If there is one thing that can turn a pleasant drive sour in an instant it is being pulled over by a traffic officer and receiving a ticket. Even if deep down, we know the cop was right, still, no one is going to think, “This was the best thing that could have happened to me today.”

To the driver, certainly not, but to family members? To the driver’s employer? In our story, the driver’s employer just happens to be his father, who e-mailed:

“Mr. Beaver, few people have nice things to say about highway patrol officers or traffic cops in general because the typical contact that most of us have with them is getting a ticket.

“I want to tell you about a tremendous service that a California Highway Patrol Officer did for my son, Ricky, and in fact, our courier/messenger service company, by pulling him over and giving him a well-deserved citation for the precise behavior I had warned him about over and over again.”

Dad put the phone on speaker and his son told the story of a completely avoidable–and expensive–refusal to obey the law. With their permission, I turned on my digital voice recorder.

But I Wasn’t Speeding!

“I had been on the road for dad’s company for almost a week, personally delivering documents and was in Sacramento when a California Highway Patrol officer pulled me over. I couldn’t figure out why, as I was in a line of cars stopped for a red light and he was next to me. I asked him what I had done.”

The officer would soon be delivering a well-deserved lecture on distracted driving, summarized by my reader’s 17 year-old son:

“That’s right, you were not speeding,” replied the officer, adding, “From what I could see, it appeared that you were doing something far more dangerous, something that exposes anyone on or off the road in the vicinity of where you were driving to a risk of great harm. Can you tell me what it was? Here’s a hint:

“What were you doing right before I pulled you over?”

Ricky did not know, and the officer filled in the blanks: “It appeared to me that you were texting. That is a violation of law for any driver, at any age, as it is a dangerous form of distracted driving. In fact, drivers under the age of 18 in California and most states can’t legally use a cell phone at all unless it is for emergency purposes.”

Politely, the young man denied that he was texting, but admitted to holding the phone in his right hand, which was visible to the officer.

What If I Challenge the Ticket in Court?

“Mr. Beaver, I am thinking about becoming a lawyer, and I have a question for you. As the officer wrote texting on the ticket–not simply holding the phone–and I was not texting, could this be a defense? I can obtain a print-out from my cellular carrier covering that time which will show no use of the phone.”

I replied, “It is a valid question, and one that an attorney would certainly ask, so my compliments on having a good mind. But there is a much more important issue involved, and I’m sure your father understands what I am getting at.”

Dad immediately jumped into the conversation.

“It doesn’t matter if the officer’s observations weren’t 100% accurate. The fact is that you were holding the phone and that is a violation of California law, if I am not mistaken, right Mr. Beaver?”

He was correct. Dad continued:

“Ricky, you are our only son. We love you. If something happened to you in an accident or you harmed someone because your attention was not focused on driving, we would go out of our minds with grief.

“And we’ve talked about this many times before!” he said with a tone of voice that sounded as if he was close to tears.

“Some of your friends admitted to us that you joke about being exceptionally good at multi-tasking, driving and talking or texting at the same time. But that’s nonsense, Ricky! A computer can multi-task, but not people! Don’t you agree, Mr. Beaver?”

Of course, I agree, and study after study proves that the human brain cannot perform two tasks that require high-level brain function at once, such as safe driving.

“So, Ricky’s dad concluded, “You are not going to challenge the ticket. You are going to court, accept responsibility, and pay the fine from your own earnings. The CHP deserves a big Thank You.”

Every family with a teenage driver cited for violating the cell phone law also needs to thank that officer who wrote them a ticket.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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In a few weeks, “Jay” will retire from the California Highway Patrol, where he has worked “from California’s incredibly beautiful forested north, driving past thousand-year-old redwoods to the most barren, dry and desolate places you can imagine in our state’s magnificent desert,” his email began.

And then, it took on a somber theme, one expressed to this column by other CHP officers.

“You have always been supportive and respectful of law enforcement, and I want to share with your readers’ tips on how to help avoid what has become an embarrassment to so many traffic officers, both Highway Patrol and city cops as well, and this occurs all over America, but is especially bad in cash-strapped cities and states.

“To rake in huge amount of fine-generated dollars, we are under ever-increasing pressure to write more and more tickets, fully justified or not. Where this happens, it makes veteran cops sick, realizing that we have become organized crime wearing a uniform, part of a scheme to fleece motorists, required to write tickets where only a warning would be adequate before, or not even stopping a vehicle in the first place.

