What Are The Consequences Of Ignoring A Traffic Ticket In Westchester County?

Ignoring a traffic ticket can become very serious. It is not uncommon that my firm is retained to defend people who have done just that. They may go into a temporary state of denial, such as putting the ticket in a drawer or simply asking their spouse to take care of it. Or, they misplace the ticket, forget about it, and think that since they’ve forgotten about it – maybe the court forgot about it too. I can assure you the court doesn’t forget about tickets. Once entered into the system there has to be a disposition or it remains active and can rear its head any unsuspecting time. One common compounding scenario is that someone doesn’t respond to a ticket and they have not kept their address up to date with DMV. When the DMV sends notices to say that they are facing a suspension unless they respond to this outstanding ticket, the motorist doesn’t get that warning. Then, they are suspended as a scofflaw and have no idea what just occurred.

Sometime later, that same motorist is driving along and they get pulled over for an ordinary traffic violation. The police run their license and they see that they are, in fact, driving while suspended. Police call a tow truck and they come and take the car into impound, the motorist is handcuffed, put in the backseat, and taken to the station to be processed and released. Now, they’re going to court on a misdemeanor charge. This is one reason why I strongly advise against ignoring your tickets. If you are convicted of driving while suspended and you get a subsequent ticket, it adds on to the points and you can be suspended or revoked again. You will probably also get a notice from your insurance carrier stating that your premiums are going to increase by a large amount.

In New York, an attorney can go to court on your behalf without you attending to fight your traffic tickets for you. If a motorist decides instead to go to court themselves – they may be quickly overwhelmed by the experience they encounter in any given traffic court. It may take considerable time waiting – commonly a half day. And, they may end up taking whatever offer is thrown at them, if there is an offer made at all, and end up with excessive points and other potential unknown consequences to boot! Procedurally, when a motorist fights their own ticket, almost everything they say is an admission and potentially harmful to their case. If it’s not resolved and does go to trial, everything they said previously is not privileged and may be used against them at trial as an “admission.”

I’ve been practicing since 1990 and have prosecuted thousands of cases and defended more. I can tell you that every single case and court is different. The key to successfully defending a case is finding that difference and turning it into a positive based upon case law, experience, and practicality. A local attorney who focuses on traffic ticket defense typically knows the players in that particular forum – the court also knows that attorney. Facts often arise in negotiations that the motorist didn’t convey to their own counsel for one reason or another. The attorney has to know how to handle that precarious scenario, how to proceed, what to say, and importantly, what not to say. That makes it very prudent to hire an attorney who is both experienced and focuses on traffic ticket defense.

Once my law firm has been retained and our client signs an authorization, we can appear in court without the motorist having to attend at all. That’s a great benefit to the motorist because many courts can take virtually all day to process a lengthy calendar. Spending a half or whole day away from work in an unknown setting is disquieting, uncomfortable, and may not ultimately be productive at all. Let the professionals do what professionals do and handle the ticket for you from start to finish.

For more information on Ignoring Traffic Tickets In Westchester County, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (914) 301-7500 today.