Overweight Ticket

Find yourself a good traffic lawyer that serves that local area. You dont really want him to be a trucker specific law group or one of those ticket clinic places, those are cheesy and not as reputable as a local lawyer who knows the judges and has a solid reputation.

 

Sorry, OP has admitted to using GPS. I got into such a situation in Illinois way back when. I did not get cited, but the officer did make it clear that ignorance is not an excuse. Drivers MUST be careful when going into areas to pick up or make delivery. These cops see $$$$ and they will bust you!

 

I agree with if you were to hire a lawyer find someone local to the jurisdiction you have to answer to vs some online ticket clinic.

That said are you willing to pay a lawyer $500 to get a $500 fine reduced?

Imo, just pay the fine and call it a lesson learned.

In the end it's your responsibility to verify the route.

It's every driver's (commercial or otherwise) responsibility to read and obey all road signs.

Spacing out is no defense.

 

Why does everyone think you need to get lawyers involved in these things. They can make things worse. In my experiences most Judges hate lawyers. If you just show up to the judge cool and calm and humble with your case and can proove you were servicing a customer around there and not just driving thru carelessly you might walk out with no fine. There is no law against getting lost.

 

I kind of agree with just going to court Pro Se. Not to plead ignorance of the law, but more to see if the court will let you set up a payment schedule.

Nothing would please me more then to advise a Driver to go tell a Judge you messed up no harm no foul and walk. The thing is with most Judges/hearing officer's you are guilty as soon as you walk into the courtroom. There are some out there that can be fair.

This entire system is about money. READ THIS ARTICLE, See how the system is geared as a revenue source. READ THIS ARTICLE! See my point? Once a Cop writes that ticket you are now caught up into a system that is about money. Oh, it is all about safety, how quickly they can get YOUR money safely into their cash drawers.

I have already spoken about my time in a Habersham County Georgia Court. In my case, I was innocent but highly peeved at the deputy that had weaponized his ticket book to show everybody that he was the boss. 2 BS charges. However, in the spring of 2009, I asked for a Jury trial and spanked his rear in court. If I had not asked for a jury I doubt I would have beat that. A Judge can be fair, but if they toss too many tickets the governments that depend on that cash flow will toss that Judge.

So in these cases, I try to get someone charged with a serious charge to get an attorney. In this case I highly doubt the OP will walk. I just hope he can work out a payment schedule with the court.

Edited: Every once in a while I get someone that says I am telling a lie. I won't say publicly the name of the Deputy or the State Court Solicitor I bested in a Jury trial. However, anybody that might want to check my story can try to call the NOW state court Judge in Habersham County Georgia and ask him about that truck driver that appeared in 2009 Pro Se and spanked his butt.

 

Really, Judges are Lawyers and who do you think Judges drink and golf with?

 

I agree its all about money the majority of the time. But it is worth the try. Sometimes Judges are normal people in robes and use common sense towards law. Some of them believe it or not are not against truckers. 20 years ago i was given a ticket for illegal left turn on a highway crossover. Cop said the left turn light was red. (There was no light there at all) there was a light one crossover down he was confused. I went to the Judge noing i couldnt proove a thing and was prepared to pay. But the cop didnt show up so the Judge felt like our time was wasted and dismissed it. I almost didnt go and almost paid it thru the mail. That was a better lesson.

 

You gotta understand too that most judges that oversee these type of courts are usually elected by the very people they raise Judgements on. Hitting the working man with little time stuff like this that are not felonies are not worth the chance of pissing off voters. At least its that way in Texas.

 

You would think so. But in the real world most of the time these Judges are appointed by the local Government OR they run unopposed and win by default. I remember a case of this happening near my home a few years ago. The city recorders court Judge just kept on hitting people with fines. These people AND the police chiefs don't really fear the people they serve.