Speeding tickets are almost always expensive.  They come with a large fine and usually raise your insurance premiums.  Most Americans just take what’s given to them and don’t ask questions.  Did you know you can fight your ticket and either get the charges dropped or get a lesser charge that doesn’t affect your insurance?  Take control of your life and take these steps to preserve your driving record and also your wallet.

1.  Check the box on the ticket that says you want a hearing.  Write down the court date and mail the ticket in.  Mark your court date on your calendar and start preparing for your hearing.

2. Show up early or at least on time to your hearing.  If you are early you might be able to get in as one of the first cases which can only help you since the judge will more likely still be in a good mood.  This might get you a more lenient sentence.  Also if you are late the judge will see you as irresponsible, which means you probably did speed.

3. Dress nice to your court appearance.  If you are a man wear a suit, and if you are a women I would suggest a dress.  This shows that you are respectful and you are taking it seriously.  If you show up in tattered jeans and a t-shirt you are more likely to be handed the citation.

4. Be pleasant and polite.  Don’t point blame on the officer or the radar gun, or any other type of excuse.  Just simply state what you were doing, where you were going, and what happened.  Chances are if you are honest and polite the judge will at least reduce your sentence.  This alone would be worth it.

5. Don’t admit your guilt. If you go before the judge and admit you were speeding then you have lost the case already.  However if the judge still rules in favor of the full citation request a trial.  Usually the judge will not want to have the court spend thousands of dollars for a one hundred dollar citation to go to trial.

All of these are valid ways to help you get out of a speeding ticket.  The more you know about the law and it’s processes, the better you can prepare to get out of your speeding citation.  Fighting speeding tickets doesn’t have to to be difficult but it does take some research.  Check out all of your options and assess if it will be worth it.