What do I do About a Speeding Summons?

A speeding summons is different from a speeding ticket. When a driver of a vehicle is given or served a speeding summons, he or she is required to appear in court to answer the charge. In the case of a speeding ticket, no court appearance is required if the driver doesn't contest the matter. He or she can simply pay the fine before the due date and the matter is closed.

Ignoring the speeding summons is not a good idea. Failing to appear in court after being served with official documents means that the judge will issue a bench warrant for the individual's arrest. This person will then be facing additional charges, as well as having to deal with the original matter of whether the individual had been speeding.

After the speeding summons has been served, the recipient may choose to consult an attorney. The accused individual should be prepared to tell his or her legal representative about all the events that occurred on the day in question. He or she will also be asked to share any statements made to the police officer during the traffic stop. The lawyer will need to know if his or her client admitted speeding at any point.

Based on the information the client provides, the lawyer will give legal advice about whether to plead guilty or innocent to the speeding summons. If the individual chooses to plead guilty, he or she will be required to pay a fine and will likely get a "point" on his or her driver's license. If enough demerit points are levied against a person's driver's license, he or she may lose driving privileges.

If the accused individual chooses to plead innocent in response to the speeding summons, he or she has some options. One way to defend a charge of speeding is to claim that the device used to measure a driver's speed on the road was defective and failed to measure the rate of speed accurately. The lawyer may be able to get the charges dismissed based on the allegation of unreliable evidence.

The person who has received a speeding summons should get expert legal advice. Each occurrence is different and the lawyer will consider the facts of the case carefully before telling his or her client what to do. Even if the client ultimately chooses to plead guilty, he or she will be doing so because it's the best choice under the circumstances.