Not Guilty!

To beat a traffic ticket, you needn't be a close friend of the governor or have attended kindergarten with the chief of police. In fact, it's likely neither of those will help as much as this simple tip: Plead not guilty.


The result of pleading not guilty is always better than just mailing in the fine. If you plead not guilty, the worst that can happen is that you get hit with court costs and waste some time. The judge can't add more points to the violation or require your insurance company to raise your rates even higher.


You'll rarely completely beat a ticket. More often you'll wind up with some sort of probation, such as being required to attend traffic school. Sometimes, you'll be offered a plea bargain such as half the points and half the fine. Regardless, you come out ahead.


Deciding to fight a traffic ticket is a personal decision. Maybe you're truly not guilty. Maybe you feel that most traffic tickets are an unauthorized tax by cash-strapped governments and have nothing to do with traffic safety. Maybe you'd like to exercise your right to be considered innocent until proven guilty.


Here are a few tips, most of which I learned the hard way, on how to fight traffic tickets. In addition, there's a lot of good—and some bad—information out there: Start with the National Motorists Association (www.motorists.org) and Nolo Press (nolopress.com).