You got a traffic ticket during the holidays. It happens. Maybe you were speeding or ran a red light because you were in a rush, or maybe you got caught using your phone behind the wheel. Whatever the case may be, you now need to decide: Should you just pay the fine, or should you hire a New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer to fight your ticket in court?
It is tempting to just pay the fine—especially during the holiday season. As you are preparing for the holidays, the last thing you want to do is spend time dealing with your traffic ticket and preparing to go to court.
But, while this might be the easy way out in the short term, it can have significant long-term consequences. Additionally, while paying the fine is an option in some cases, going to court may be required.
10 Important Facts About Dealing with a Traffic Ticket During the Holidays in New Jersey
Here are 10 important facts about dealing with a traffic ticket during the holidays in New Jersey:
1. You Might Be Required to Appear in Traffic Court
When you get a traffic ticket in New Jersey, you need to review your ticket carefully. In particular, you need to see if there is a check mark next to “Court Appearance Required.”
If there is, then just paying the fine is not an option in your case. Instead, you need to go to court, whether you want to fight your traffic ticket or not. If you don’t appear on your scheduled court date, you can be charged with failure to appear—and this can have serious legal consequences regardless of whether your traffic ticket was warranted.
While you can appear in court on your own, you can also hire a New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer to represent you. Beyond representing you in court, your lawyer will be able to determine what grounds you have to fight your traffic ticket, and your lawyer will also be able to provide advice on how best to handle your traffic ticket based on the circumstances at hand.
2. Even if You Aren’t Required to Appear, Going to Traffic Court Might Still Be Your Best Option
Crucially, even if you aren’t required to appear in court, contesting your traffic ticket in court might still be your best option. At a minimum, you should appear in court to plead “Not guilty” to the charge (or charges) against you. As we discuss below, paying the fine amounts to a guilty plea and pleading guilty to a violation of New Jersey law can have a variety of other consequences.
We know that you don’t want to go to court during the holiday season. But we also know how important it is that you do so. Ultimately, fighting your traffic ticket won’t take too much time out of your holiday preparations, and, in the end, you will be glad that you made smart decisions with your long-term best interests in mind.
3. Paying a Fine Isn’t the Only Consequence of a Traffic Ticket in New Jersey
This brings us to the next important fact you need to know: Paying a fine isn’t the only consequence of a traffic ticket in New Jersey. Pleading guilty to a traffic violation can also result in surcharges and points on your driving record.
Surcharges
Surcharges are financial penalties above and beyond the fines for your traffic violation. As the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) explains, “New Jersey law requires collection of surcharges from motorists whose driving records include certain motor vehicle offenses. These surcharges are in addition to any court-imposed fines and penalties or any premiums that may be assessed by insurance companies.”
If you are required to pay surcharges, you will need to pay these annually for the next three years. Depending on the violation (or violations) to which you plead guilty, this could add hundreds or thousands of dollars to the costs of your traffic ticket.
Points on Your Driving Record
Regardless of whether you are required to pay surcharges, pleading guilty to your traffic ticket will add points to your driving record. Most traffic violations carry at least two points, and some carry up to eight. Accumulating points can lead to surcharges for future violations, and if you accumulate 12 points over any amount of time, your driver’s license will be suspended.
4. Paying the Fine Means You Are Pleading Guilty to Violating the Law
We said this already, but it bears repeating: If you pay the fine after getting a traffic ticket in New Jersey, this means you are pleading guilty to violating the law. Your guilty plea will result in a conviction, and you will have a conviction on your record for years to come.
5. All of This Means Your Insurance Rates Will Go Up, Too
All of this means that if you “just” pay the fine, your insurance rates will go up, too. The amount of the increase in your insurance premiums will depend on the specific violation (or violations) to which you pled guilty. Generally speaking, however, you can expect that pleading guilty to a traffic violation will add hundreds of dollars to your annual insurance costs at a minimum. Serious violations can easily increase your premiums by $100 or more per month.
6. Prosecutors Must Be Able to Prove Your Guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
When you contest your ticket in traffic court, prosecutors must be able to prove your guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If prosecutors cannot prove that you are guilty, then you are entitled to a “Not guilty” verdict regardless of whether you violated the law. This fact alone makes it well worth fighting a traffic ticket in most cases.
From lack of evidence (i.e., if the arresting officer doesn’t show up to testify) to questions about the reliability of the prosecution’s evidence (i.e., if you got a speeding ticket and it is possible that the radar gun wasn’t properly calibrated), there are several potential ways to fight a traffic ticket in New Jersey. Once you hire a New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer to represent you, your lawyer will be able to determine what defenses you can use to fight your ticket based on the specific circumstances at hand.
