Personal Attention, Proven Results

Why You Should Hire A Lawyer For Your Traffic Ticket

Did you know? “On average, one speeding violation will increase your auto insurance rates by about 30%. This could add up to thousands of dollars for many drivers.” -InsuranceRate.com

In many cases, hiring an attorney to help deal with a traffic ticket is the smart thing to do. It can save you thousands of dollars with your insurance over time and prevent your license from being at risk for too many violations. At the Law Offices of Lorenzo Napolitano, Attorney at Law, I can discuss your facts, explain the law and how the courts are likely to view your charges and what we can do to minimize the consequences of your traffic ticket.

Save Your Driver’s License

An experienced local traffic attorney will save you time, money, stress, and your driver’s license.

  • Avoid having to go to court
  • Save money on fines and insurance
  • Receive peace of mind

By hiring my office to represent you in your traffic matter, I can arrange it so that you don’t even have to go to court. You will also save money in several ways and receive peace of mind in knowing that an experienced professional is handling your matter and keeping you informed of every step of the process.

Avoid Going To Court

In most cases and in the majority of courts, I can appear in court for you, saving you valuable time and unnecessary travel expenses. Simply provide me with your ticket and a copy of your driving record, and generally, I can take care of the rest.

Save Money

Hiring a reasonably priced attorney will almost always save you money in the long run. This comes in the form of reduced traffic and court fines, less or no points on your license, and, most importantly, minimized or no impact on your insurance rate.

Fines / Fees: Often, I am able to arrange for a reduction to a non-moving violation, which can result in no points. In tougher cases, I may still be able to get a reduction to something that has points, but that does not affect your insurance.

Points: Points matter. If you get six points on your NY Driver’s License, the DMV will charge you a $300 assessment fee, plus $75 for every additional point. And, if you get eleven total points, you may lose your license.

Insurance: The biggest potential area in terms of saving money is insurance. In New York State, points do not affect insurance directly, rather, insurance companies will check your driving record and raise your rates depending on the type of violation(s) you might have. In most cases, I obtain reductions for my clients to violations that do not affect their insurance rates. For more difficult situations (such as high speeds or if you already have a bad record) any reductions I am able to negotiate will still help you.

Get Peace Of Mind

Hiring a skilled professional to handle your matter is not only a smart legal and financial choice, but it will relieve you of the stress and frustration that comes with getting any traffic ticket. As your attorney, I will answer all your questions, take care of and keep you informed of every step of the process, and aggressively seek the best possible result for your case.

COMMON TRAFFIC TICKET EXAMPLE:

Consider the following scenario: You get a speeding ticket for traveling 96 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. This is a typical traffic ticket, especially on the New York State Thruway.

Thinking of pleading guilty through the mail in order to avoid going to court or having to pay a lawyer? You should probably reconsider.

Thirty-one miles per hour over the limit is an 8 point ticket, only 3 points away from a suspension. The maximum fine is $600, plus an extra $85 mandatory surcharge. As if that wasn’t expensive enough, there is also an assessment fee from the DMV for $450. Those few dollars you “saved” by not hiring a lawyer already cost you $1,135.00.

But that’s not the end of it. Your insurance company will undoubtedly increase your rates. No one can be certain how high the rates will go up but typically you can expect an increase of 30% to 50%. If you pay $1,000 a year for insurance, you are looking at a possible increase of $300 to $500 per year. Worse yet, your insurance company could simply drop you.

A typical reduction I can obtain is a 2 point non-speeding violation or a 3 or 4 point speed, depending on the prosecutor, the court and your driving record. While this is a typical outcome, past results I have achieved do not guarantee a particular outcome in your case.

Such a reduction would mean no DMV assessment and the fines are drastically lower ranging from $235.00 to $385.00. With an otherwise clean driving record, your insurance rates would not increase. See New York Insurance Law §2335.

Contact Me Today!

A small investment in a traffic lawyer can save time, money and stress. Contact my office for more information at 585-512-8185 or use my online contact form. I also handle other traffic matters that are criminal cases such as DWI’s and Aggravated Unlicensed Operation (AUO’s) charges.