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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
 
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Thanks. I'll research the dashcam. Considering this is my first situation like this ever I wonder if it's worth it, but then again, it would save me a lot of headache right now so maybe it is. I know you can scratch 2 points off your record with the defensive driving course. Interestingly, insurance doesn't base your premium on DMV points, but apparently they use their own system based on what the ticket was for. Apparently my option (or, what most people experience) will be (a) accept the $85 ticket and pay $xxx? insurance increase for 3 years, or (b) pay $250 for a downgraded "unsafe driving" guilty plea, plus court costs, which has 0 DMV points and I THINK 0 insurance impact (nobody has been able to confirm this for sure). Although I am NOT guilty I see no way of proving it, much less without wasting my life away.
Posted on: 2018/5/31 2:36
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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Two quick things:
1. Remember that AAA offers a defensive driving course that shaves 2 points off of your driving record every five years: Learn more here. 2. Yes to the dashcam! People lie - cameras don't. Just got one recently at BestBuy and installed it myself (and I'm an electronics idiot.)
Posted on: 2018/5/31 2:28
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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Brewster, thanks. I called Geico today (who has always offered me the best price by far, and I shop around every year or so). They were unable to say exactly how much it would change my premium, because apparently that function is done by underwriters once it entered the system. The customer service guy tried to run the numbers but it just wouldn't let him proceed. But he said based on his experience at the job, I was looking at $20-$25/month increase. I have no tickets or points on my record, stellar credit (which supposedly matters, bizarrely), etc. So maybe he was wrong. Fingers crossed.
Posted on: 2018/5/31 1:06
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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I'm surprised a single 2 pt ticket will have any effect. I don't think a nonsense one I got in Hoboken last year affected us, and we changed insurance recently.
FYI, we got Metromile, where they give you a GPS dongle for your car and charge by the mile. Saving us a ton. Creepy as hell though, I can see where the wife is going using the phone app. Definitely not for everyone! We had to leave Allstate because they refused to stop charging us for our son even though he's moved out for college and is never going to live here again. Nice to see innovation taking the wind of of rigid old guard companies taking our business for granted.
Posted on: 2018/5/31 0:12
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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Sorry to read about your situation. You should consider getting a dash cam for your car for this very reason, among others. They are inexpensive and are easy to DIY setup/install.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 23:55
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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HeightsNative - Did you have any evidence aside from he-said she-said? Unless they actually have dashcams, I can't prove anything (and calling the cop a liar is probably shooting myself in the foot, true as it may be). It looks like over the 3-year insurance penalty period I'll spend $700-$900 in increased premiums. Was your lawyer plus court fees less than that? WHen I was googling around it seemed court fees and the fine alone were going to be over $600.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 22:31
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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I can tell you it's worth fighting. Yes, you pay up front, but they literally reclassify the ticket. I paid a lawyer (I believe Jean Baptiste was his name), who got me out of a big ticket, from 4 points to no points, and no hit to insurance. It's definitely worth it, because insurance premium raises are for years. This is a one time whack that's worth it. Good luck! Damn the man; save the empire.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 19:44
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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Thanks Brewster. Apparently this is a 2-point offense. I called my insurance co. and apparently the points do not affect my rate, however the ticket "classification" does. So in other words paying Hoboken off (which is what people seem to do according to my online sleuthing) to get my 2 points eliminated will cost hundreds of bucks but will not stop my insurance from going up. UGH. Assuming true I might as well just deal with the points on my record. I have never had any points so this is all new territory for me.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 19:35
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Re: Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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In my general experience, not specific to Hoboken, the municipality wants their money and could care less about the points. So you can probably negotiated down to there, but simply calling the cop a liar is probably not going to get you much traction.
Summary dismissal if the cop doesn't show is a myth, I had a cop not show up for the hearing of a completely bullshit ticket in Lyndhurst, but the judge would not dismiss.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 19:30
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Hoboken - contesting a ticket advice
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Home away from home
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I was issued a ticket by Hoboken PD for failing to yield to a pedestrian. This is an utter lie. What actually happened was that a line of cars was traveling down a side street and a PO was at the intersection, I assume getting impatient. He was easing his way into the intersection bit by bit and nobody was letting him in (we had no stop, he had a stop). By the time I got to the intersection he was at least 1/3 way into it and I didn't stop and let him in. Maybe I deserve a ticket for being a snot, but that's it. There were no peds at the intersection. Literally none.
My questions are as follows: 1. Do hoboken police cars have dash cams that I could get footage from to prove my innocence? 2. Does pleading not guilty (without dashcam video) backfire if and when all I can say is that the cop is a big lair? 3. Do points go on one's record for this (I care less about the fine and more about my driving record. If no points and fine is low, I might just suck it up.) 4. If I plead not guilty, do the officers really usually show up to court and if so/if not what happens? Advice appreciated.
Posted on: 2018/5/30 17:59
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