Did you know that if you are traveling through a state other than your home state, you are more likely to get a ticket? Many officers are more likely to issue tickets instead of warnings to drivers who are passing through. If you have recently been in this situation, you may wonder what you can do to contest the ticket, or even if you are required to pay it.
Paying Your Ticket
Any time you get a traffic ticket, you are required to pay it even if it is out-of-state. If you fail to pay the ticket, serious legal actions can be taken against you. Because it is more difficult to contest an out-of-state ticket, you may feel even more pressured to pay it. If you have unpaid tickets from another state, your license can be suspended. So it is important not to disregard a ticket you have received just because it is in another state.
Contesting Your Ticket
It can be more difficult to contest a ticket from another state simply because you have to go back to the county in which it was issued. When you receive a ticket in your city, for example, you can just take a trip to your local courthouse to contest the ticket. This can be a great way to either reduce fees, have the points removed from your license, or even having the ticket removed from your driving record. Driving back to the same state and county where you received an out-of-state ticket, however, may be more expensive than just paying the ticket. If you do opt to contest the ticket, you will want to hire a lawyer from that state who will be present at the courthouse on your behalf.
Your Insurance Rates
Whether or not your insurance rates increase due to an out-of-state ticket will depend on several factors. Some states choose not to record violations that occur in other states, so it may not even get reported to your insurance company. Other factors that will play into the outcome include the severity of the offense and how your home state treats insurance increases after a single moving violation.
If you receive a ticket while you are out of state and you want to contest it, it is a good idea to get in touch with an experienced criminal defense lawyer from a law firm like Pioletti, Pioletti & Nichols. A lawyer can advise you on whether or not the ticket is worth contesting, or if you are better off just paying it. Additionally, they can go to court for you if you are not able to make it to the court where you received the ticket yourself.