If you have received a traffic ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign or speeding, you may think it is easiest to simply check the ‘guilty’ box on the back of the ticket and pay the fine. However, even if the traffic violation will not result in a conviction on your driving record, you should not immediately concede that you are guilty. There are many ways a DuPage County criminal defense lawyer can help you fight the traffic ticket, and you will realize many benefits when working with one.

Avoid High Fines and Possible Jail Time

While a traffic violation may seem like a minor offense, there are times when one could result in very high fines and possibly even jail time. For example, if you are charged with driving 26 to 34 miles per hour over the speed limit, you will face a Class B misdemeanor charge. This type of offense is punishable by a maximum of 180 days in jail and a fine up to $1,500. If you are accused of speeding more than 35 miles per hour over the speed limit, the charge is upgraded to a Class A misdemeanor. This offense is much more serious and carries a sentence of up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,500.

Speed limits are designed to keep drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other road users safe. Unfortunately, neither safety nor consequence may deter some drivers from speeding. For some, the risks are not relevant. For others, the means justifies the decision. In all cases, there are costs and consequences. This remains true, even if the driver is never caught driving over the speed limit. Yet those who do get caught are often the ones who stand to lose the most. The following explains.

General and Daily Consequences of Speeding

School is back in session! As a result, we wanted to remind you once again to watch out for those special school zone speed limits because a ticket for speeding in a school zone carries with it severe consequences.

So long as you have been properly notified by a sign or flashing signal, the speed limit in a school zone on school days is 20 miles per hour. Pay attention to the notification posted because the conditions under which the speed limit changes varies among cities, towns and villages. In some instances, the speed limit only drops to 20 mph if children are present during school hours. However, in some school zones, the speed limit is 20 mph on school days regardless of whether children are present, during the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. In some areas, the school zone speed limit only applies if a flashing light is activated. When in doubt, it is better to reduce your speed near a school to avoid being pulled over and ticketed. Police officers, prosecutors and judges take these tickets very seriously due to the risk of harm to young children. That is why you cannot receive court supervision even for a first time offense, which means unless you beat the ticket altogether, a conviction will go on your record.

Illinois Supreme Court rejects challenge to mandatory convictions for aggravated speeding in People v. Rizzo.

A Cook County judge ruled that a motorist's inability to receive court supervision for aggravated speeding (driving 26 mph or more over the speed limit) was too harsh when compared to other class A misdemeanors. Driving 26-34 mph over the speed limit is a class B misdemeanor, while driving 35 mph over the speed limit is a class A misdemeanor. The Cook County decision reasoned that the penalty for aggravated speeding was "cruel and degrading" when compared to other class A misdemeanors that allow for a court to grant supervision, such as Driving While License Revoked, Driving While License Suspended, and DUI, even when involving bodily harm or death. Nonetheless, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned the Cook County decision ruling that a driver's inability to receive court supervision for aggravated speeding does not violate the proportionate penalties clause of the Illinois Constitution. The "collateral consequences of conviction...do not qualify as part of the 'penalty' for purposes of proportionate penalty analysis." 

Speeding in a construction zone is an unsightly blemish on your driving record that you should try to avoid at all costs, whether by avoiding the ticket altogether or fighting it in court. Even though it is a petty offense that you may walk away from with only a high fine, it is taken very seriously by judges and prosecutors due to increased concerns for the safety of workers.

Be aware when entering a construction zone that the speed limit is almost always reduced. Signs must be posted warning drivers that they are about to enter a construction zone and advising them of the maximum speed allowed within that particular construction zone. Most people don't realize that the reduced speed limit applies whether workers are present or not. Avoid the common misconception that if you don't see any workers, you can avoid the special speed limit. That is not the case!