“May we talk about a few ways drivers can protect themselves?” Jay asked.

I grabbed the phone and dialed his number.

We all speed — but don’t stand out!

“Dennis, you would be surprised at the number of drivers who toss their common sense out the window. We see fire-engine red cars leaving all other fast lane vehicles in the dust — drivers who put the D in dummy, doing everything possible to stand out — screaming, I want a ticket!” And these days, they’ll get one.

“The more easily I can see you — either the color of your vehicle or your driving behavior — the likelihood of attracting my attention goes way up. Red stands out, while lighter, neutral colors do not. While it is true that radar and lidar have changed the game considerably — they do not care about a car’s color — to officers, the visual element is still critical.

“Cops know that it is impossible to drive the speed limit on many highways and not be a hazard, especially true for long sections of California’s I-5. I have pulled over more cars than you can imagine for doing the posted speed in the fast lane, warning those drivers to stay in the slow lane as they are creating perfect conditions for an accident.

“By simply keeping up with traffic — in the middle of a group of cars, all going the same speed, regardless of what that speed is — your chances of being singled out are greatly reduced, if not almost virtually nil. So stay in the middle of the pack — it’s that simple,” he recommends.

“But, if you weave in and out, follow other cars way too closely, think it is somehow cool to intimidate them into changing lanes, or lead the group onwards at a much higher speed — you risk being spotted, and your driving behavior will be rewarded with an expensive citation. So why do this to yourself?”

We park in a way to make radar detectors less effective

“Radar and lidar detectors provide  critical warning that your car’s speed will soon be checked. The only way to minimize their effectiveness is to limit the amount of time for you to react and slow down.

“If I am parked parallel to the highway, with my front and rear-facing radar active, cars with radar detectors will sound the alarm, potentially, miles from my position.

“But if I am perpendicular to the road, your radar’s ‘window’ of visibility may only be a few hundred feet, plenty of time for my radar to determine your speed, but much less time for you to react to my presence.

“So this means that even with a radar detector — which I absolutely recommend everyone owns one which ‘looks’ both ahead, and towards the rear — you need to be extra careful, and especially at night.

“It does not matter where you are, if it’s late and you are the only car on the road, don’t assume that because you can’t see other headlights that you are alone and the open road means pedal to the metal. Often we’ll park far from the road, headlights turned off, facing traffic at an angle, patiently looking at the speed numbers which our radar gives us.

“I am not encouraging speeding. What I am saying is that what was ‘safe’ before, today could get you an expensive ticket,” Jay warns.

Next time: Yes, there is still a chance of getting out of a ticket, and we’ll tell you what might work, and a radar detector buying recommendation.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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I just received a notice from a city in Southern California that my car went through a red light. There is a clear photo of the license number, and it is obviously my car. The only problem is that I was not driving it that day.

The photo shows the driver, but it is impossible to identify with any degree of certainty as the image is not clear. The day and time that the ticket was issued, one of my two sons or their friends could have been driving the car, as five of them were spending a weekend in that part of Los Angeles attending a seminar on improving their LSAT test scores.

They have denied even being aware that the car apparently went through a red light, and do not remember who was driving at that time. I have spoken with the private company that handles these red light camera tickets and asked if they can send me clearer photos, but they are the rudest bunch of people imaginable and refuse to even tell me if they have better pictures.

The Police Department of that city agrees that I am not the driver, but refuses to dismiss the ticket against me unless I tell them who drove the car, and maintain that I have a legal obligation to do so. What do you recommend? What is your opinion of red light cameras, anyway? John From Kingsburg.

Red light runners are dangerous

John’s car was caught by a red light camera in a Southern California city that not long ago began an automated system to catch red light runners. Cities all across America are now using or looking into the use of these systems, as a direct response to a significant increase in red light violations.

The National Highway Safety Administration has clear research showing that each year in the U.S. red light violations cause over 200,000 accidents, more than 1,000 fatalities at a cost in the billions of dollars. The incidences have dramatically increased especially in cities with high traffic density. Accidents and deaths – up by more than 20 percent in just the past few years – all because someone ran a red light.

