Athens Town Court Athens Speeding Ticket Lawyer Attorney Speeding Greene County Coxsackie

New York and New Jersey Speeding and Traffic Ticket Defense Attorney since 2000

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New York and New Jersey Traffic Ticket Defense FAQ's

Fax us or scan and email us your ticket and we'll take a look
tickets@SpeedingDefense.com FAX 877-742-2268

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The normal reaction when the red lights go on behind a motorist, is to be nervous. (see this example of a nervous motorist) Even I, who used to be a police officer, get a little edgy when getting stopped by a police officer for a traffic violation. If however you can keep his cool during a traffic stop, then you may be able to save yourself a lot of money and time.

The officer has a job to do, part of his job is to give tickets, so most likely it will be very difficult for you to get out of the ticket. However, by following the tips below, you can improve your chances of success. What then should you do when you get stopped for an alleged traffic violation?

1) Pull over as safely and quickly as possible to the RIGHT side of the road. Do not stop next to the median next to the fast lane!

2) Roll down your window, and it helps by the way to keep your registration and insurance proofs in a separate compartment so that when you reach for it, you can get it quickly.

3) Do not, I repeat, do not exit the vehicle unless ordered to do so. If you get of the car, you will make the officer nervous and he will punish you for it later with the tickets he gives you.

4) Do not take off your seatbelt. If you must do so to reach the glove compartment, ask the officer if it is ok for you to un-belt yourself to reach for your paperwork. Sounds minor, but doing so will save you a seatbelt ticket!

5) If you are armed or have a gun in the car (assuming you have a legal right to do so) tell the officer, that in it of itself can open the door to a conversation with the officer.

6) BEWARE: Do your best not to admit guilt. The officer will try anything and everything to get you to admit that you broke the law. Many people can’t control themselves and blurt out right away to the officer, “sorry officer, I know I was going a little too fast.” BINGO, your statements get written down and will be used against you. Most of time, officers will try to trick you by asking you, “do you know why I stopped you?” The correct answer, in my book, is to be silent.

7) Try to engage the officer in small talk, if you can manage to connect with the officer’s human side, if he has one, then you may get some leniency.

8) BE NICE EXCEEDINGLY POLITE, if you are rude, the officer will likely pile on more tickets. The number one thing that police officers demand is respect, and if you don’t give it to them, they will demand it in ways you won’t like.

9) Most people have relatives or friends in law enforcement, so mentioning that fact to the officer is probably a waste of time. Unless it is a really close relative like a parent, son, brother, etc, it probably won’t be worth mentioning it. My father, he should live and be well, was once pulled over for a minor traffic violation in Beverly Hills, California. His wallet was in the trunk and when he opened the trunk, the police officer saw that there was a T-shirt in there, which had the logo of the police department where I worked and the words “POLICE OFFICER.” Well, that was enough! my father did not get the ticket!

10) You may be tempted to beg the cop for reduction or a “break.” There is a difference in opinion about asking the officer to reduce the ticket on the road. Sometimes you can beg the cop and he will reduce a speeding ticket (for example) on the road. But this can be counterproductive. For example, let's say that you get nailed for 80 in a 65 mph zone on the Thruway in New York. You beg the state trooper and he gives in and issues you a 2 point "sign violation." Then you contact me and I tell you that there may not be anything that I can do for you because you received a "field reduction," and I try to request a further reduction with the District Attorney, but the DA will immediately see that you already received a reduction on the road and he will likely not offer any further reduction. Or worse yet, the Trooper may decide to reinstate the original charge, which happened to at least one of my clients in Essex County, New York. HOWEVER... If you had received the 80/65, and did not request the reduction from the officer on the road, and later hired me, I would likely be able to get the ticket down to a no point parking ticket.

11) Ok, if you have really done something wrong, like drinking and driving or you have drugs in the car, etc. KNOW ONE THING! YOU DO NOT NEED TO CONSENT TO THE OFFICER SEARCHING YOUR CAR! Typically officers will say “you don’t mind if I search your car do you?” And the answer, especially if you have something in your car, which you should not have, should be “Yes, I do mind and I do not give you permission.” If the officer threatens to get a warrant to search the car, let him go and get it, most of the time he is bluffing.

