Maybe you were running late, so you went faster than you should have, or you parked in a space you shouldn’t have at the mall. Whatever you did, you were stopped by the police and now face a ticket. No one likes to get a traffic ticket, and they can impact you in a few ways. Your insurance premiums could go up, or if you have too many points on your license, you could lose your privilege to drive when your license is taken from you. Is it really worth fighting a traffic ticket most of the time, though?
To understand if you should fight a ticket, consider the laws surrounding the ticket you received. For instance, did you know that a “rolling stop,” which is a nickname for a vehicle slowing down but failing to completely stop at a stop sign, can be completely legal depending on the circumstances? If you can slow to a reasonable speed and continue without putting anyone at risk — like if you can see all incoming roads and no traffic is approaching — then you may not need to completely stop at all.
Why is that important? If a police officer stops you because you didn’t stop completely at the stop sign, you could argue that you did not break the law.
What else can you do to defend yourself? First, don’t pay the ticket; instead, go to court. If you pay the ticket, that can be a sign that you admit you broke the law. Secondly, if the officer doesn’t show up, you usually win your case automatically. If you reschedule the date of your trial, you’ll be more likely to find that the officer is unable to attend.
Source: FindLaw, “Deciding if Fighting Traffic Tickets Is a Good Idea,” accessed June 02, 2016