Whether because of a mere lapse of attention or done purposefully, police departments take these violations seriously, as public safety is the first concern. “We now see an epidemic of intentional violators, every bit as dangerous as a drunk driver behind the wheel, and frankly, if a red light camera discourages this behavior, it is well worth the expense and occasionally angry member of the public,” a traffic officer friend told me.

Robo Cop enters the picture

While automated red-light systems are fairly new in the United States, they have been around for a long time. Since 1968 more than 45 countries have used red light camera technology. It is beyond the space availability of this column to go into much detail as to how they work, but I will point out at that they have gone through several generations of development and are serious pieces of equipment. If placed in an appropriate intersection with correctly timed lights, these cameras do catch red light runners. Aside from timing issues, the major and highly vocal objection is that a police officer’s observations or discretion is taken out of the equation. But this assumes that every photo red light violation leads to an expensive ticket. That is not the case.

“Red light cameras have the ability of converting a situation where an officer might just give a verbal warning into a $350 fine and increase your insurance rates. That can happen where automated systems are improperly or incorrectly used – without careful analysis by an experienced traffic officer – and we do find a lot of officers who do not like abuse of the technology,” one of my good-guy traffic officer friends in Northern California told me when we talked about this often debated subject.

“Complaints from the public are usually less about the technology itself but more with the net result of what these Robo Cops do: They can be a virtual casino for the towns that use them, with the potential of generating thousands of dollars a day in revenue. That is one of the biggest reasons that city governments are so often in love with the equipment,” is the way another traffic officer I know puts it. He added, “City governments and many police departments realize the huge money making potential. It is like having additional officers who work without taking a break and do not ask to be paid retirement benefits.”

How they work and what you should do

“In the typical intersection setting, a digital video-camera is running at all times, and once a car enters the intersection on a red light, a series of detailed photos and mathematical calculations will be recorded and later extracted from the video. The pictures should be reviewed by an experienced traffic officer, and a decision may be reached to send out a notice of violation, with photos of the vehicle and driver sent to the registered owner. Some technical violations are not cited, such as turning right on a red after coming to a full stop, moving out of the way of an emergency vehicle, or fear of being rear-ended by a closely following car,” I was told by Julie Dixon, West Coast operations manager for Nestor Traffic Systems, one of the nation’s largest photo ticket companies.

“Many police departments now have the ability of letting you see the video over the Internet, but there are still some that require personal visits. That is important to do, especially where you were not driving the vehicle and aren’t sure who was,” she stressed.

Nestor Traffic Systems – based in Providence, Rhode Island – can set up any town with its very own, as their Web site describes – Turnkey Solution. “The cost runs around $5,000 per camera per intersection, and the very best set-ups have all four angles covered. This gives the officer – and driver – a chance to see who was driving, occupants in the vehicle, all approaches to the intersection, signal color, and any possible justifications for running the red,” Dixon told me.

“In a certain percentage of cases, the owner was not driving the car, and here is where some on law enforcement go a little nuts,” my police buddy told me. “You could have a valet parking attendant out for a joy ride with your car – totally without your knowledge – or your son or daughter ran the red, and at times the picture of the driver you are sent isn’t too clear. Here is where the pressure is on to force you to I.D. the driver,” he told me.

“But there is something that you need to know, and tell your readers this,” Officer Nice Guy told me. “While you do not have to snitch on anyone, please use some common sense. If you see a really gross red light violation, do you want this person to be driving your car? If you gave them permission, and they cause an accident, you will be on the hook. Sure to some traffic officers citations take on a much more serious role than they should – especially where no one is hurt. The police do not want to take a simple ticket and turn family members against each other. All we ask is for some common sense and doing what is right under these circumstances,” he told me.

My advice? My reader can send the ticket back, marked, I was not the driver, and explain the situation, asking the police to look at his own DMV photo. The ticket must be dismissed, as only the driver can be cited. But he might want to see the video, to be sure that the next time his kids are out, they understand the consequences of running a red light.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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May 4, 2013 • By Dennis Beaver

“On our way to San Diego, we stopped for lunch upon reaching Long Beach,” began an email from Alex, who reads this column in his hometown newspaper, the Selma Enterprise, owned by The Sentinel.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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October 3, 2015 • By Dennis Beaver

If you received a traffic ticket in California and wanted to challenge it in court, having lots of money helps. That’s because many counties have required that the “bail” is posted before a court date would be set up. But it isn’t really bail in the legal sense.