7. Even if Prosecutors Can Prove Your Guilt, a Plea Bargain May Be an Option
Let’s say you broke the law, and prosecutors can prove it. Is it still worth fighting your traffic ticket in court during the holiday season?
At a minimum, you will still want to enter a “Not guilty” plea in order to protect your legal rights. In this scenario, however, seeking a plea bargain could be your best option. Seeking a plea bargain that reduces your charge could both save you hundreds or thousands of dollars and minimize the number of points you have on your driving record.
8. You Can’t Expect Leniency Just Because It’s the Holiday Season
When thinking about your options, it is important to understand that you can’t expect leniency just because it’s the holiday season. Whether you decide to fight your traffic ticket in court or seek a plea bargain, you will need to present a compelling case for why you don’t deserve the maximum penalties that are on the table.
9. You Can’t Expect Your Case to Be Delayed Until After the Holidays
In this same vein, you also can’t expect your case to be delayed until after the holidays. While the courts close on the holidays themselves, they otherwise maintain a normal schedule during the holiday season. As a result, your case will move forward, and you will face consequences unless you fight your traffic ticket successfully.
10. Hiring a New Jersey Traffic Ticket Lawyer Can Be the Least Costly Option in the Long Run
With all of this in mind, hiring a New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer to help you fight your ticket can be the least costly option in the long run. Although it might not be what you want to do right now, in the end, you will be glad you focused on what was best in the long term. While fighting your traffic ticket can disrupt your holiday preparations, this is ultimately a small price to pay if it means saving hundreds (or thousands) of dollars and protecting your ability to drive in the future.
What To Do if You Received a Traffic Ticket During the Holiday Season
Given everything we’ve discussed, what should you do if you receive a traffic ticket during the holiday season in New Jersey? To protect yourself, you should:
- Review Your Ticket Carefully – As discussed above, you should review your ticket carefully. You need to make sure you know the specific charge (or charges) you are facing, and you also need to make sure you know whether you are required to appear in court.
- Make Sure You Know Your Court Date – Regardless of whether you are required to appear in court, you should make sure you know your court date. If you miss your court date, you might not get a second chance to protect yourself against unnecessary consequences.
- Take Notes About Your Traffic Stop – As soon as possible, you should take notes about your traffic stop. While the details are still fresh in your mind, write down everything you can remember so that you can provide your lawyer with as much information as possible.
- Learn More about Your Potential Defenses – Learning more about the potential defenses to traffic tickets in New Jersey can also help you make informed decisions about your next steps. With this in mind, we encourage you to read: When (and How) Should You Fight a Traffic Ticket in New Jersey?
- Talk to a New Jersey Traffic Ticket Lawyer – Talking to an experienced New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer can help you make informed decisions as well. As we said above, hiring a lawyer to fight your traffic ticket can also be your least costly option in the long term.
What Not To Do if You Received a Traffic Ticket During the Holiday Season
Along with taking these steps (among others), there are also some potentially costly mistakes you will want to be careful to avoid. These mistakes include (but are not limited to):
- Ignoring Your Traffic Ticket – Even though it is the holiday season, you cannot ignore your traffic ticket. It isn’t going to go away—and, if you do nothing, you will face consequences that you may have been able to avoid.
- Assuming You Can Wait to Deal with Your Ticket Until After the Holidays – Likewise, you should not assume that you can wait to deal with your ticket until after the holidays, because you can’t. Your case will move forward with or without your involvement.
- Overlooking the Consequences of “Just” Paying the Fine – As you can see from the discussion above, there really is no such thing as “just” paying the fine for a traffic ticket in New Jersey. If you pay the fine, you will face other significant financial consequences, and the points added to your driving record will increase your risk of losing your driving privileges in the future.
- Getting Pulled Over Again – When you have a traffic ticket pending, you do not want to get pulled over again. If you do, it will become even more important that you fight your ticket (or tickets) by all means available.
- Making Decisions with a Short-Term Perspective – Finally, you should not make decisions about your traffic ticket with a short-term perspective. Even though you might not want to deal with your ticket during the holidays, this is ultimately the right thing to do for you and your family.
Get Advice from a New Jersey Traffic Ticket Lawyer at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A.
Are you facing a traffic ticket during the holiday season? If so, we encourage you to contact us so that we can help. To speak with an experienced New Jersey traffic ticket lawyer at Helmer, Conley & Kasselman, P.A., call 877-435-6371 or tell us how we can reach you online now.
