I got a speeding ticket in NY. Was 82 on 65. This is my first speeding
ticket. I have my car registered in Baltimore, MD. I have few
questions and would appreciate your help.
1) I wont be able to come to the court, as its 300 miles from my
place. So should I plead guilty or not guilty?
2) I just got my car, its my 1st month of insurance. Will my insurance
company know abt this ticket, and when will it affect my premium.
3) Once I get my Maryland license will the points tranfer on my Maryland license.

Hi bachii11,

Not good news I'm afraid...

1) I wont be able to come to the court, as its 300 miles from my
place. So should I plead guilty or not guilty?

That's up to you. If the cost of travel (and lost wages) is more than
the ticket, take your lumps and pay the fine. It's far better than
ignoring it, getting an FTA (failure to appear), and a resulting
warrant, and all the extra monetary penalties associated with that. If
you ignore it, it's very possible it will end up costing you twice as
much, and maybe land you in jail.

2) I just got my car, its my 1st month of insurance. Will my insurance
company know abt this ticket, and when will it affect my premium.

Absolutely YES, the insurance company will find out, they base their
rates for drivers based on risk, assessing risk is what they do for a
living, and --they are good at it.  That's why a person with a good
driving record gets lower rates. That's why young people, especially
men under age 25, pay very high rates. If you want your rates to go
down at age 25, this better be your last ticket. If this is really
your first ticket, one single ticket might not cause much of a rate
change, and because your policy is new, it probably won't change your
payment for about 60-90 days, but this is just a guess. Your age is a
factor, the younger you are the more likely it is this could be a
problem.

3) Once I get my Maryland license will the points tranfer on my Maryland license.

Yes. According to the "Driver's License Compact" to which both
Maryland and New York are members, you have only one driver's license
when you move between the states.  The following charts will show you
which states are members:

Driver's License Compact
http://www.dui.com/drunk_driving_research/compact_members.html


Good luck, and lay off the gas, it's too expensive to get a bad
driving record right out of the gate..., tickets will end up costing
MORE than you pay for insurance each month, they'll send you to
"driving safety schools" (they are not free), trust me, it's a
nightmare. Each successive ticket gets worse fines as you work your
way up the ladder of traffic offenses, eventually you will lose your
privilege to drive...


~~Cynthia


Search strategy:

There's been many questions asked here about this type of thing:
http://answers.google.com/answers/search?q=%22Driver%27s+License+Compact%22&qtype=all

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Request for Answer Clarification by bachii11-ga on 30 Jan 2006 15:01 PST

Thank you Cynthia -ga and others for your comments. I read through
some of the other answers on this topic. I am 24 and a graduate
student. This is my first car in  this country. I am an international
student. I had my license since 2004. I plan to:

1) Plead not guilty. Explain the situation to the judge.
2) If I get a court date: 
I plan to call the judge office and requesting that I wont be able to
come for a court date. So request for a fine without putting points on
my license.
3) Finally incase I get the points, to take a defensive driving
course? ( Can I take this course online? Will this help me reduce my
insurance premium?)

I know for the price on my question, I am asking for a lot more.
Please any help will be of much help to me.

Thank you,

---

Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 30 Jan 2006 15:34 PST

3) Finally incase I get the points, to take a defensive driving
course? (Can I take this course online? Will this help me reduce my
insurance premium?)

NO, but it will satisfy the court's requirements. They may or may not
require this.

NOTE: in this link (and escerpt below) is an address, it is probably
not correct for your ticket. I included this here because it lays out
the proper chain of events you should pursue:

HOW TO RESOLVE A TRAFFIC TICKET INFRACTION 
http://www.courts.state.ny.us/Ithaca/city/webpageResolveTrafficTicket.html
..."You can contact the Assistant District Attorney to review the
circumstances of your ticket either in person at Traffic Court or by
mail.

You may speak with an Assistant District Attorney on the court date
and time written at the bottom of your ticket.  The prosecutor may
choose to offer you a plea to a lesser infraction. If an offer is
made, you can choose to accept it and plead guilty; or reject it,
plead not guilty, and be scheduled for a non-jury trial.  Any offer
made by the Prosecutor is only a recommended offer. The Court does not
have to accept the recommendation of the Prosecutor.  If you have
misplaced your copy of the ticket, you should obtain a copy from the
Court Clerk's office located on the 2nd floor of the Courthouse prior
to meeting with the Prosecutor.

