Should I Plead Guilty to a Speeding Ticket in Suffolk, Nassau or NYC?
Always Fight a Speeding Ticket
Speeding tickets must ALWAYS be fought because they can have a very significant impact on your life…and more specifically…your bank account.
The possible ramifications of a speeding ticket are:
- High fines and surcharges
- Points
- DMV Driver Responsibility Assessment
- Driver license suspension
- Driver license revocation
- Potential (but unlikely) jail sentence
- Large insurance premium increases
Speeding Ticket Fines
| CHARGE | MAXIMUM FINE |
| Imprudent/Unreasonable Speed | 150 + surcharges |
| 1-10 mph over limit | 150 + surcharges |
| 11-20 mph over limit | 300 + surcharges |
| 21-30 mph over limit | 300 + surcharges |
| 31-40 mph over limit | 600 + surcharges |
| 40+ mph over limit | 600 + surcharges |
Note:
- In addition to the above fines, New York imposes a surcharge on each fine of $88 to $93 depending upon the court.
- Speeding in a school zone, work zone or other restricted zones carry even higher penalties
- Fines increase for second and third speeding convictions.
Speeding Ticket Points & Driver Responsibility Assessments
The Driver Violation Point System gives the New York State DMV a way to identify and take action against high-risk drivers. Speeding ticket points are listed in the chart below. To see a comprehensive list of the points associated with other moving violations, please refer to the driver license points chart on our website.
If you accrue 6 points or more on your license within an 18-month period (which is based upon the date of the violation – not the date of conviction), the DMV will issue a Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA). The DRA is $300 for the first 6 points and $75 per point over six.
| CHARGE | POINTS |
| Imprudent/Unreasonable Speed | 3 |
| 1-10 mph over limit | 3 |
| 11-20 mph over limit | 4 |
| 21-30 mph over limit | 6 |
| 31-40 mph over limit | 8 |
| 40+ mph over limit | 11 |
To learn about how long points and moving violations remain on your license, please visit our How Long Do Points and How Long do Traffic Tickets Stay on your License blog.
License Suspension
The accumulation of excessive points on your license can result in the suspension of your license:
- One 11-point speeding violation will result in the suspension of your driver license
- Accumulation of 11 points between all of your moving violations during an 18-month period (including speeding and non-speeding violations) will result in the suspension of your driver license
License Revocation
Three speeding violations within an 18-month period will result in the revocation of your license.
Insurance Increases
Studies show that a speeding ticket increases the average cost of car insurance in New York by 14%.
Jail Sentence
Although it is very rare, a judge can impose a jail sentence of up to 30 days for a speeding ticket violation in New York.
Fighting a Speeding Ticket
Your Options for Fighting a Speeding Ticket:
- Plea Bargaining (Negotiating) with the Prosecutor; or
- Trial
Plea Bargain your Speeding Ticket
All Courts on Long Island, Westchester and Upstate New York allow you to plea bargain – negotiate – your charges with the prosecutor. To plea bargain, you appear in court on your scheduled pre-trial conference date and meet with a prosecutor and present your arguments as to why your charges should be reduced or dismissed. Every case is different and every court is different, and so the arguments are different in every case. Just a few of the factors that may affect the arguments and negotiations are:
- whether or not the police office used radar or laser
- the speed you were alleged to have been driving
- whether your speeding violation was alleged to have occurred in a school or work zone
- your prior driving history
- your age
- your license status
If the prosecutor chooses refuses to make an offer to reduce your charges, or if you are not satisfied with the offer made by the prosecutor, you are entitled to proceed to trial.
Note that the Traffic Violation Bureaus in the boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island) do not allow plea bargaining. As such, all tickets must be disputed at trial.
Speeding Ticket Trial
Most traffic trials follow the same general procedure:
- First the police officer will testify regarding their observations leading to the issuance of the summons, any radar or laser readings and any statements that were made by you.
- If the prosecution/police officer has not presented enough evidence to make a prima facie case by proving all of the necessary elements of the charge, you are entitled to make a motion to dismiss the case.
- If your motion to dismiss is denied, you then have the opportunity to cross-examine the police officer as to his/her recollection of the traffic stop, his/her observations, his training and the procedures followed.
- You also have the opportunity to testify as to your version of the events. You also have the right to choose not to testify.
- After both parties have rested their cases, the Judge makes the decision - guilty or not guilty. The rules of evidence apply and under the governing sections of the criminal procedure law, the presiding judge must find a motorist guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict. If the Judge finds you guilty, he or she will then review your record, assess a fine and can also decide whether additional sanctions are warranted such as a driver license suspension or revocation.
Do I Need a Speeding Ticket Lawyer?
The total cost of a speeding ticket conviction can be hundreds and even thousands of dollars when all of the fines, surcharges, penalties and insurance increases are tallied. As such, it is extremely important that your speeding ticket is defended vigorously and skillfully.
Being represented by an experienced traffic lawyer has several benefits:
- You will not have to appear in court for plea bargaining and even for trial. An attorney can appear on your behalf so that you do not have to take time off from work or school.
- An experienced traffic attorney knows the right arguments to make during the plea bargaining process to convince the prosecutor to reduce your charges in order to avoid trial. In nearly all instances, a skilled traffic lawyer can get your speeding ticket reduced to a violation with no points (a parking ticket, equipment violation or jaywalking ticket) or to a non-speeding violation with far less points. In some instances we are even able to get your speeding ticket dismissed entirely.
- An attorney knows if the traffic summons contains a defect or if proper procedure has not been followed by the court which can result in a complete dismissal of the ticket.
- At trial, a skilled traffic lawyer knows how to cross-examine a police officer at trial by raising questions about his/her recollection of the facts, the accuracy of his/her observations, his/her training and the credibility of his/her testimony. An attorney also knows how and when to make a motion to dismiss the case if the officer has not proven every element of the charge beyond a reasonable doubt thereby failing to make a prima facie case against you.
Call an Experienced Speeding Ticket Lawyer
Speeding Ticket Lawyer - Available 24/7
Veltry Law, PC has been representing motorists with speeding tickets for over 30 years. We are aggressive about defending your speeding ticket and your driving record. We go the extra mile to prevent you from having insurance premium increases by avoiding speeding ticket convictions and points being added to your record. Feel free to visit our Traffic Ticket page for more information or Call Us 24 hours per day/7 days per week for a FREE consultation during which we can tell you exactly how we are able to help you and what we expect to achieve for you. We are confident in our abilities and that is why we are happy to offer you a money-back guarantee in all Long Island, Westchester and Upstate New York cases if we are not able to reduce your charges.