12) Be careful to whom you give rides in your car. If you have a careless occupant in your car who has contraband on him, you can be held responsible.

By following these guidelines, you can help yourself tremendously on the road, if, heaven forbid, you ever get pulled over by the police in New York or New Jersey.

	New York and New Jersey Traffic Ticket Defense FAQ's HOME
	Fax us or scan and email us your ticket and we'll take a look tickets@SpeedingDefense.com FAX 877-742-2268
	1) What should I say when a cop pulls me over for a traffic ticket?
	Number One rule: be polite, there are evil cops out there (especially NYC traffic cops issuing tickets in the dreaded TVB) that if you give them an attitude they will exert their power and give you multiple tickets. Next thing to do is to try to engage him in conversation before he takes your license and registration; because once he takes your license, and walks away, you are 99% sure of getting a ticket. Sometimes you can beg the cop and he will reduce the speeding ticket (for example) on the road. But this can be counterproductive. For example, let's say that you get nailed for 80 in a 65 mph zone on the Thruway in New York. You beg the state trooper and he gives in and a 2 point "sign violation." Then you contact me and tell you that there may not be anything that I can do for you because you received a "field reduction," and I try to request a further reduction with the District Attorney, the DA will immediately see that you already received a reduction on the road and he will likely not offer any further reduction. Or worse yet, the Trooper may decide to reinstate the original charge, which happened to at least one of my clients in Essex County, New York. HOWEVER... If you had received the 80/65 and hired me to begin with, I would likely be able to get the ticket down to a no point parking ticket.

	2) How long do points stay on my license
	In New York, points stay on the license 18 months from the date of the violation, while the insurance companies will see the violation for 4 years from date of conviction. Confusing huh? Bottom line is that if someone accumulates 11 points in New York for tickets received within an 18 month period, the will be suspended; even if it take 3 years for the tickets to be resolved. In New Jersey, which is a rotten place to do anything wrong, 2 points will come off the record after 2 years of no violations. However, violations in New Jersey remain on the driving record for life!

	3) What happens if I get a ticket out of state?
	This question comes up all the time. Answer: Contact your own state's DMV. Some states like New Jersey register violations on your record from EVERY OTHER STATE. While New York generally will only record violations from Quebec and Ontario (but not NJ) go figure! But don't rely on this for legal advice, the law changes daily, check WITH YOUR STATE'S DMV.

	4) If the cop makes a mistake on the traffic ticket, is it dismissed?
	The answer is "probably not." Only major mistakes involving the a combination of the following: description of vehicle and driver, direction of travel and, road travelled on. We once won a trial in Greenburgh Town Court when the NY State Trooper wrote the description of the vehicle as a "white Mercedes" while my client was driving a black Porsche Cayenne. We hammered the Trooper asking him over and over again, "where were you parked when you saw the white Mercedes, how did you estimate the speed of the white Mercedes, in what direction was the white Mercedes travelling, and the kicker "did you ever take your eye of the white Mercedes." Then we put the client on the stand who testified that he doesn't own a white Mercedes and he produced the registration for the care he was driving at the time, a black Porsche and voila... Case dismissed. This is rare though. In general, minor mistakes on traffic ticket will not cause it to be dismissed. In New York City, however often times multiple mistakes will cause a dismissal.

	5) Why do need to hire an attorney, my cousin got a ticket in New York and he got it plea-bargained down.

	1) If the ticket is in Manhattan TVB, the Bronx TVB, Staten Island, TVB, Queens TVB, Brooklyn TVB or Suffolk County TVB THERE IS NO PLEA-BARGAINING, EVERY CASE GOES TO TRIAL.

	2) If you hire me in most cases you don't have to show up to traffic court in New York. As far as New Jersey Courts, even though you have to show up in general, Attorney cases go first

	3) Lawyers usually get better deals than clients who represent themselves. A professional always does better than a do-it-yourselfer. I have take care of about 5,000 traffic tickets in Upstate New York, New York City, Long Island and Northern New Jersey since I started counting about 5 years ago.