Anyone in the Chicago area know anything about moving violations?
I just got my third one within a year, but I got it for no reason. Going 15 over the speed limit. This douche was tailgaiting me and he wouldn't pass over, so I decided to go up a lil faster and switch lanes while he kept following really close. By the time I switched lanes, I didn't know there was a cop at the end of the street. He got me with a laser gun instead of the usual radar gun.

I know if your under 21, you can be suspended after 3 moving violations. Would I be better off fighting for it just by asking for a court hearing? I honestly thought this was BS cause this guy who had a modded car in front of me also was speeding like crazy and he didn't get anything.

 

i got 5 around chicago and indiana before I turned 18. just go to court, plead your case and they will most likely bump it down to supervision (or a non moving violation if you are lucky).

and while I never used one, lawyers apparenly help quite a deal. i had a friend back in high school who was getting caught doing some insane things on the road fairly regularly (130+mph). he just had a lawyer (albeit an expensive one) get him off almost every charge.

dont bother telling me that my friends and i were nuts in HS, we know that. MOST of us came out unharmed.

 

Is that the lowest I can get it to?

I just need my license back cause I commute to school which is basically in the suburbs. I don't want this suspended over this kind of crap. I can understand if its over 30 MPH, but I wasn't even close to that at all.

 

best advice: get a lawyer.

i do remember something about when you turn 18 (or is it 21?) your record gets wiped clean.

I mean the lowest you could get it in theory, is having it thrown out entirely but dont hold your breath.

If it were me, I'd go to court w/o a lawyer, plead my case saying I'm sorry and that I was just trying to safely avoid a tailgater by speeding up and getting over, tell the judge that it would be a major inconvienience for you to lose your license and ask for his mercy. and tell that itll never happen again. that's all you can really do.

 

That's what I was planning on doing. Is the actual officer who gave you the ticket there? Or is just the Judge and yourself? Few of my friends had this incident as well and they told me not to worry about it, but I have to in a sense. I'm the one always driving everywhere. My school and job is practically hours away from where I actually live.

So that's my best bet to do? It should work right....?

 

The citing officer will be there (that whole right to confront accuser thing).

This is the way it goes down. The judge calls your name, you step up to the defendant's table, the citing officer tells his side of the story and then the judge asks for your side.

I'm not sure if it goes back and forth after that, the only time that I did this, the judge let me start on making my case and then stopped me saying that all charges were being dismissed forthwith. I came in with photos of where I was pulled over, measurements of how far I had traveled, where the cop pulled me over, etc. I just looked prepared and I think that spoke well to who I was and the judge probably thought 'i dont want to hear this 18 year old kid drown on about how it was impossible to be traveling that fast that soon and the cops equipment was not calculated properly, blah blah'.

The only thing I can say to you going into court is overdress. Not like suit and tie overdress but slacks and a button down shirt. The judge will be dealing with low lives most of the day and if he sees a kempt young man, he is likely to think that your alright. When I was there, it was mostly 'gansta' looking types with jerseys, pants down to their ankles, and backwards hats.

oh and also dont make it an argument between you and the cop. the judge will always side with law enforcement if that is the case. respect what the police do and question the situation, not the officer.

 

Thanks for the heads up about overdressing in a sense. That also gives me some leadway since I don't dress "ghetto." Is there anything else to do? You can tell this is my first time going to court over some ticket..

 

just be humble and polite. other than that, i really dont know what else to tell you.

GOOD LUCK