Receiving a traffic ticket can induce anxiety, with the prospect of fines, higher insurance premiums, and potentially even jail looming over the driver. Now imagine a scenario in which a law enforcement officer issues you several tickets all at once. Or perhaps you have a record of multiple outstanding tickets that all have to be dealt with.
While it can be frustrating to have to handle numerous traffic tickets at the same time, the consequences of delaying and ignoring them could lead to even more problems. The sooner you retain experienced legal counsel to assist you, the better off your situation will be. Let The New York Traffic Ticket Lawyers go to work for you today.
Why Having Multiple Traffic Tickets Is a Serious Problem
There are generally two scenarios in which a New York driver will have more than one outstanding traffic ticket to settle: Either a law enforcement officer issued several tickets during a single traffic stop, or the driver is a repeat offender with multiple tickets over a period of time. Either of these scenarios presents a major legal and financial problem for the driver. Depending on the nature of the tickets, the driver could be looking at:
- Fines and surcharges: While multiple parking tickets can cost a bit of money, moving violations for speeding and other serious offenses can reach into the hundreds of dollars. Certain tickets also carry additional surcharges depending on where they were issued.
- Higher automobile insurance rates: You can expect increased auto insurance premiums if you have multiple tickets for moving violations. These higher costs could last for years and may even jeopardize your continued coverage.
- Points: More tickets will mean more points added to your driving record. Accumulating 11 points in a 24-month period could lead to suspension of your license, which will cause any number of personal and professional problems in your life.
- Jail: Certain individual tickets can lead to jail sentences, but a driver is more likely to go to jail if they have multiple tickets on their record. Whether you will be incarcerated will depend on other factors such as the severity of the actions for which you are ticketed.
Can a New York Traffic Ticket Attorney Handle Multiple Tickets?
An experienced New York attorney can handle all of your traffic tickets for infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies which are issued in this state. The important thing is to not delay taking action and to be upfront with your attorney about how many tickets you have and how old they are. You may have forgotten about some tickets, especially minor ones like for parking violations, but your lawyer can help you find and handle all outstanding matters.
There are various ways to dispense with multiple tickets. For example, some law enforcement officers are overzealous and may issue several tickets during a single traffic stop. If these tickets are without merit or overlapping (more than one ticket for the same offense), it may be possible to have them dismissed.
Your lawyer can also negotiate with the prosecutor to try to secure a plea bargain. The prosecutor may be willing to dispense with multiple tickets at once and in a manner that can save you money and potentially avoid jail time. Talk to your New York traffic ticket attorney about reducing charges and dismissing tickets.
Another possible option is to challenge the evidence or seek to have unreliable evidence or testimony kept out of court. The ticketing officer may have had little or no basis to give you multiple tickets, and our firm can review dash and body cam footage, eyewitness recollections of the incident, and other evidence. We may then ask the prosecutor to dismiss the tickets or challenge their case in court.
You Have Options – Let Us Explore Them With You
Multiple tickets can present problems, but fortunately, you have ways to successfully resolve them. Don’t delay; talk to The New York Traffic Ticket Lawyers about how to best dispense with all of your outstanding tickets. Contact us today to get started.