Traffic laws make provisions for various traffic offenses that a driver can violate. An offending driver reserves the right to decide how he wishes to handle his situation. On a daily basis, drivers are cited for different violations which may be for reasons such as speeding, driving against traffic, running a red light, or some other traffic disobedience. The penalty for traffic tickets may not be harmful since traffic offenses are generally regarded as simple offenses which in most cases can only attract the punishment of a fine.

The hassles attached to traffic tickets usually require an offender to invest time, energy and payment of huge fines and increased insurance rates. The purpose of this article is to converse some of the legal options available to motorists on how to handle their situation.
Traffic Disobedience compared To Other Offenses

In nearly every state, the law considers minor traffic offenses such as speeding, running a red light or driving against traffic as minor offenses and they are usually cited and heard in Traffic Courts. This is different from other traffic violations viewed as more serious offenses such as Driving Under the Influence (DUI), and Reckless Driving charge are heard in the Criminal Court.

[b][/b]Legal Options Available To Offenders

Options legal options available to individual offenders would always depend on the particular situation regarding the facts of each case such as the State of residence of the person and the extant laws applicable therein. However, usually, an offender will be faced with deciding on any of the following options:
• Sign up or register for traffic school
• Challenge the traffic ticket, and
• Engage an attorney.

In making any or all of the above-listed choices, it pertinent that you take note of the following:

[b][/b]Traffic School

The traffic school is also known as “defensive driving” or “driving safety” class. It is applicable in some states. The traffic school enables the relevant authority to keep records of the violations of the individual motorists and circumvent the connected insurance rate hike.

A good number States that have traffic school permits drivers to participate only once every twelve or eighteen months. In many other situations, the traffic school is not available for specific categories of more serious traffic violations.

It is noteworthy that the driver usually must bear the costs of traffic school which may be between $10 and $100. Some other States makes it mandatory for the offender to pay the citation fine or traffic tickets in addition to attending the traffic school.

[b][/b]The Option of Challenging The Traffic Ticket

Most offenders who do not want to go through the troubles of challenging traffic tickets would usually pay the citation fees and move on with their lives. The law provides the option of challenging or contesting traffic tickets where a driver does not want to attend traffic school; then he will have to decide to fight the ticket before a court.

More often than not, the offender would have to hire an attorney (where he may not be available personally) to raise defenses in law before a traffic court; or where the driver considers the issuance of the traffic ticket as unjustly done, or that the drivers believe he is innocent and would demand a review of the facts leading to the issuance of the traffic tickets.

Paying a ticket is absolutely the easiest way of resolving traffic citations; however, it is not suggesting in any way that drivers who believe they have been unjustly treated should not fight for their rights. The right choice on the option to take will always depend on the circumstance and uniqueness of each case.

A driver can avoid having to go to court by paying the ticket online or through the mail, but there are disadvantages to it as the driver will be made to pay the maximum possible fine and the insurance rates will probably be hiked.

A driver may also decide to plead guilty before a court, and he may have the opportunity to have the judge reduce your fine.
Disputing traffic tickets usually requires an investment of time and money, especially where you opt to hire an attorney though, on the other hand, it gives you a chance of thrashing the ticket and becoming exculpated entirely from the penalty.

There are two ways a driver can win his case: the judge may upon evaluation of facts and based on the preponderance of evidence find the driver not guilty after trial; secondly, the officer who cited the driver might not show up to court and thereby giving the driver a technical victory.

The other part of disputing a citation means the driver will have to appear in court at least once. Traffic court sits during business hours, which means that the driver will be absent from work or school. Some States, such as California and Oregon allows the driver to challenge a traffic ticket in writing where the matter will be heard based on affidavit evidence. The procedure is called trial by “declaration” or “affidavit.”

[b][/b]The Option Of Hiring an Attorney

Hiring an attorney is another option in dealing with traffic issues. It may not be necessary for drivers who opt to plead guilty or go to traffic school to hire an attorney. This is based on the fact that an attorney is needed in traffic matters only for two reasons:

where the driver has decided not to pay the fine or sign up for a traffic school and have chosen to dispute the ticket but would not be available to conduct his case personally or cannot handle the legal complications of the case.
For persons who have decided to contest their citation, hiring a lawyer offers so many benefits such as the driver would not have to be in court personally, the experience, professional expertise and legal knowledge of the traffic attorney might have a better shot of thrashing the case at trial. Source: BetterDays

So I have a uti and I had to pee soooo bad I wasn't paying attention and I got clocked costing downhill at 52 in a 40zone I've never had a speeding ticket b4... when he handed me the ticket he didn't put a price on it... he said the court costs have changed and I'd have to figure it out... I'm wondering if I should just go in and pay it take the hit on my license or fight it and see if I can't get it lowered.... idk
Frankly speaking I live in New Jersey, as I migrated to the US, so I would like to know how could I pay Traffic Ticket online

if you live in New Jersey, then it doesn't hurt to fight it by writing a letter if that's the option. You can google samples. However there's probably not much they'll do since you did technically break the law. If they didn't tell you why you were getting the ticket or didn't show you how fast you were going (or offer to show you) or you have some reason why it's possible the officer was wrong, you could get off. I can't see they'd say that because you had to use the bathroom you could break the law, but maybe you'll get a judge with a sense of humor.
By the way, I guess that you could pay your traffic tickets online

I know that here sometimes judges will lower or dismiss tickets if you go in to the court. It's curious he didn't have the reference info to put a fine amount on the ticket. You may also be able to take a driving education class at a lower cost and avoid the hit on your license.

hey, could you share more details about this case. However, I guess, that anyway you should consult with anyone or, I guess, it will be enough to read the information from the site of njmcdirect, as I've been using services of these guys for 3 years (since the moment I got my driver's license. Frankly speaking, for this short period of time I've already got 5 fines, and when I tried to pay the first fine, I was sick and tired due to long wait in queue to pay off my fine, so I found these guys that helped me pay it online. By the way, these guys have a support, so you could address to them and ask for help, as they helped me pay off my second fine