So I got my 1st speeding ticket...

[Guest Drewsett]

Well, I got my first speeding ticket of my young life (driving for 10 years now, figure that isn't too bad). I was westbound on I-24 coming up on the Almaville Rd. exit and going about 90 as I was passing some douche that was going 65 in the far left lane. Of course as I crest the hill, I look over and see THP beginning to pull out of the median. I know it's me that he's coming for, so I just pull over and wait for him, pulling off onto the actual exit in an effort to reduce the risk to the officer. He came up to me and I didn't get the "do you know how fast you were going?" question, instead he just walked up and said "90 in a 70?, why were you going that fast?". I told him that I was frustrated by the driver going under the speed limit (honesty is the best policy right?) and was on my way to school to take a test. He asked me the usual questions about suspended license, that sort of thing. I replied in the negative to all of them, and added that I'd never even had a speeding ticket before. The entire time I was extremely respectful and quite obviously contrite.

Long story short I got a speeding ticket for 265$. No reckless driving charge (which I guess was his way of letting me off easy). For the LEO's on here or anyone who might have any experience with this sort of thing...what do I do? Should I just go ahead and pay the fine? I'm not going to try to challenge the officer in court, I know I was speeding and deserve the fine I'm sure. The amount of money seems a little excessive, but I don't really know what is or isn't excessive. The other option is traffic school, but I don't know anything about that or how much it costs, etc.

Any advice would be helpful (other than slow down, I already know, and already have).

[Guest Glock23ForMe]

TRAFFIC SCHOOL. It takes it off your record and looks better on your insurance.

[Daniel]

Traffic school is way cheaper.

[Guest Bronker]

One ticket? Rookie. Call me when you've had 5 or 6...

What I typically do, is call my insurance agent. They will often have a recommendation on what to do regarding it going on your record and raising your premiums.

The vast majority of the time, they recommend just paying the fine. Going to court, as you mentioned, will incur costs if you lose. If you win, you're still out time spent.

Traffic school, I have found, has no bearing on how your insurance agent views it. So, I've never gone.

Just 'what I do...'

And, uh...slow down. Once you've grown older, and more patient, you'll soon find great pleasure in being the jerk in the passing lane doing 60mph and feeding the state some revenue!

[ShaunM]

Driving school.

[Guest Drewsett]

Traffic school is way cheaper.

Has anyone here done traffic school in Rutherford County? Someone told me that it would cost around 250$ and take 4 hours. I don't really want to spend 4 hours of my life to save 15 bucks.

[ShaunM]

Call the courthouse they should be able to tell you how much and how long it is.

[Murgatroy]

I did an online traffic school several years ago. It was $45 and counted toward reducing the violation. It was a mandatory 4 hour course though. There were several pages, you would read a page, then click 'next' go to a 'test.' The course would time it out, requiring you to spend a certain amount of time per page before allowing you to continue.

I watched a movie while I did it.

I forget what the exact reason I had to do it was, but I recall it was mandatory. It was stemming from a violation in Indiana while I was a resident up there.

It honestly wasn't that bad.

I would call the office responsible for the fine and see what your options are. As mentioned above, your insurance agent might be of some help as well.

As for the ticket, just pay it, but determine your options about the points against you and increased insurance costs. It take a big person to admit they were wrong, but it takes a bigger person to find a way to right that wrong.

[kb4ns]

Has anyone here done traffic school in Rutherford County? Someone told me that it would cost around 250$ and take 4 hours. I don't really want to spend 4 hours of my life to save 15 bucks.

Don't forget your insurance premiums. Even if you only save $15 on the front end, you'll save $$ in the long run. And do like hunting101 said and call the court clerk's office. They'll be able to tell you how much their school is. Statewide, the schools range anywhere from $40 to $250. Every jurisdiction is different.

[Guest ArmyVeteran37214]

I've had my fair share of tickets and even a 3 month suspension, DOH! Since moving to TN, I've found out that paying the $12 nullification fee on my tickets from Metro here in Nashville seems to make the tickets disappear from my driving record pretty quickly.

[-boatman-]

Another vote for driving school. It is worth the time in the long run.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

If traffic school will help on your insurance rates, then it is a no-brainer. I had ONE speeding ticket 35 years ago. Maybe it is different nowadays, but back then the insurance companies considered a speeding ticket the same as a license to steal. I didn't have any other spot on my record except that single speeding ticket and the insurance rates went WAY up for 5 years. Paid a lot more money on extra insurance premiums than the cost of the ticket. Five years of getting raped by the insurance company was enough to cure me of speeding.

