Paying a traffic ticket generally has serious consequences as it will be recorded as a conviction on the driver’s record. Additionally, the cost of a conviction can result in a suspended driver’s license, send auto-insurance premiums through the roof, or cost money to attend traffic school to keep from having points added to the driver’s record.

Most people have seen ads for traffic-court lawyers, but can these attorneys deliver on their promises and get a speeding ticket in court dismissed? According to Brenda Di Ioia, Broward County Courts Chief Traffic-Court Magistrate in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, traffic ticket lawyers are effective because they have advanced knowledge of the traffic legal system. Di Ioia added that traffic-court lawyers are also experts at knowing which tickets they can and can’t get thrown out. All things considered, most people will benefit from hiring a traffic attorney. While no attorney can have a speeding ticket which is correct and true thrown out of court, an attorney can plea bargain it down to a smaller fine and less points against a driver’s record.

A traffic ticket lawyer is also a big help if the driver doesn’t have time to spend in court or if the driver has a poor driving record. Most people probably aren’t aware of the complexities of traffic tickets, but the system is fairly difficult to navigate. However, in traffic court negotiation is most often the rule instead of an exception. Of course, the police or the judge don’t inform the offender of this process, which is why 90 percent of traffic offenders pay the fine rather than try to fight the ticket in court.

The first thing a traffic lawyer will look for is to see if there is some type of error that will allow the ticket to be thrown out, mistakes the typical driver won’t even have a clue about. If an error is found then the ticket will almost surely be dismissed on a technicality. If there are no mistakes than an attorney will almost certainly be able to negotiate to get the fine reduced, keep points from being added to a driving record and keep the driver out of traffic school and prevent insurance premiums from going up.

Contrary to what most people think, hiring a traffic ticket lawyer isn’t typically that expensive. Obviously, it wouldn’t be cost effective to hire an attorney if the fees will exceed the costs of a conviction. After all, there wouldn’t be much point in hiring a lawyer if fighting the ticket was more expensive than paying it. Because of this, along with the fact that fighting a speeding ticket requires a lot less time than most other types of cases, and many traffic lawyers handle dozens of traffic cases a day, traffic attorneys typically have very reasonable fees.

Finally, when a driver fights a speeding ticket in court on their own the driver typically doesn’t get the same respect from prosecutors as if he or she would if they are represented by an attorney. Not only will having an attorney gain the respect of the prosecutor for the driver, but having an attorney can also instantly change a judge’s view of the driver. Overall, there are many benefits to having an attorney represent a driver in traffic court, and the benefits far outweigh the costs.