[E82MSport]

Food for thought as to using an attorney or not.

Earlier this year I was stopped by a county sheriff and was cited for careless driving. I was approaching a light after exiting the highway and made a left turn going too quickly and the car stepped sideways. The officer stopped me and gave me a lecture. I was polite, answered all his questions with the typical yes sir, no sir.

I got to my destination and proceeded to review the implications of a careless driving ticket which included 5 points and about a $250 fine. I hadn't been pulled over in over 9 years and had a clean record and 5 points would make my insurance skyrocket.

I spoke with a friend that had a similar situation in the past and he gave me a name of a lawyer that specialized in traffic violations. I spoke with the attorney regarding the situation and he stated that if he couldn't get a reduction in either the cost of the ticket or number of points he would refund my money. The entire cost to retain his services and resolve the ticket was $400. He handled everything and I wasn't even required to be present for the court date. He negotiated with the judge and the prosecuting attorney and pled it down to impeding traffic. $145 fine and zero points.

So at the end of the day I was out $550 total but no points, not a bad deal. I highly recommend retaining a lawyer, specifically a traffic lawyer.