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When Should I Fight a Traffic Ticket?

If you have been issued a traffic ticket, you may be thinking about contacting a Long Island traffic ticket attorney. Many people wonder if fighting a ticket is actually worth it.

For some people, a ticket can have a major impact on their career. Professional drivers with commercial driver’s licenses can be severely impacted by even a minor traffic violation. Professional drivers can only accumulate a certain number of points or else face losing their commercial license, job and career.

For the average person who does not drive much for work, a traffic ticket can affect their finances due to increased insurance rates, court costs and fines. Fighting a ticket can sometimes be less expensive than pleading guilty and paying for increased insurance rates and fines if the defense is successful and the case is dismissed. Even if it is not possible to get a dismissal or not guilty verdict, a case may be dismissed in some cases if the driver consents to take a driver safety course.

Some cases cannot be proven in court. A police officer only needs probable cause to issue a ticket, which is a much lower standard than reasonable doubt. Sometimes officers make mistakes because of incorrect observations and mistakes about the law. An attorney may be able to help a person fight a ticket when there is insufficient proof.

Dismissals based on technicalities often happen in movies, and sometimes they even happen in real life. For example, to measure speed, a law enforcement officer’s equipment must be properly calibrated. If the certification for the machine is out of date or the officer did not follow instructions in the operator manual, this could lead to a dismissal.

If you have questions about fighting your traffic ticket case, contact Sharifov & Associates, PLLC. Hiring a Nassau County traffic ticket lawyer can help you get a better deal than you could have on your own and may even help you save your license or get your case dismissed.