What to do with my speeding ticket in Fontana CA?
I was pulled over and was clocked doing 56 on a 40 zone. This is my first ticket ever, I am 31 years old. It seems that the officer didn't like me since he put my speed 16 miles over the speed limit wherein, on his discretion, he can lower it down if he wanted to. I am driving a modified car and was even asked to pop the hood, he said he will let all my modifications slide but not my speeding.
I do not intend to fight the ticket since it will only cause more trouble in my opinion. What should I do? Should I wait for my court date before I settle this citation? Can I just go to court before the stated court date and pay/settle everything?
Say if I wait for the court date and try to contest the ticket, will it be worth it?
How much fine am I looking at if I plead guilty? How much does traffic school cost?
On the CODE AND SECTION part of the ticket it says 22350 and he wrote down the letter " L " as well and encircled it. What does the letter " L " mean?
February 21st, 2010 - 13:08
Wait…you were going 16 miles an hour over the limit and the officer cited you for going 16 miles an hour over the limit…so he must not like you??
Could be he just cited you for doing the speed you were doing and neither likes nor dislikes you.
Yes, he had discretion. He could have chosen not to pull you over at all. Oh well.
What should you do? Well, if you don’t intend to fight the ticket, I suppose the thing to do is plead guilty and move on with your life. You can ignore the ticket, but that will result in your license being suspended and your fine going up.
There’s nothing gained or lost by settling the ticket before your court date. Yes, you can go before the court date if you intend to just plead guilty and pay the fine. Most courts need at least a week or so to process the ticket before you can plead guilty to it. Many courts need considerably more time.
There’s no way anyone here can tell you if it’s worth contesting the citation. Nobody but you knows what this is worth to you in terms of fines, time in court, insurance premiums, etc.
Last year the fine for this offense would have been $266 or thereabouts. I haven’t seen the bail schedules for this year yet but I would be surprised if it didn’t go up. Traffic school typically costs as much or more, but your insurance company will not find out about the conviction so your rates won’t be at risk.
The only (professional) thing I can think of about the L is the officer might have used lidar to determine your speed. The L might just be his way of remembering that if you contest the citation. Otherwise, I really don’t know what it would be.
You can always contest the citation through the mail by way of a process called "Trial by Declaration." If the court does not tell you about that, you should ask.
February 21st, 2010 - 13:08
It maybe something that only that police department has.