Running into the hundreds of dollars — more in some cases — traffic citation “bail” pays the outrageous fines and penalty assessments — completely unrelated to driving — causing real damage to drivers unlucky enough to be ticketed and not having much extra money laying around.

With criminal cases — where the penalty can mean jail — “bail” is money is paid to the court — in cash or by using a bail bondsman — as a condition of being released from custody; pending trial.

But most traffic tickets are infractions. They are not a crime and the penalty is rarely jail, unless the violation was classified as a misdemeanor.

Equal access to the courts — for rich or poor — is everyone’s right. Yet, many California counties created two classes of drivers: those with money to pre-pay the fine and then have their day in court, and those who can’t get into court because they lack the money to post the bail.

Rubbing salt into the wound, when the officer who issued the citation fails to come to court, the ticket will almost always be dismissed. That’s music to the ears of a driver with money, but the single mom trying to make ends meet and lacks the $500 “bail” can’t even get into court. It is unequal treatment of people in the same situation — they got a ticket.

The obvious illegality of what many courts were requiring because “that’s the way it had been done for years” went unchallenged. Finally, someone recognized this glaring violation of both California law, the U.S. Constitution, and decided to do something about it.

It was the American Civil Liberties Union — the ACLU — with the assistance of the prestigious Pillsbury law firm, both based in San Francisco.

“This requirement of charging drivers fees and fines before allowing them to contest a traffic ticket came to our attention in early 2014,” attorney Christine Sun of the ACLU told You and the Law.

“A Napa resident received a speeding ticket and was told he had to post bail at arraignment in order to schedule a trial for some later time. He felt this was not legal, we looked into and agreed.

“We do not require a criminal defendant to pay fines before a conviction, so how can you do this with a person who merely gets a traffic violation? That is the crux of the issue,” Sun points out.

California’s court funding system is broken

“The funding system for California courts is broken. The vast majority of the fines and penalties in traffic cases have nothing to do with the way a person should be punished or deterred from unsafe driving. The state is using traffic tickets to generate fees for court construction, DNA testing and ways to collect revenue for expenses which should come out the General Fund,” Sun observes.

“Driver’s license suspensions are a huge problem in California. With certain DUIs a restricted license to go to and from work is possible. But if you are unable to pay your fine for a traffic ticket, your license is suspended and there is no provision for a restricted license, even though that would permit you to drive to work and then pay the fees.

“Where people do not receive a courtesy notice of a traffic citation, for example, where a friend or relative drove the car, got a red light camera ticket, but the owner never received the notice, it goes to a Failure to Appear. It takes close to $1,000 just to get in front of a judge to show that you had a good reason for not appearing. This is unfair and unconstitutional,” she points out.

Hearing from the ACLU, the court changed its policy

“We wrote letters to counties across Northern California, pointing out that requiring payment of ‘bail’ to challenge traffic tickets was illegal.” Shortly after that, the Judicial Council instituted an emergency rule, telling all traffic courts in California to immediately stop requiring bail posted as a condition of asking for a trial, with certain exceptions, such as a Failure to Appear.

“So, now a traffic cannot require posting bail as a condition of having your day in court,” Sun modestly stated.

It was no “modest” accomplishment, as her team at the ACLU and the Pillsbury law firm have done something terrific for all drivers in this state. 

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post Fighting traffic tickets appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

May 11, 2013 • By Dennis Beaver

Last week we told you about Alex, our Selma reader who received a red-light camera ticket in the mail, weeks after he and relatives — driving to a family reunion in San Diego — had briefly stopped along the way for lunch.

“My license plate was clearly shown in the photographs, but there is no way to determine from the photos or the video on their website if the left-turn arrow was red.

“Even if the car did go through on a red, I was not driving — my 18-year-old nephew was, and I am 68. Trying to get someone at the police department or the traffic court to listen to me and just look at my DMV photo has been an exercise in frustration, dealing with people who have no common sense or desire to do the right thing. They have all refused,” Alex told us.

“All of these people — court and police department — insist that I identify the driver and they tell me that I am legally obligated to do so. But I have reason to believe they are not telling me the truth, as, unless I am wrong, there is no legal obligation to snitch. Also, it is about a 4-hour drive to that town, and I do not want to lose all that time and gasoline for something which a quick look at photos should clear up.

“How can I get the attention of a judge who will look at the photos, see that I am not the driver and then dismiss the citation without having to actually be in court?” our Selma reader asked.

