Okaloosa County Speeding Ticket for Driving Thirty Miles or More Above the Speed Limit
If you have received an Okaloosa County speeding ticket for going thirty or more miles above the posted speed limit, you should take this ticket very seriously. At least 90 percent of all Americans drive their vehicle on a daily basis—losing the ability to drive could negatively impact your day-to-day life in ways that would be difficult to overcome. In 2013, 224 people were ticketed in Okaloosa County for driving thirty or more miles over the posted speed limit. In 2014, 299 of these tickets were issued, and in 2015, the number increased again, to 333. Yet if you are found guilty of the offense of driving thirty miles or more above the posted speed limit in Okaloosa County, you could, conceivably, lose your ability to drive, at least for a period of time.
If convicted of driving thirty miles or more over the posted speed limit, you would receive four points on your driving record. While those points might or might not trigger a license suspension, for speeds of thirty or miles over the speed limit a judge has the discretion to suspend your license regardless. If there was an accident caused by your excess speed, you would receive six points on your driving record. When you accrue twelve points on your driving record within a twelve-month period, you could lose your license for a month. Receiving eighteen points within an eighteen-months period could result in a loss of your license for three months, and receiving twenty-four points on your driving record within a three-year period could result in a license suspension for one year.
If you are like most Americans, you use your vehicle to get to and from work, therefore a loss of your license could also mean a loss of your job, or, at the very least, having to ask someone else to get you back and forth to work. You would also be unable to get to school, get your children to school, or run the many errands many of us run every single week. Adding points to your driving record will also result in your insurance premiums increasing, sometimes to the point they become unaffordable altogether.
Depending on how many points you have on your driving record, your insurance company could drop you altogether. Without insurance, you cannot drive, once again putting you into the position of how you will get to work and other places without the ability to drive. Other issues you will face regarding your speeding ticket for driving thirty miles or more over the posted speed limit include the following:
• A court appearance is mandatory for tickets thirty miles or more over the posted speed limit.
• If you live out of state, you have the option of hiring a traffic offense attorney to appear on your behalf, or, even if you don’t live out of state, you can still have an attorney appear on your behalf or appear with you.
• Your fine could be as large as $500. The judge has some discretion regarding the fine, and will base his or her decision on the circumstances surrounding your ticket, the officer’s account of issuing the ticket, and your past driving history.
• The minimum fine for speeding fifty miles or more over the posted speed limit is $1,000.
• Your ticket was issued under Florida statutes 316.87, 316.89 and/or 316.183.
• Your speeding ticket—at least the original copy filed with the clerk of the court—must have your signature and that of the ticketing officer.
• Your attorney may be able to convince the judge to either dismiss the ticket or give deferred adjudication, meaning if you do not receive another traffic ticket for a specified length of time, you will still pay the fines, but you will not receive any points on your driving record.
• Your attorney may be able to challenge your speeding ticket based on the type of device used to measure your speed, whether pace clock, radar or laser.
• Your fines will be doubled if you receive your ticket in a school zone or construction zone.
• If you have a motorcycle endorsement, you could lose it if convicted of speeding thirty miles or more above the posted speed limit.
Appearing in court on your own is certainly an option, however not one which is likely to end with a positive outcome. When you have an attorney from The Law Place by your side when you appear before an Okaloosa judge, you will show that you are taking your speeding ticket very seriously. An attorney from The Law Place understands the consequences you will face for a conviction of speeding thirty miles or more over the posted speed limit. We will do our best to present a comprehensive defense on your behalf, challenging the device used to measure your speed, or the manner in which the officer issued the ticket. We will ensure that all procedures were properly followed. A speeding ticket at speeds of thirty miles or more over the posted speed limit is a serious matter, and we will take it seriously on your behalf.