Maybe the law is different now, but when I got stopped was going about 20 MPH over highway speed, and the state trooper wrote the ticket for only 15 over the limit. He said that if he wrote a ticket for more than 15 MPH he would have to take me to jail and he was too busy to bother with that. So maybe the policeman did you a favor not taking you to jail, dunno.

It was a shame I wasn't just a minute late on that trip, because right after I was stopped, a cadillac zoomed by flying on the ground. The trooper looked wistfully at the caddy disappearing into the distance, and said it was too bad, the guy would be too far away to chase after he got thru with me.

[sigmtnman]

Dress nice, go to your court date and ask for them to reduce the charges to a non moving violation. If they say no, ask for school. They really only want the fine and court costs. When you attend court, you will see just how many people need you to speed so they can feed their families.

[Mike.357]

if you have a clean driving record I would just pay the fine and get on with life. It will not affect your insurance any.

[D3vo]

Take the school and keep the points off your record. Insurance companies run consumer reports (MVR and C.L.U.E. Reports) at new business and renewal.

If the points show up your premium will be increased.

[dats82]

I would consult your agent as to if the ticket will hurt your rates. If not, then pay it and get on with things. The only ticket I have ever had ended up costing me the fine, the court cost, and 16 hrs of community service. If I were not worried about insurance, it would have been much easier and cheaper to pay the fine.

[-boatman-]

Take the school and keep the points off your record. Insurance companies run consumer reports (MVR and C.L.U.E. Reports) at new business and renewal.

If the points show up your premium will be increased.

This is true and my agent tells me you never know when they will do it and if they get all policy holders. She said sometimes people get lucky and get by and others do not. Luck of the draw I guess.

[Guest Old goat]

pay the fine and slow down, one ticket ain't going to hurt you ins., but don't get another one

[Daniel]

pay the fine and slow down, one ticket ain't going to hurt you ins., but don't get another one

It will at a young age. Plus if you get it removed now you will have a clean record.

[vontar]

I have always heard to try to get it cleaned up with traffic school. I have never had to try though. Been lucky a few times. I got my speeding tickets and moving Violations out of State. THANK YOU TN for not being in the Driver License compact.

Driver License Compact - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I Have heard 10 over can be just a warning, 15 over is an automatic ticket, 20 over is considered reckless driving.

I got one in KY at 19 over, the guy backed it off to 15 over, told me he was giving me a break, I was only 21 at the time in my GFs car and she could not find the insurance. He said he knew it had to be up to date because KY would not have give a tag if it had not been so he didn't push the issue.

[strickj]

It will at a young age. Plus if you get it removed now you will have a clean record.

I've never had anything cause my insurance to go up.

Wrecks, sr-22, tickets....nothing.

I say if one speeding ticket makes his premiums go up then it's time to find a new agent.

[kb4ns]

As far as rates going up - it's just going to depend on a multitude of factors. Primarily your insurance company's policies.

In regards to the reckless driving comments, I'll say this. Police, prosecutors, and judges all love the magic number of "25" over the speed limit. However, speed alone does not constitute reckless driving. To meet the statutory definition of reckless driving, one has to show a willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others or property. If you are doing 95 in a 55 on the expressway at 2a.m. and no one is around, does it meet the definition? Probably not. Can you be doing far less than 25 over in certain circumstances (school zones for example) and be found "reckless"? You betcha. Can you be going 15 under the speed limit drunk as a skunk and meet the definition of "reckless driving"? Every time. Don't get caught up watching for a certain number.

[D3vo]

I don't want to see Drewsett get stuck with additional cost in a bad economy. Let me explain why an increase in premium is likely without traffic school.

You purchase auto insurance in increments called terms. These terms and are generally six or twelve months in length.

At the end of the term you will be sent a renewal notice which might have the same or different premium.

Why does the premium change?

It could be because the company has had a high accident rate in your area so the rates were increased.

Let’s assume the rates remained the same.

Most companies at the time of renewal pull an MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) for all drivers on the policy. If the MVR reveals you have violations your rate will likely be increased.

Why will your rate increase?

It’s generally accepted that people who drive 90MPH are a higher risk of accident than those driving the speed limit.

Can you change insurance companies or agents to avoid the increase in rate?

You can change insurance companies, but they too will run an MVR and you will still pay higher rates than if you had gone to traffic school.

Insurance.com had a pretty good article on the subject.

Will an Accident or Ticket Increase My Car Insurance Rates? | insurance.com

[G27]

OAnd, uh...slow down. Once you've grown older, and more patient, you'll soon find great pleasure in being the jerk in the passing lane doing 60mph and feeding the state some revenue!

Or get a good radar detector...

[kb4ns]

Or get a good radar detector...

People like you are the reason people like me have Lidar...