Fight the ticket and not leave home

“This is becoming more and more of a common fact situation as both red-light and speed camera tickets (in states which use them) can run well into the hundreds of dollars. They generate huge revenues, and are often responsible for major rear-end collisions,” observes traffic defense attorney Paul Denni, who practices in Southern California.

“Your reader is correct — there is no legal duty to identify the driver, but attorneys hear these stories all the time. Law enforcement and court personnel are caught every day deceiving the public into revealing who was driving. You can bring this to the attention of a traffic judge without going to court, and there are three basic ways:

• Hire an attorney who will go to court for you. The judge will be shown the photographic evidence, your own driver’s license photo, and the cost will usually run about around $500. The savings in fines and insurance rate increases will often be well worth it.

• Ask an attorney to send a letter to the issuing police agency, and the court, enclosing a photo of your license and asking that the ticket be dismissed because the registered owner of the vehicle was clearly not driving at that time. Unless promptly notified that it was dismissed, the next step is to ask for a trial by declaration, which you can do yourself without a lawyer.

• Trial by written declaration: For many of your readers, this can be the very first step if, like Alex, law enforcement or the courts are playing games, or when the car has been sold, yet somehow registration information does not show the current owner.

California and many states have a simple way of dealing with traffic matters, using easy-to-fill-out forms in which you state — and please be brief — why you are not guilty of the traffic offense. Experience shows that in most situations, the driver is going to lose the case. But where it is a question of identity — who was driving the car — or a change in ownership, the chances are very good that your ticket will be dismissed.

“Also, it must be pointed out that in order to use a trial by declaration, you need to post the amount of the fine (the “bail” amount). If you win, bail is refunded. Forms are available online, or from the court itself,” Denni added.

It’s not over even if you lose the trial by declaration

“But if you lose, it’s not over. You can request an actual trial — called a trial de novo — come to court, and present your side of the case,” he concluded.

There are some “tricks of the trade” used by traffic defense attorneys that Denni shared with us — including how to avoid a ticket in the first place — and we’ll tell you what they are next time. Attorney Denni’s website is an excellent source of information which we recommend www.duiandtrafficattorney.com.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post Got a red-light camera ticket, but weren’t driving? appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

“Mr. Beaver, we are worried about our 19-year-old son, ‘John.’ He drives like a maniac, has been pulled over by the local police several times, but they always give him a warning because I am well known in town. Instead of being appreciative, John argues with the offices and is disrespectful. If he acts like this somewhere else, things will not end well.

“We all read your column and John likes the way you are so straightforward. He might listen to your advice, so would you do a column on how to avoid getting yourself on the evening news when stopped by a police officer.”

“Police officers, just like anyone else working a job, want their days to be as easy and non-confrontational as possible,” Officer Harold Jones of the Winchester, Kentucky, police department told You and the Law. With a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and having been a police officer for 20 years, he is typical of the dedicated people in law enforcement we have met over the years.

“We want to make our community a better and safer place for everyone. That’s why we get into this field. We would absolutely love for there to be zero crime, zero domestic violence, zero drugs, zero theft, zero child abuse. No one in law enforcement wants those things to happen and we do not seek out confrontational situations. We don’t wake up wanting to toss you in jail,” he stressed.

Any lawyer will tell you that in almost every instance of contact an officer has with someone is a result of something that person did to draw the officer’s attention or something that created a call and law enforcement was dispatched. The law requires a reasonable basis–a good faith underlying reason. In addition to traffic stops, this might include:

• Thinking you are having trouble and need assistance
• Checking out a citizen’s compliant of criminal activity
• Looking for possible witnesses
• Stop – Listen – Obey

“In any encounter with law enforcement, regardless of prior negative experiences, this is not the time to work out past feelings,” Jones underscores. “Give the officer the benefit of doubt that there is a valid reason to talk with you and to explain why you have been stopped. The more a person resists in allowing the officer to do his job, the worse the situation will become.”

Risk and being in a permanent state of alertness goes with the job of being a cop. The most self-defeating thing we can do is to be a jerk, making that officer’s job more difficult. “Stop. Listen, Obey, are the Golden Rules for all civilians to follow,” Jones points out with good reason.

“Whether you are on foot, in a car, on your phone, or whatever you feel is important at the time, anything but stopping and giving your full attention to the officer will turn things south quickly. This also means stop moving!

