The American legal system is arguably one of the best in the world, and one of the truly great things about it is that anyone accused of any legal violation can choose to defend himself. Consequently, quite frequently people will ask me why then should they hire a traffic ticket attorney when they can represent themselves. The answer to this question really has multiple considerations.

THAT DARN COP 

First of all, time is almost always a factor for those who live busy lives, and let’s face it, there are very few people who live in Broward County who don’t. When you think about how much time is spent in working, going to school, activities with the kids, and so on, it is easy to see that there is very little time left over for the unexpected. The reality is that none of us expect to get a speeding ticket when we roll out of bed in the morning. We may wake up thinking about all of the things on our to-do list, but I am sure no one has “get a speeding ticket” on that list. That can, however, sometimes be the result of hitting the snooze button on the alarm clock one time too many in the morning. It’s not uncommon for a speeding ticket to lead to a knee-jerk reaction of getting angry or feeling that it’s unfair if you get pulled over, especially when a traffic stop is going to cost you the time that you were trying gain by speeding to begin with. Sitting in your car on the side of the road for 20 minutes or more while waiting for the police officer to run your license and registration and then write up your speeding ticket is definitely not on anyone’s agenda. If this loss of time is inconvenient, you can imagine the time deficit that is created by doing the extensive work that is required in order to successfully represent yourself in a courtroom to defend your traffic ticket.

HAVE A NICE DAY … SURE

Not long after you are handed your Broward County speeding ticket and the cop advises you to “Have a nice day,” you will receive a hearing notice in the mail that shows the date of when your hearing is set. This date is usually set for about two months after you receive your speeding ticket. Now you have a couple of options in how to proceed. You can count on losing at least four hours to attend your traffic court hearing, and if you choose to fight your traffic ticket, that four hours will be wasted because you will have to go back to court for a final hearing. You do have another option and that would be to hire one of the experienced attorneys at the Traffic Ticket Team. Most of the time, our fee is only $69 to fight a speeding ticket and for most people, our outstanding results make it more than worth it to have us fight the speeding ticket. If you decide not to fight your traffic ticket, but you don’t want your insurance rates to soar, you can elect to go to driving school. Although this may sound like a good plan, this is going to cost you time, as well. Often these classes are four hours long, but when you consider preparation and travel time, you are looking at nearly a full day out of your life all because of that wicked snooze button. Take into account that this is time lost so you can sit there, bored to tears, all to be told things you have known since you got your driver’s license. To add to all the fun of driving school, you still get to pay the fine, court costs, and the cost of taking the class.

In addition to the tremendous amount of time lost that fighting a speeding ticket can cause, there is the very real monetary cost involved with fighting a traffic citation. Many times a traffic ticket fine can cost you anywhere from $200 – $300, but they have the potential of being two or three times that amount. When you consider this and the insurance rate hikes associated with getting a traffic ticket, spending $69 to hire a traffic ticket attorney is a drop in the bucket. In about half of the cases that we represent, you pay nothing more than that initial fee and court costs because we do the work for you and often get your case dismissed. Even if we don’t manage to get your ticket dismissed, 99% of the time our clients end up with no points on their license and no driving school. Court costs usually average between $100 and $200. In the worst case scenario, barring you committing a tremendous violation, you are looking at spending $269. Now you may rationalize that this is more than the ticket violation, but when you factor in the insurance rate hike that you will most likely get which can be as much as 50% over the next three years, you come out way ahead by paying for a traffic ticket attorney.

Finally, when considering whether or not it is to your benefit to hire a traffic ticket attorney to fight your Broward County speeding ticket, remember the words of Abraham Lincoln: “He who represents himself in court has a fool for a client.” If it was true during the 19^th century, it is even more so now. Just because you have the right to go to court to represent yourself doesn’t mean that doing so is a good idea. Florida traffic laws are more complex than ever, and they are written in such arbitrary language that they can be applied across a very wide spectrum of traffic violations. As traffic ticket attorneys, we have volumes of experience in understanding these laws and using that understanding to elicit the most favorable outcome for our clients. This experience gives us insight into what to say and what not to say in the courtroom so as to leave out any details that may implicate our client, yet present the client in the most favorable light. Additionally, the time that we spend in the courtroom on behalf of previous clients gives us exposure to the various judges, hearing officers, police officers, and so on to ensure that we say the right things at the right time to get the most positive result possible.

Lincoln also stated, “Whatever you are, be a good one,” which is a primary goal for us at the Traffic Ticket Team; therefore, if you have received a Broward County traffic citation for any reason, give us a call at 954-967-9888. We will provide you with a free consultation so that you are better able to assess what is the best direction to take in order to fight your traffic citation.