Uh Oh..pulled over in Wisconsin..any advice?

[wyldejackyl]

I'm from Illinois and as luck would have it, coming home on a holiday weekend, I got stopped for speeding. Yes, yes, I know..obey Big Brother, follow the signs and all that, but the fact of the matter is, it's a $250 fine. I'm not looking to "beat" it or not even admit I was 'wrong' - I was. Granted, I was going about 1-2mph faster than everyone else was, but whatever. I'm unfamiliar with how the Wisconsin court system works. In Illinois, it's a kangaroo court. You show up, plead guilty, and you have a 50% chance of walking away either unscathed, with limited supervision, or with a reduced fine. If you plead not guilty, they throw the book at you even if you can prove your innocence but show up without an attorney. If you pay an attorney, even for a small infraction, you typically pay him about what you would pay in fines, but walk with nothing - almost every time. I did a lot of stupider things when I was young, so I know how it works. As it is, I haven't had a WI ticket in over 6 years, and at that time it wasn't nearly as much as it was this time. I paid it and was on my way - including an insurance increase of course. This time I'd rather avoid paying all that money, or see that the IL SecState isn't contacted or SOMETHING - anything. Anything's better than a reaming by a state tax collector!Any advice? (don't say drive slower)

[BlueCrush]

DRIVE SLOWER!!! Pay the ticket and move on! one more thing....DRIVE SLOWER!

[Tubaryan12]

In Cleveland, OH you never just pay the ticket if you want any chance of getting zero points. You show up, plead not guilty. Then they give you a court date. You show up on that date and then negotiate a guilty plea for a violation with no points and lower fine. That's what I did many years ago and I have no reason to believe it still doesn't work that way today.Oh yeah....Drive Slower.

[northvibe]

oh man WI sucks balls for speeding. Well hope that your insurance doesnt find out because its out of state and move on. My friend and I (he was driving) got pulled over in WI coming home from a cobalt meet in chicago and there was no questioning just handed a ticket for $250. Only way to fight it is going back to that counties court house which was 5+ hours away. He paid and his insurance never found out.

[wyldejackyl]

The problem is, it varies by state. in IL (crook county) if you plead not guilty, you get your trial then and there after all the guilty plea people are dismissed. There's a little schpiel that goes on, and you get convicted and really reamed. There's no negotiating. Bring an attorney with you, and since they all know each other and play golf on sundays..people talk on the side before the judge even walks in, and next thing you know you just say, "yes, your honor," a few times and you're out of there with hardly anything. I'm not sure how the courts work in WI, which is why I'm asking what the deal is. I'm assuming I can do exactly what you're saying..but when, and how? I can bargain with them..in exchange for what? I got my male organ in a vise here, and they are holding the handle.

[wyldejackyl]

PS: I know my insurance will find out since WI and IL share bodily fluids with their revenue schemes. ILSoS probably already knows, and dealing with that separately is a pain in the behind on its own. It happened to me about 6 years and I just paid the fine then a few years of insurance increases, which is a sham. There's gotta be a way of lessening the reaming.

[jake75]

So what does IL do to you for getting a ticket in WI? Sure, the points go on your license - but beyond that? Ins. companies often have accident forgiveness - I would think they might have "ticket" forgiveness as long as it isn't something really bad like road racing, dui etc.. Not preaching - but I have not had a ticket in 45 years. Luck is part of it. Also - on the road I try to make sure that some cars are passing me. I was doing 70 in a 65 zone yesterday - that's about my comfort zone above the limit speed. A car was coming up from behind in the passing line. Rather than speed up to pass the car in front of me I pulled over and let him pass me. It was a Smokey. He was probably going 75.

[drunkenmaxx]

see the add at the bottom of the page that says "fight your ticket"haven't clicked the link, but i would find a firm that handles traffic law, like the ones you hear on the radio. sure, it costs more than just paying it, but you'll make up for it in saved insurance costs, and more than likely, it will be like it never happened.

[lovemyraffe]

Stop speeding. I haven't been pulled over for more than 3 years now and my insurance is much much cheaper now.

[zionzr2]

I lived in WI for 3 years and I cant help you...Other than to tell you to pay the ticket and slow down.I don't speed. or if in the rare case I do speed there is always someone in eye shoot going faster than I.I Haven't had a ticket in about 14 years.

[breezd]

I just moved from WI, so I may be able to give some advice. Just have a few questions...1. Department issuing the ticket?2. Location?3. How fast were you over?

[ehoff121]

Quote, originally posted by jake75 »Ins. companies often have accident forgiveness - I would think they might have "ticket" forgiveness as long as it isn't something really bad like road racing, dui etc.. If not forgiveness, check whether your ins. co. will reduce your points if you take a driving safety class, a.k.a. "traffic school". Some companies take 2 points off and even give a % discount on premium.Oh, yeah- slow down. Keep it within 10 over and you shouldn't need to worry much...

[scherry2]

drunkenmaxx: you still alive? haven't seen you post in a while..wyldejackyl: claim your a cheesehead packer fan and your mom and dad made you move to bear land, maybe they will feel sorry for you. lolI think you can just pay the fine and go about your business.

[jake75]

I would not trust being safe from ticketing at "10 over" around here.Isn't it amazing that the Traffic Ticket ad appears on this topic - how do it know?

[Whelan]

you could just not go to WI ever again, lol. Eventually they issue a warrant and if you get pulled over in that state again your arrested though.For me in CT, if you get caught out of state it does not apply to my insurance.

[TONY TAT2]

[IMG][/IMG] PRE -INSURANCE DAYSA day without a ticketWas like a day without sunshine !was in my early 20's thennow Im in my 50"s & get X'celent rates with Prudential/aka,High Point,also have house,life,multi car, etc ,soI get a discountBeen with them since 1981Shop around as stated

[wyldejackyl]

Quote, originally posted by breezd »I just moved from WI, so I may be able to give some advice. Just have a few questions...1. Department issuing the ticket?2. Location?3. How fast were you over?WSPPort Washington, just north of Milwaukee. Ozaukee County16mphYeah, it was steep for me too. That's what happens when I disobey my usual policy of sticking to between 74 and 79mph and think to myself, "Damn, for a holiday weekend, I've only seen like 3 cops so far." When you get paranoid about getting pulled over, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Usually on the way from Chicago to Eau Claire, i run out of fingers to count them on, and they are hidden somewhere on road level. This is the first time I've been sniped from a bridge before.

[jake75]

Let us know how you finally make out with this.

[wyldejackyl]

I'm waiting for breezd to tell me if I should just grab my ankles or if there's another way to fight it.

[breezd]

Well I've never dealt with State police. And I have never had an out of state ticket, so I don't know how the points work. I can only assume that no matter what the ticket will hit your insurance. If you show up to court, the judge will probably lower the ticket, and the points if applicable. I could see them dropping it from 16 down to 14 just for showing up, and that will drop the cost of the ticket. I don't know if they do it anymore, but I know the old way was that if the cop didn't show up, that the ticket could be thrown out. But then again, Port Washington is quite a drive from Chicago, so you need to decide whether it will be worth that 2 hour drive to go to court.Wish I could be more help for you, but I've never dealt with Ozaukee County or State Patrol. Best of luck to you. :s

[Whelan]

CT got rid of the points system a few years back. They operate internally under the strikes policy. Regardless of infraction, 3 moving violations in a two year period gets you a 30 day suspension and a driver re-education (Saturday 8am-2pm). No points, and non-moving violations do not count towards anything.