“If you stick your hands in your pocket, turn your body in another direction, look around everywhere but at the officer, these are strong indications that you may be planning to do something other than cooperate and allow the officer to complete his investigation.

“If you don’t listen, there will most definitely be some miss-communication which is always bad for everyone involved. However, listening does not just mean being present without saying anything. Active listening requires trying to comprehend what the officer is saying so that a reasonable communicative exchange will take place.”

The results of not listening and little, if any dialogue “Can be interpreted by the officer that the person is planning to argue right out the gate, or plotting something. It is an invitation to trouble,” Jones cautions.

“Even if you disagree with the officer, this is not the place or time to argue with the person who has the pepper spray, baton, Taser, gun, and most likely, plenty of back up on the way. If you feel you have been wronged –which does happen–then make that argument in court,” he strongly recommends.

“However, if you decide to ‘hold court’ on the side of the road, or at the time of the event, you will most likely lose there and then lose in court.

“The only exception I could see to refusing to obey is if you really are dealing with a rogue officer and it means life or death for you. But this is not The Movie Channel and those instances are about as common as being struck by lightning — Twice, Jones concluded.

And so, to “John,” You and the Law has this recommendation. Keep it up. Some lawyer needs your parents’ money.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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October 17, 2015 • By Dennis Beaver

“I got a ticket on Highway 99 north of Fresno for speeding and plan on taking it to court. Can you give me some pointers? Yes, I was technically speeding, but had I been going any slower, I would have been a danger to other drivers. Will that matter to the judge?” Thanks, Dale.

We put Dale’s question to Southern California-based traffic ticket attorney Paul Harman, who gave the following excellent advice.

“Drivers need to assume that from the moment the red lights start flashing, an audio and video recording will be made of everything that takes place. If ever there was a time to be respectful, polite and show the right attitude, this is it,” Harman notes, adding, “In a traffic stop, attitude is comprised of how and where you pull over, followed by what you say to the officer.” A driver absolutely should:

• Pull over immediately in a safe location, almost always on the right, and remove the keys from the ignition.
• Lower both driver and passenger’s windows. If at night, turn on interior lights.
• Keep your hands visible at all times, preferably on the steering wheel.
• Ask the officer for permission to reach into the glove box or the back seat area.

“So, then, what can a driver say that establishes a really bad attitude” we asked Harman.

‘Put yourself in the officer’s shoes’

A traffic stop is always tense and not made better by a confrontation with a driver who demands to see the radar or lidar results, implying that the officer is a liar.

These devices do not generally store the recorded speed for more than a brief time, but even if they did, the officer is under no legal obligation to show them. As Harman points out:

“Traffic enforcement officers have wide discretion to give a warning or write a citation. Put yourself in the officer’s shoes for a moment. Who will you give a break — to the cursing hot-head, accusing you of lying? Or, will it be the driver who is civil, respectful and complies with your requests, especially, signing the ticket?

“If you would like to run the risk of spending a night in jail, or getting hit with another traffic citation, then refuse to sign the ticket. Your signature is a promise to appear in court, or to take care of the matter by paying the fine. It is not an admission of guilt. Also, don’t be a jerk and write nasty comments on the ticket. Judges and officers don’t appreciate it and you can receive an additional citation for doing just that.”

Traffic school protects license – Don’t argue

So, the big day has arrived. You are in traffic court, the officer who gave you that ticket is present. Of course, if the officer were a “no show” then you would have politely asked the judge to dismiss your ticket.

“But,” you think to yourself, “No one is going to believe that I wasn’t going 100 mph or pretty darn close. What do I do now?” To Harman, the answer is clear: traffic school.

“If eligible for traffic school always take it,” he strongly recommends. “Once completed, your ticket is recorded as a ‘confidential conviction’ and remains invisible to insurance companies. Once every 18 months — ticket date to ticket date — drivers can take traffic school.

“However, for a class A or B commercial drivers, driving their personal vehicle, the ticket is visible to their insurance company — although the DMV point is not assessed. Commercial drivers are not eligible if cited in their work vehicle.

“Be on time and turn off your cellphone. Dress appropriately, with clothing that shows respect for the court. This does not mean a nice dress or a suit and tie, but a clean, neat appearance is important, shirts tucked in, no hats and no clothing with crude messages. At all times, show respect.

