The back of your ticket should tell you the process. I think you have to let the court know that you are going to do defensive driving. Because you have to plead " " etc....on the ticket.
First, relax. You've let anger overcome you. Second, don't drag D&D garbage in here -- there's a reason there's a separate forum for that.
Never let a ticket go on your record. Ever. Do whatever you can to avoid this. Texas has a Driver Responsibility Program (surcharge). Every point counts. Points don't go away until 3 years after conviction, not the date of offense. 2 points per conviction (3 points if a crash). After 6 points, you are charged a $100 surcharge PER YEAR until you fall below 6 points. Info here. https://www.txsurchargeonline.com/(S(2cfgmmbqckghpk5kge52g2ts))/FAQ.aspx#1 Plus your insurance goes up. Best bet is to get a lawyer. Sullo & Sullo. $75 well spent.
OP Go to court and pay their fee of around $110 (that's what I remember). Tell them you're taking defensive driving course Take the DD course for $25
First, OP needs to calm down and listen to NWA's Feck Tha Police. Then do whatever comes to mind shortly after.
Pay a lawyer. I've had plenty of experience in this. Your options are as follows: A. Pay the ticket outright and have the ticket on your record. This will mean more expensive insurance, and will count against you should you get any future traffic violations. B. Take the offer of defensive driving. You'll pay court costs that are slightly less than the ticket would be (depends on the jurisdiction), and pay for defensive driving. Insurance agencies will still know about the ticket, but it won't stay on your record. However, you'll end up either spending a fair bit of time either taking a bull**** class from your computer, or going to an actual class/stand-up thing (six to eight hours). C. Pay a lawyer less than the cost of the ticket. In my experience, they've put off the court date as long as possible before requesting a trial by the judge. On trial day, they meet with the judge personally and the ticket is dismissed. In some cases, you're not even required to be there. Insurance will still find out about the ticket, but it won't be on your record. I prefer to pay a lawyer over paying the State. Its cheaper, your time isn't wasted, the ticket won't be on your record, and your money won't go into the State's coffers.
deferred adjudication is the only answer. they will reduce the amount of ticket, and if you are clean for 90 days it will go off your record.
I used comedydriving.com Very easy, albeit time consuming. This was a couple of years ago so my memory is foggy but I do not remember having to go to court, I think there is some sort of option in the information they give you with the ticket that allows you to opt for defensive driving and send in the paperwork. I think there may have been a "fee" to opt for defensive driving but I don't recall it being more than the ticket. Just found the old receipt in my email and it was $25 for the online DD, a 6 hour course. I recall considering a lawyer but just didn't want to hassle and I was obviously guilty of speeding so no sense in fighting it.
It's been a while since I've had a ticket, but just do defensive driving if it's offered. It's a no-brainer. That said, I recall there being other issues if you were caught in a school zone.
I hate cops. I like robbers better than cops. Robbers have never stole my money before. Cops have. The only difference is cops do their stealing legally. For me, Myimprov .com is the best defensive driving course. You just let the time expire and the questions are SUPER easy.
Got pulled over 2 hrs back for apparently doing 57 on a 40 speed limit road. However the cop wrote me down for 45 on my ticket Is DD still the best option?
Its the most consistent/predictable. All these people saying to get a lawyer are presuming the precinct has a lenient judge. I had to go to court for an expired ez-tag issue (credit card info didn't get updated), and thought/was told it would be an easy fix... ended up requiring me to sit through the entire docket (4 hours) and end up signing up/paying for probation as the only way to get rid of it (can't do DD for this). All because the judge from that particular precinct had been told by the county toll road authority to uphold those violations no matter what.
Just do Defensive Driving online. Ridiculously easy and cost less than $50. I once got a ticket and waited until the absolute last minute to do the course. Certificate of completion was due on Monday and I did the course Saturday morning. Paid to have the cert overnighted and it was there by Noon on Monday. My laziness only cost me a vacation day from work and $15 extra for shipping. Though I def wouldn't suggest procrastinating the way I did.
