Legal Lifesavers: 4 Helpful Tips for Tackling Traffic Violations
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By PAGE Editor
Dealing with traffic tickets isn't anything uncommon. In fact, that's one of the main reasons why so many people, all around the world are at times obligated to go to court. These tickets can be issued for a variety of different reasons.
Some of them include serious events, such as road collisions, while there are those that are considered mild, like forgetting to utilize a turn signal, running a stop sign, speeding, and many others.
Although these tickets are not perceived as a serious offense, in some instances, things can take a serious turn and a guilty individual may suffer some major consequences. If you want to prevent them, then you should consider taking the steps below.
Be Sure To Have A Traffic Lawyer On Your Team
As previously concluded, there are many reasons why somebody receives a traffic citation, but all of these reasons have one thing in common. They all need to be resolved in court. Now, if you would like to do this effectively and increase your chances of a positive outcome, then you must put your trust in the hands of a traffic attorney.
So how can you benefit from this person? Namely, if you’ve never been in this situation before, then it’s highly likely you do not have the slightest idea how this whole process works. Trust us when we say, it’s way more complicated than it may appear to be at first glance.
That's why it's important to have an advocate by your side because this professional is familiar with the court process and is going to explain to you every detail of it, so you know exactly what to expect.
Aside from that, he or she is going to update you on the newest laws related to traffic as it's their duty to know everything about them. Most importantly, they are going to do whatever is in their power to prove that you are either innocent or (if you're guilty) will try to lower penalties.
That’s because they have amazing negotiation skills. When it comes to finding a skilled traffic solicitor, we’ve heard from a lot of people that in North Carolina, you can stumble upon some spectacular lawyers, particularly in Winston-Salem. Therefore, if you currently live in this city, then make sure to contact a skilled traffic ticket lawyer in Winston-Salem, NC, and see what can be done for this whole process to go smoothly. Your attorney will then advise you on what to do next.
It’s Important To Show Up In Court
As far as this is concerned, there isn’t any advice in particular that’s going to tell you exactly what to do once you show up in court. Namely, at times, drivers manage to beat traffic tickets just by showing up.
It may sound surprising and illogical to you, but that’s actually the truth. However, what’s worth mentioning is that in these types of situations, both the culprit and the officer who wrote the ticket must show up, otherwise, nothing is going to be resolved.
On the other hand, if only the driver shows up, and the officer doesn’t, then it means that the driver has won without practically doing anything. The judge is going to dismiss the ticket, and that’s about it.
Prove That The Officer Isn’t Right
Police officers frequently cite drivers for being careless, meaning that they weren’t driving safely. These citations usually require the police officer to write down their own personal opinion when it comes to this.
Now, if you got a ticket where the police officer had to put down their judgment, then you have the right to challenge it. For instance, if the police officer states that your lane change was considered unsafe, then you can prove this person wrong by saying that it was safe because the traffic and weather conditions were completely okay and that you weren’t jeopardizing your own safety (and safety of others) in any way.
Now, this doesn't mean that you are going to change things for the better immediately, but this is an attempt that's always worth trying. Keep in mind that in some states, it is allowed for police officers to give subjective tickets.
These states provide officers with a lot more flexibility as far as this is concerned. In these places, they do not always solely focus on the posted speed limit. This just goes to show that any person can drive at a safe speed as long as the traffic and weather conditions are acceptable.
One of these states is Texas and California, and if by any chance, you are issued a traffic ticket in one of these locations, then you have every right to dispute the officer's opinion and show to the court that you weren't speeding.
To put things simply as far as this is concerned. For instance, driving 70 mph in a 65 mph because everybody around you was driving at 70 mph too. If something like this happens to you, then you can always say that in these instances, driving below 65 would be dangerous.
You Can Dispute Officer’s Evidence As Well!
Previously we stated that in some instances you can dispute the officer’s personal opinion, but did you know that you can also do it with their evidence? Namely, if you decide to try this method out, then you need to prepare some proof that’s going to question the officer’s evidence.
There are certain things that you can do to fight against these charges, and they include the following:
You can gather the statements of the witnesses. This includes other drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or anyone else who was there when you received your traffic ticket.
You can rely on diagrams to show where your vehicle was in relation to the police officer at the time you received a citation.
Make sure to take pictures of the scene where this offense occurred. This will greatly benefit your current situation.
It's not the end of the world if you receive a traffic ticket, however, if there are things that you can do (which as you can see there are) to fight it, then why wouldn't you make use of them? Right?
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