses aren’t an issue for most people, but speeding tickets are. Though the list of fine amounts is available online, you’ll want to keep in mind that each local jurisdiction that issues tickets may tack on their own fees and fines as well. In other words, the fine you see on the state schedule is almost certainly smaller than the fine you will actually get on your ticket.
A better starting point is to go straight to your local jurisdiction, such as the City of Seattle. Seattle has its own database of all of the possible tickets and fine amounts, and they are all significantly higher than the state amounts. For example:
· A speeding ticket in Washington can range from $33 to $188.
· A speeding ticket in Seattle can range from $108 to $426.
See the difference? Keep in mind that the fine is just the first part of the punishment. Moving violations, such as speeding tickets, go on your driving record and follow you for 5 years in Washington – insurance companies will hike your rates in the meantime. Accrue enough moving violations and your license will be suspended as well.
Can you get a speeding ticket deferred?
A brilliant man once said, “Moral victories [are] for minor league coaches.” And anything short of an outright dismissal of a speeding ticket or moving violation may feel like just that — a moral victory. But as we have repeated ad nauseum, the fine on the ticket is just the beginning and perhaps the smallest consequence of a ticket: while getting a ticket dismissed is awesome, and everyone’s primary goal, deferral of a ticket will usually mean a clean record and no hike in your insurance rates.
What is a deferral? In Washington state, every seven years, the court can defer entering a conviction on the ticket while you complete traffic school, pay an administrative fee, and keep a clean driving record for a year. If you successfully complete the terms, the ticket will be dismissed without going on your record. This is a huge victory when it comes to your insurance rates and accruing violations towards a license suspension. It may feel like a moral victory at the time, but it will feel like a real victory when you get your insurance renewal statement. Some courts may offer a deferral as a matter of right to first time offenders, while others will wait for you or your attorney to request it.
Can you get a speeding ticket dismissed?
That's the real goal, right? For dismissals, some tickets are significantly more difficult to beat than others. As an example: speed cameras, which are legal in Washington state, can be beaten easily if you are not the driver - just fill out the sworn statement on the ticket saying, “It wasn’t me.” You are not required by law to snitch out the real driver. On the other hand, if you were the driver and do not wish to commit perjury by lying under oath (a serious felony), it can be difficult to beat a ticket that includes photos of your vehicle caught red-handed.
Tickets are often won or lost on the basis of dozens of technicalities contained in state law — technicalities that you can master yourself if you wish to review thousands of paragraphs of legalese and cross reference each provision with your ticket. Or you can enlist the experience of an attorney who lives with these laws every single day – for them, it is a matter of running down a familiar checklist and analyzing which arguments are likely to succeed based on their experience in court.
How do I find a speeding ticket lawyer?
The easiest way to find a speeding ticket lawyer — to toot our own horn — is through Off The Record. Our website and app make it as simple as a few taps, plus a picture of the ticket. We connect you with a lawyer in the Seattle area that has experience fighting these tickets, and to ensure quality we track lawyers success rates – to date, an astounding 97% of our users in Washington state have achieved a positive outcome, such as a deferral or dismissal. After all, one of our promises – our money back guarantee – is that you don’t pay unless you win. Consider this: since we guarantee success, we wouldn’t be in business long if we didn’t connect you with lawyers with extremely high success rates.
To sum it up: we have taken nearly all of the risk out of hiring a lawyer. Compare that with blindly calling phone numbers off of Google, or calling someone with a flashy commercial on TV — which makes you more comfortable? Using us to find a lawyer is a no-brainer.
Get started today via our website or download our app for Apple devices — the only thing you have to lose is the ticket itself!
This information on this site is provided solely for informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Off The Record is not a law firm, does not provide legal services, and is not a lawyer referral service. The attorney listings on the site are paid attorney advertisements. Off the Record has not evaluated this content for accuracy, completeness, or changes in law. No representation is made here about your specific rights. Off The Record is not a substitute for an attorney or a law firm. Legal advice can only be provided by a licensed lawyer.
Image Credit: Oran Viriyincy CC BY-SA 2.0
Off the Record 