Need attorney to help fight traffic ticket.
 

I was stopped at a red light to do a U turn. After waiting awhile for the light to change, I saw that the oncoming three lanes were all empty, so I turned just before the arrow turned green. The cop cited me for failure to stop at a red light. I would like to fight this. I have a very good driving record.
Please offer recommendations! Thanks!

Low cost, easy way to make it go away.

State of Florida.com | Florida Traffic School — Approved by the State of Florida | Auto Insurance Quote Video Transcript

You may not need an attorney. Go to court and plead your case. If the police officer doesn't show up, you have an excellent chance to win. An attorney will only help if he/she has a personal relationship with the court system, which some do.

From your own description it sounds like you are guilty. What will your defense be?

I’d pay the ticket, you can’t make a U turn at a red light. Or do you have special privileges? My point being you need to admit you made a mistake and pay the piper.;)

Traffic Ticket Lawyer Florida And Speeding Attorneys | The Ticket Clinic

The Ticket Clinic Orlando Office is near you if you’ve been charged with any traffic offense. We fight speeding tickets, red light tickets and more. Contact us to get in touch with an experience traffic ticket attorney in Orlando.

You made a U-turn through a red light and now want someone to help argue that is wasn't the wrong thing to do???

Turning "just before the light turn green" is running a red light, take responsibility for your actions. You ran a red light!

In today's world, guilty doesn't mean guilty. The judge can dismiss the case, or reduce the charge. It happens very often.

Sometimes you read a post, and you just shake your head in amazement!
A ticket!
Guilty!
A very good driving record!
Lady! We all had good driving records until we got caught!

I agree, but this thread reminds me of all of the thugs who get arrested for violent felony crimes, and their charge is reduced to a misdemeanor, and they are released without serving any jail time. It doesn't hurt to go to court and ask the judge to dismiss the charge.

Like it or not, there are attorneys who can fix a ticket like this in a minute, for a fee. I don't know any in Florida, but I'm sure they are here. That is the way the system operates.

When I lived in Georgia, I once got a speeding ticket in South Carolina. An attorney friend referred me to another attorney in Charleston, SC, I sent him $150, and the ticket was gone without even going to court. For the record, I don't speed anymore.

So let's level set the scenario:
************************************************** ***
You were stopped at a red light.
You waited until everyone else was stopped.
You started driving while the light was red, and that's OK because everyone else is stopped for you?
And a cop saw you and gave you a ticket, and now your perfect record is broken?
************************************************** ***

You can certainly try to fight it, or you can use it as a learning experience that you got caught like the rest of us in a country where you are free to do anything you want, but you have to pay a price if you get caught breaking any of the laws in the country. its kind of like the teenagers who don't understand why the red lights are for them. .

my perfect record went out the window with the first car purchased about a month after I purchased it. . that and I have so many speeding tickets, my dad almost didn't put me on his car insurance after he went blind. . .

And interesting, since you said the police cited you for running a red light, he must have seen you do it. . . so that's really entitlement that you can't be found guilty with a perfect driving record or not getting caught prior. . The first time is always a shock

I was driving across the Whitestone Bridge in NYC, on a Sunday morning with no one around, doing about 70, and got pulled over. My first reaction was: "What the h3ll is going on? The is New York City!!! No one gets speeding tickets here"

Another time it was 2 in the morning driving back from NYC, and i was making really good time with no one on the road, probably doing 75 in a 55 back then and all of a sudden the inside of my car lit up with daylight! I never saw him. . i swear he had his lights off to catch up to me without me seeing him. .

I got more tickets / stories, paid all but one,

race car driver guy

If you fight it there's a good chance it will cost you more than the ticket. Suck it up and pay the fine.

The real cost is not the ticket. It is the increase in your insurance premium or a cancelled policy.

I read so often the worst thing you can do is not show up in court.
There's also a change to maybe pay the fine and keep your points.

Its better to admit your guilt and ask what can be done to remedy the situation. . My daughter did that. . and successfully got no fine and class participation to erase the charge. .

Always better to be honest, and ask for a way to make amends. . I can't do that getting pulled over and the officer asks for my pilot's license. . (true story) i take my punishment. . .