If you wish, you may request consideration from the prosecutor by
mailing a letter explaining the circumstances of the ticket to the
District Attorneys Office (for Ithaca City Court tickets only) at 118
East Clinton Street, 3rd floor, Ithaca, New York 14850. You MUST
enclose a copy of your ticket, your full name and current address, and
a phone number where you may be reached.

Note: Before pleading guilty to a ticket issued as a result of an
accident, you may wish to consult with an attorney and/or your
insurance company about possible civil liability for personal injuries
arising from the accident.

After you have received a written offer from the District Attorney's
Office, you MUST contact the Court.   If you are accepting the offer
of the District Attorney, you must file your written acceptance of the
offer with the Court.  Once the offer is accepted by the Court, you
will be assessed a fine and mandatory surcharge, if applicable (click
here for payment information).  If you do NOT accept the offer of the
District Attorney and continue your plea of Not Guilty or if the Court
does not accept the recommendation of the District Attorney, a
non-jury trial will be scheduled.

Note: Within 60 days of the issuance of the ticket, you MUST contact
the Court directly, in writing, or appear in Court and plead either
guilty or not guilty to avoid suspension of your driver's license..."


I also ran into these, they might be of some help:

Speeding on NY State Thruway, Supporting Deposition given on spot.
http://www.laborlawtalk.com/showthread.php?t=48145

It pays to avoid a speeding ticket -- or fight one.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourcar/P51288.asp


Good Luck!

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Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 15 Jun 2006 13:42 PDT

Yes, the points transfer...

Thanks for the 5 stars!

I'll look for a "plead not guilty" letter that you can modify and send
to the court. If I find it, I'll post a link to it here.

~~Cynthia

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Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 15 Jun 2006 14:18 PDT

This might be helpful:
http://ebionite.com/NoticeOfMotion.htm

I found it here:
http://ebionite.com/hempstead.htm

I'll poke around some more.

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Clarification of Answer by cynthia-ga on 15 Jun 2006 14:26 PDT

Just read the comment below, states points will not transfer. WOW! 
That's a first! It's contrary to the Driver's License Compact, but if
it's on the NY DMV web site, I'd believe it.

I would appreciate if someone can provide a sample letter "pleading
not guilty" that I can refer to. When I plead not guilty, i would like
to send a detailed explanation.
The court is:
Marathon Town court, 
Marathon NY 13803
Also, how can one know about the number of points on a license. When i
take the MD license, I know the ticket will go on my driving history
but will the points be transfered also?

Thank you for all your help.

IANAL, but speaking as someone who lives in NY and who has gotten a
speeding ticket here, I can tell you that traffic tickets here are
used as a revenue stream, not as deterrent.  They are almost always
looking to get you to pay the fine with the least possible hassle. 
What this means is that when you show up in court, assuming you were
nice to the officer when you got the ticket, you talk to him and he
will recommend to the judge that it be pleaded down to a non-moving
violation, like broken spedometer.  The judge then agrees, as they
just want the money.  Again, I have experienced first hand, as well as
witnessed others do it while I was in the court (this was
poughkipsee).  Now, seeing as how it's a pain for you to go there,
your best bet might be to call up the judge's office now and explain
the situation.  Be very polite and explain that you live several
hundred miles away.  Don't admit to speeding, but you can say that you
would be willing to plead guilty and pay whatever fine is assessed the
speeding violation, if the charge is changed to a non-moving
violation.  They will tell you if it is necessary to show up, but I
believe you have an excellent chance of having them accept the plea. 
You can get a lawyer to do this for you, but that is a waste of money
imo.

btw here is a tip: don't go faster than 77 in a 65 in NY and no one
will stop you. Got that right from the mouth of the trooper who pulled
me over, and i have tested it to good effect since :)

I would appreciate if someone can provide a sample letter "pleading
not guilty" that I can refer to.

The court is:
Marathon Town court, 
Marathon NY 13803

Due to my work I wont be able to go to court. Also its 300 miles away.
Also, how can one know about the number of points on a license. When i
take the MD license, I know the ticket will go on my driving history
but will the points be transfered also?

If you have an NYC liscense you will not see points for speeding on your liscense.

According to their official DMV website: "Out-of-state traffic
violations: Except for Ontario and Quebec, points are not added to
your NYS driver record if you commit an out-of-state traffic
violation. Points can appear on your NYS driver record if you commit a
traffic violation in Ontario or Quebec."

Here is the link http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/license.htm#points

Though you may have solved this already....