“Realize that courts recognize few legitimate reasons for speeding — there is no sense in endangering someone else for your personal emergency. However, if that is the reason you give — and have adequate justification — the judge may reduce the speed to allow you to attend traffic school.

“Admitting having driven a couple of miles an hour over the speed limit is an admission of guilt. If the officer says you were going 85 and you testify, ‘No That’s wrong! I was only doing 81,’ you’ve just admitted your guilt. This often happens.

“Finally, never lie about your speed or anything else. Remember, you’re under oath when you testify.”

Harman’s website is www.bakersfieldtraffictickets.com and is filled with great information.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

The post How to represent yourself in traffic court and win appeared first on Dennis Beaver.

One of the great “joys” that motorists across the United States face is an encounter with RoboCop, also known as the red light camera.

Who hasn’t just driven through an intersection, or turned right on a red, only to see a bright flash and wonder, “Was that for me? Am I going to get a ticket?”

“Dorris,” wrote, “I read one article advising to ignore a red light ticket in Los Angeles County, and then found another stating the exact opposite. What should drivers do, act on the ticket, or just ignore it?”

We spoke with Southern California Attorney Paul Denni who provided insight into what drivers need to know about these tickets.

“Red light camera tickets are being prosecuted in Orange County and Los Angeles County. Yes, I have heard rumors that these tickets are not being prosecuted in L.A. County, but I have associates who are in court daily defending these tickets in the Los Angeles Superior Courts. And there are cities within L.A. County who vigorously enforce these tickets,” he points out.

If I ignore the ticket what about my driver’s license?

We asked, “What happens to your driver’s license if you ignore the ticket?”

“The brief answer is ‘No, do not ignore the ticket,’ but this requires understanding what the ticket can and cannot do to your license, pocketbook, and how you can create a nightmare for yourself by doing the wrong thing. There are two situations drivers need to understand:

In the “do nothing” situation, a ticket arrives in the mail and if you do nothing from the start – absolutely nothing – it will not interfere with your driver’s license, not delay getting a license or a renewal as a lack of response is not reported to the DMV.

“Why do you stress doing absolutely nothing?” We asked Denni, and he answered our question with one of his own:

“Dennis, what is the one big difference between getting a red light camera ticket and being pulled over by a traffic officer? The answer is acceptance of notice.

“Before the officer hands you the ticket, you will sign a promise to appear in court, which proves you have actual notice of what to do. Not showing up in court becomes an FTA – a failure to appear – and under the Vehicle Code, this FTA authorizes the court to notify DMV and they will put a hold on your license.

“But a red light camera ticket is mailed, and there is no way of proving that you actually received it. Therefore your failure to act on the ticket is not reported to the DMV.

Do anything and your goose is cooked

When Paul Denni says to “do nothing” he’s serious, explaining that, “Once you appear in court at the arraignment and then fail to appear for the trial, in that case, they can hold your license up, and you could face a fine for the FTA. Why? Because now the court knows that you indeed received that ticket in the mail.”

Other attorneys, we spoke with went even further, pointing out that if you so much as write or call the court and ask for a continuance, you’ve cooked your goose for the same reasons. Now they know that you got the ticket.

GC Services wants your money

So, let’s say that you are driving somewhere in Los Angeles County and receive a red light camera ticket in the mail weeks later. You follow attorney Denni’s advice and do nothing, confident this nastiness will fade from memory. And then you receive a letter from GC Services, explaining that:

• You were mailed a red light camera ticket, and;

• Did not pay the fine or appear in court by the given date, and;

• Therefore, you owe $500 to Los Angeles or some other city.

Now what? “What if I don’t pay? How much trouble can they cause me? Can they report me to the credit bureaus?

“Consequences are that GC Services – which is a giant collection agency working for many cities across America – may hassle you. If you are concerned about it being on your credit bureau report, I would take care of it,” he stated, adding:

“It comes down to how much worry you have about the possible damage it could do you if it winds up on a credit report, but it’s not certain that it will.”

If our story has left your head spinning, that’s good. As the fines for traffic citations including red light camera tickets are so monstrously high in California, a free telephone consultation with a traffic ticket attorney just can’t hurt, and that’s our recommendation.

Dennis Beaver practices law in Bakersfield and enjoys hearing from his readers. Contact Dennis Beaver.

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