Should I Go To Court For This Speeding Ticket?

[darrick34]

My location was Chesterfield, VA, on I-95.
I've had my license since I was 16 like most. I am now 21 years old.
My first ticket was a few years back; i had gotten pulled over for having an expired inspection sticker on my dad's truck.
That's all there is on my driving record.

This past July 4th, I was driving on i-95 south. I got pulled over for speeding. The officer said he clocked me (radar) going 80 in a 60 mph zone. He asked if there was any reason I was speeding, and I told him, No, that I was just going with the flow. He said he cut me some slack and wrote down 79 mph instead of 80, to avoid giving me reckless driving. Said if he had written 80, I would have had to go to court, but this way I can just pay the fine. Said if I still wanna go to court, that's fine. I initially just wanted to pay the fine and be done with it. However, I didn't realize that my insurance would be affected.

This is a 4-point demerit on my license. I talked to my insurance, and they said it will raise it anywhere from $50 more to $150 more for the next 3 years before it decreases again. But it is not based on the amount of points on my license--it's based on the speeding ticket itself. So, if I were to take a voluntary driving improvement class and gain back 5 points, it won't help with my insurance cost.

Should I go to court for this to try to get the ticket dropped? I've heard that showing up like an honest person, pleading not guilty, and simply saying that it wasn't intentional, while showing the judge my driving record and school transcript might get me out of the ticket. However, I'm afraid that if the officer attends, he can tell the judge about the 80 mph "deal" and it will backfire on me.

I'm mainly looking for advice coming from the Chesterfield area. I don't know what the judges are like...

Thank you!

[tupac]

My location was Chesterfield, VA, on I-95.
I've had my license since I was 16 like most. I am now 21 years old.
My first ticket was a few years back; i had gotten pulled over for having an expired inspection sticker on my dad's truck.
That's all there is on my driving record.

This past July 4th, I was driving on i-95 south. I got pulled over for speeding. The officer said he clocked me (radar) going 80 in a 60 mph zone. He asked if there was any reason I was speeding, and I told him, No, that I was just going with the flow. He said he cut me some slack and wrote down 79 mph instead of 80, to avoid giving me reckless driving. Said if he had written 80, I would have had to go to court, but this way I can just pay the fine. Said if I still wanna go to court, that's fine. I initially just wanted to pay the fine and be done with it. However, I didn't realize that my insurance would be affected.

This is a 4-point demerit on my license. I talked to my insurance, and they said it will raise it anywhere from $50 more to $150 more for the next 3 years before it decreases again. But it is not based on the amount of points on my license--it's based on the speeding ticket itself. So, if I were to take a voluntary driving improvement class and gain back 5 points, it won't help with my insurance cost.

Should I go to court for this to try to get the ticket dropped? I've heard that showing up like an honest person, pleading not guilty, and simply saying that it wasn't intentional, while showing the judge my driving record and school transcript might get me out of the ticket. However, I'm afraid that if the officer attends, he can tell the judge about the 80 mph "deal" and it will backfire on me.

I'm mainly looking for advice coming from the Chesterfield area. I don't know what the judges are like...

Thank you!

[hackett]

If your last ticket was a few years back then you should be able to take traffic school.

I think it was a wrong move to ask you insurnace agent about it cause they might have noted it on their end already.

Basically when you get the notice in the mail and if you are offered traffic school that means this point can be hidden from your insurance. That my understanding of how traffic school works.