caught by plane, first ticket on bike

ok so im not sure what the procedure is for tickets. i have only ever had one and that was in my car and 4 years ago and i mailed that in.

i am debating going to court for this one, not because im not guilty (i am not going to fuss about that) but to get the fine reduced.

situation: friend and I were heading to hocking (nice twisties in our area) but we had to take the highway, speed limit was 60 we were averaging 65-80 no traffic around us. pulled over by two cops, 1 for me and 1 for my friend. stated the situation not jerks at all and we all chit chatted a bit about bikes and our gear. we were wearing full suits. they were very cool guys.

anyways fine is 120. for the 0-20 over infraction.

should i go to court and see if we can get this reduced? We have pictures of us in our suits with the cops behind us, and they wrote it in their reports (they showed us).

If i go to court and get it reduced is there a way to get the court fees dropped or do i have to pay that no matter what?


main thing is i dont want my insurance to go up. so let me know fellas.

so you can speed as long as you wear gear?

Fight it. Both the pilot and the ground troopers needed to show up to defend their charge, chances of beating the ticket increased in your favor. Even if they both show up, you may still win, research your area law and plan out your defense strategy. I got similar ticket about 10 years ago. The ground trooper was a no show so it got dismissed. From what I heard, it is usually the pilot trooper failed to show up for court in area when I was ticketed.

but if you dont win, you get court fees added to your current fee!!!

Originally Posted by Cletus989

so you can speed as long as you wear gear?

no, never said that. im just saying that compared to the other bikers on the road who were wearing shorts tank top and no helmets we were more protected than anyone else out on the roads.

Originally Posted by slowestrider

Fight it. Both the pilot and the ground troopers needed to show up to defend their charge, chances of beating the ticket increased in your favor. Even if they both show up, you may still win, research your area law and plan out your defense strategy. I got similar ticket about 10 years ago. The ground trooper was a no show so it got dismissed. From what I heard, it is usually the pilot trooper failed to show up for court in area when I was ticketed.

from what we talked about, their will be an initial hearing to plea not/guilty. then if i say not guilty i will have another hearing. its this second hearing that they have to show up at. i have two weeks before the hearing so ill be calling around to see if its worth it or not.

Originally Posted by ICEMAN

but if you dont win, you get court fees added to your current fee!!!

thats what im afraid of. so if i say guilty and get it knocked down id still have to pay the court cost plus new ticket cost, right?

so far it sounds like it'd be better to just pay it. what about insurance though?

how old r u? and any current tickets on your record, or have they been expunged?

What was the speed the plane clocked you at?

In most states, there's a third option to plead. "Nolo contendre" or something like that, basically meaning no contest. You're neither admitting nor disputing a charge, and it serves as an alternative to a pleading of guilty or not guilty.

While technically still a guilty verdict, you might be able to work out something with the court to avoid points on your license. IE: traffic school, etc

The way I always do it is fight it.

Go to court, if the cops don't show then you win


If they do show up then just ask for traffic school and you get no points.

Also, Your insurance company does not check.

They only check on new applicants or major changes in your policy.

It costs them money to check.

I think if you keep your same car/bike/home and don't change you policy they don't run a DMV check on you. Just keep all that shit for 3 years and it shouldn't affect you if you have a ticket.