How to Contest Traffic Violations
In can be an extremely frustrating experience to be falsely charged with committing a traffic violation. Over the past few years, the monetary size of traffic citations has grown to such an extent that when coupled with possible increases in your insurance rates it may be beneficial to contest a ticket. Only 5 percent of individuals choose to fight their tickets, but of those who chose to fight, half have the charge dismissed, according to World Law Direct. So, don't be afraid to do what it takes to prove your innocence.
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Instructions
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Contact the issuing authority (town, county or state) and see if there are any programs that allow you to simply have the ticket dismissed. If you are a good driver with a clean record and are only being cited with a minor violation, then your state may have a special program that will simply dismiss the citation.
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Schedule an appointment with the prosecuting attorney. This will provide you with an opportunity to explain your innocence and your intent to fight the citation. Confronted with the strength of your case, the prosecuting attorney could drop the charges or lower the scope of the charge so that it does not result in an expensive ticket or a conviction that will go on your insurance record.
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Verify that the citation was properly issued. Check the ticket for the citation of the code that you allegedly violated. You can cross reference this citation with your local ordinance book or state code book, depending on if the citation was written by state or local authorities. If the citation was not correctly referenced, then you should ask the judge to dismiss the charge.
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Collect signed statements (affidavits) from any witness who can vouch for your story. You should collect signed affidavits as close to the time of the incident as possible. You will risk increasing the likelihood that your witness's memory will become less than accurate if you wait too long before collecting the affidavit. An inaccurate testimony will hurt the credibility of your case.
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Check on the status of the certifications possessed by the officer who issued the citation. For instance, if he used a radar unit to issue a speeding citation but has not been trained and certified for using the radar, then this could explain the mistaken citation.
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Consider asking the judge for a jury trial. Depending on the laws in your state, you should have a right to be tried by a jury of your peers even though you are only being charged with a traffic violation. Prosecuting authorities may simply dismiss the traffic charge when faced with the necessity of presenting a less than credible case to a public jury.
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