Ticket for failing to stop at stop sign - worth going to court?

[Bonhomme]

I always go to court for minor tickets, and have always walked out with 0 points.

If the cop didn't show up, it was dismissed.

Otherwise, I just accepted the plea deal, and either "paid court costs" or got a reduced 0 point charge, paid my money, and kept my record clean.

Bottom line (at least here in Michigan): pay the ticket without going to court and the points are guaranteed; go to court with a good record, and it's been my experience you're likely to come out better and save lots of $$$ on your insurance.

 

[Maxtro]

I'm in a very similar situation. I got a failure to stop ticket coming home from school. The cop said I slowly rolled through. This sucks because I got a speeding ticket on the very same road a few months before and I used my traffic school but now I'm not eligible. The fucking fine is $158. To make matters even worse I got a speeding ticket on thanksgiving evening on a freeway for going the speed of traffic. The speed limit was 55 and I was going 70 and so was everybody else. The notice still hasn't reached my house I hope it wasn't sent.

I got no idea what happened these past few months. I've been driving since I was 18 with a perfect record and now I got 3 tickets in 4 or so months. Only two are going to be on my record but I don't have a clue how they are going to affect me.

I'm planning on fighting the stop sign ticket. I know I stopped. The fucking cops are setting up road traps trying to catch the college kids coming from school. Every day there are at least two cops just parked there trying to catch people who run the stop sign or speed. Don't they have something better to do with their time?

Anyways my court date on the notice says 12/17. I can only show up that day between 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. Luckily for me I have two finals that day I can also show up Tuesday - Thursday before 8:30 am. Wow this system is really designed to screw you.

 

[Bonhomme]

I'm no lawyer, but I doubt you could win if you challenge a cop's word. If you already have points, it's likely to save you money in the long run by hiring an attorney. That's what I did when I got nailed in a bad speed trap, and I'm very glad I did, because it saved me 4 points, and probably thousands of dollars in insurance costs...