"How it Works
Florida Basic Driver Improvement, also known as Traffic School or Defensive Driving, is a 4 hour course which motorist's can take when issued a traffic citation, when required by the courts, or to get an insurance discount (at the discretion of the insurance company). The course is delivered in 4 modules online and covers topics such as:

Upon completion of the traffic school course, you will receive an official Florida traffic school certificate of completion. At the same time, the completion is filed with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

If your citation was the result of a moving violation, this completion will remove any points associated with the ticket, prevent insurance premium increases and possibly reduce the fine of the ticket."

So, by fighting this, you are in effect stating that what you did was correct and that the Law Enforcement Officer was wrong. Or perhaps you are saying that because you are a "good" driver, that you should be granted a special privilege to ignore traffic laws.

I have seen people going the wrong way on a one-way street when it was not busy. If a LEO didn't stop the driver, he would ne negligent. If the one-way street signs were deficient, there would be a reason to fight the charge.

Yup, it comes down to integrity and character. Too many people would rather engage with greasy deals than pay their dues. Welcome to the newest version of America. :ohdear:

Or is it “white privilege”? Two wrongs don’t make a right.

Is the OP going to return and explain why she believes that proceeding through a red light to make a u-turn should not result in a ticket? I am all ears.

Highly unlikely, IMO, after getting roasted for entitlement, and not getting any help to save her perfect record. . . .

Always drive with a Hundo around your license.

All of my PBA cards expired!

cant hurt to attempt that.

first step to reduce the charge is to take the 4 hour safety course which indicates remorse to the court.
Secondly, plead not guilty. A court administrator may² offer you a lesser charge and points but keep the original monetary fine in place. Take the deal and run and thank the almighty you physically survived a poor life threatening choice for you and the innocents surrounding you.

Have a similar system here in UK for speeding tickets.
You attend an all day "Speed Awareness" course, or do it online for just under three hours.
You still pay the fine, but get no penalty points on license, therefore avoiding the inevitable Car Insurance increase.
We do not have to inform insurance company of the ticket either.
Get out of jail for £99!

Running a Red light
 

Coach K,
I really liked your response to the woman who ran a red light. It really resonates with me.
We all have attempted to try to beat the system at one time (or many times) or another. Sometimes we're successful but when we're not, we try our best to weasel out of the consequences.

It is what it is, but law enforcement is there to keep everyone safe and in check or there will be mass chaos, the likes we've never seen.

Thankfully no one was injured or killed, bc this woman decided she was above the law and entitled to do as she pleased.

Even adults have learning experiences and this is one that if she owns up to her mistake, could save her life in the future!

You broke the Law now Pay for it😡

Defund the Police������

I've seen so many impatient people run red lights in various ways around here. I hope your getting caught makes you rethink your illegal impulses.

So, in your own words, you ran the red light before it turns green and you want to hire an attorney to fight that 😁 please come back here and let us know how that works for out for you

Here is the only acceptable defense if you live in The Villages……

Tell the Judge you were running late for a tee time. If he is a golfer, he’ll let you go.

Red means stop, Green means go, Yellow means go, but very slow.
 

I'm from Michigan, and our lights cycle much quicker than here in FL. I get very impatient and am tempted to do the same thing. The law is the law and it sounds like you went through a red light! Pay the ticket.

Just learn from your impatience and pay the ticket, you will remember to wait.....next time..

I was thinking the same thing. Bringing in an attorney to traffic court doesn’t sound necessary. And could be more expensive than the ticket itself! By the way, what you did sounds dangerous. It’s not an example of safe driving. You made a mistake, admit that and move on.

Pay the ticket and accept responsibility for your poor judgement.

Surely the OP started this as a joke thread, simply to generate a little controversy? As the alternative of "there really are people who feel so entitled, that they should be able to buy their way out of an obvious law-breaking action" - is just sad. In regards to "I have a very good driving record," if this is actually true, I would observe that the driving record doesn't reflect reality and is based mostly on getting lucky in never having been caught pulling dumb stunts like this previously.

U Turn Ticket
 

You must be from NY.

One way to look at traffic citations is as a driving lesson, learn and move on. We all make mistakes.