St. Petersburg Speeding Ticket Lawyer
A speeding ticket can set you back a lot of money and hurt your future. Avoid these consequences by speaking to a speeding ticket attorney before you head to your St. Petersburg traffic court date.
When you’re on the road, you’re likely doing your best to follow all the rules. You’re focusing on your tasks, and you’re trying to keep up with traffic or simply stay close to the speed limit. Unfortunately, now you’ve been pulled over, and you’re left dealing with the consequences.
At Hersem Law, we understand what a tough place that is to be in. You’re not a legal expert, you’re accused of a moving violation, and it’s your word against an officer’s. Many people choose to plead guilty and accept the penalties, but that leaves them in a different difficult place of long-term consequences.
Instead, reach out to a St. Petersburg speeding ticket lawyer. Our attorney can fight back when you’re accused of speeding in St. Petersburg. You need to protect your future, no matter how minor the ticket may seem at first, so let’s do what we can to get your speeding ticket dismissed.
Penalties for Speeding
When you’re pulled over for speeding, you know that you’re going to have a fine to pay. So, what can you expect when you’re given a ticket? Unfortunately, the costs can be high, and you might be left with financial losses that make paying for your normal expenses tough. Worse, those penalties can resurface later on, meaning a speeding ticket can haunt you for some time after you’ve already paid it.
If you plead guilty or choose to take driving school, you’ll need to pay your fine. This fine could be as little as $25 or as high as $250. The benefit of choosing to take driving school is that while you’ll still need to pay your fine, you won’t receive points for your moving violation.
Unfortunately, however, the penalties don’t stop there. There’s a chance you could lose your license, which will leave you struggling while it’s suspended. While your car will still need to be maintained, you’ll be unable to use it, which means you’ll have to rely on public transit and friends to help you commute or run errands. That can be embarrassing, inconvenient, and even expensive, so it’s best to fight back today and protect your future.
One of the most serious consequences of pleading guilty to a speeding ticket comes after the fact. Your auto insurance costs are likely to increase, and these increases are often substantial. Fortunately, you can call our speeding ticket law firm, and we can help you avoid years of higher insurance premiums.
The Driving Points System
If you’re found guilty of speeding, you’ll need to worry about more than the out-of-pocket expenses. Florida’s driving points program could leave you with a license suspension on top of any fines and fees. If you don’t take action, this can hurt your future.
When you receive a speeding ticket, that violation comes with three to four points. The exact amount depends on how fast you were going. If you choose not to fight back and simply take the penalties, those points will be added to your driving record.
These points add up over time, and if you reach certain thresholds, your license can be suspended for up to a year. Your driver’s license can be suspended when you reach the following thresholds:
- Twelve points within twelve months
- Eighteen points in eighteen months, including the above suspension
- Twenty-four points in thirty-six months
To avoid these points, you’ll need to either attend driving school or dispute your ticket. Getting your ticket dismissed, however, will help you avoid both fines and points. Be sure to consider your best options with your attorney.
Defenses for Your Speeding Ticket
When you’re ready to take action and try to get your speeding ticket dismissed, you and your attorney will need to settle on the best defense for your St. Petersburg case. Often, this defense will depend on the details. For example, your lawyer may approach your case differently depending on whether you were pulled over for going over the posted speed limit or whether you were going too fast for the weather conditions.
If you were going over the speed limit, it may have been an emergency. Someone might have been hurt, and you were rushing them to the hospital. While you might have already called 911 about the situation, an officer may have still ticketed you. Showing that you were in an emergency situation that you could not have avoided could help you get your ticket reduced or dismissed completely.
In some cases, your lawyer may also defend you by questioning the radar device used to clock your speed. While you’ll need evidence that there was a fault in their device, these machines aren’t perfect. They need to be recalibrated regularly, and if an officer hasn’t done this, that evidence against you may not be useable for your case.
Don’t Rely on Free Advice
Unfortunately, the internet is full of free advice that can actually hurt your claim. While these tips for disputing your speeding ticket may sound useful, you’ll need an experienced attorney to help you make the best decisions for your particular situation. In many cases, these crowdsourced defenses don’t actually work. That means you might have relied on a defense you heard about, only to end up with no defense at all.
For example, you might have heard that any errors on your ticket will lead to a dismissal. In reality, only significant errors, like completely incorrect locations, may get your ticket thrown out. We all make mistakes, so if the officer spells your name slightly wrong or mistakes the color of your car, your case won’t be dismissed.
You may also choose to dispute the ticket by saying you were keeping to the same speed as traffic. While this defense is often suggested, it’s not a valid reason to be speeding, so you can expect your ticket to stick.
Instead of using these tips, use a speeding ticket lawyer instead. They have the resources you need to fight back the right way. You need a solid defense, but seeking answers on your own can leave you in more trouble than you started with. So, reach out today for an attorney who can help you try to get your speeding ticket dropped.
Talk to a Speeding Ticket Lawyer in St. Petersburg
When you’re struggling with a speeding ticket, you need the right defense and the right legal representation. You need a lawyer who can protect you from the severe penalties that come with a speeding ticket. Instead of fighting alone, get guidance from a lawyer at Hersem Law.
It may be tempting to try to save money now, but often, it will only hurt you in the process. You need help when you’re accused of driving unsafely, or you could lose your license. That could affect many other parts of your life, but we’ll help you avoid those now. That way, you don’t have to pay in the future.
Dealing with a speeding ticket isn’t easy, but you have the chance to defend yourself. By starting with a strategy session with an attorney, you can get the help you need to get your ticket dismissed. We’ll discuss your situation, and we’ll get you ready to push back against your speeding charges.
If you’re struggling to get your speeding ticket dismissed, get help from a St. Petersburg speeding ticket lawyer. We’ll be in your corner when you team up with us. To get started, just give us a call at 813-251-7291 or reach out through our online form below.
