Why You Shouldn’t Just Pay Your Speeding Ticket Online

Why not just pay your speeding ticket?  You can even do it online now.  You won’t have to pay for an attorney, or go to court.

Why not?  Speeding convictions can revoke your license!  If you take the easy way out and pay online, the next time you get pulled over, it might be for “driving while license revoked” (a misdemeanor that can result in you losing your license for an entire year).  And if you simply go to court without hiring an attorney, here’s a word of caution: the prosecutors are not your friends.  They do not care if you lose your license or not, and because they don’t know your driving history anyway, there’s no way for them to know the consequences of your plea.  You might think that you’ve done a great job by reducing the impact on your insurance, only to find out you lost your license in the process.  Here is a list of speeding convictions that can result in a potential license revocation:

• Two or more speeding convictions in excess of 55 mph, but not more than 80 mph, within 12 months;

• Conviction of speeding in excess of 75 mph where the maximum speed is less than 70 mph;

• Conviction of speeding in excess of 80 mph where the maximum speed is 70 mph;

• Conviction for speeding more than 15 mph above the speed limit, in excess of 55 mph;

• Conviction of speeding in excess of 80 mph

This list is by no means exhaustive.  Throw “reckless driving” into the mix, or passing a school bus, and you’re dealing with even more complications.  The point is that while most tickets really are just an inconvenience, and might increase your insurance premium but little more, simply paying the ticket online is almost never a good option.