In a smaller borough like Pleasant Hill, it may seem like it is harder to get a traffic ticket. Unfortunately, traffic tickets are not just a problem found in big metropolitan areas. Anywhere there are other drivers is a place where you can get a traffic ticket.

In fact, governments in smaller areas like to use the revenues from traffic ticket fines to generate some income, so police officers in these areas are less likely to overlook a relatively insignificant traffic offense. And aside from the costly fines you will face from your ticket, you will also have points added to your driving record that correspond to your specific traffic violation, points which will not be easily erased and which still stay on your record for years and get added to any other violations, past or present, that you committed.

Say you drove just a little too fast, six to ten miles per hour above the speed limit -- that’s two points added to your record. Maybe you ran a red light or a stop sign -- you can expect three points to be added to your record. Add three points for failure to yield or improper passing, unless it’s improper passing on a hill, which is four points. And not stopping for a school bus unloading children is five points.

As they add up, so do the consequences. The first six points on your record means that you will have to take a test to ensure that you know how to drive safely under Pennsylvania law. The second time you get six points added up on your record, and you will not only have to take the exam but also face having your license suspended for fifteen days. And the third time you have a total of six points on your record, your license will be suspended for thirty days -- that’s one whole month of not having the freedom to drive yourself wherever you need to go.

If you get a DUI or DWI in Pennsylvania, the penalties will be different. There are no points, but your first offense will mean you have to pay a fine of $300 as well as face six months’ probation and alcohol counseling, as well as traffic school. The fines will increase if it is your second offense or if you had a really high BAC, and you will spend some time in jail as well.

If you decide you do not want to admit your guilt, pay your fine, and face these penalties, you have the choice to plead not guilty to the ticket and have it heard in Lebanon County, which covers any traffic tickets received in Pleasant Hill . As soon as you choose to take this path, call a Pleasant Hill traffic ticket lawyer to serve as your legal representation in court.

Judges are much more likely to consider a strong defense present by a skilled traffic attorney than they would be to listen to someone trying to defend themselves against the word of the police officer who wrote the ticket. By demonstrating, for example, that the stop sign you supposedly ran was hidden from view, or that the breathalyzer test you took was inaccurate, your lawyer can fight to have your penalties reduced by a judge or to even have the ticket or DUI dismissed altogether.

Furthermore, your lawyer will have access to the right evidence to back up your defense, evidence that you likely could not access on your own. We also recognize that working with a lawyer on your case will cost you much less in the long run than it would to pay the expensive fines and to face losing the freedom to drive or even time behind bars.

It is important to begin building your defense as soon as possible before your court date, so do not wait to call our offices and get in touch with one of our lawyers, whose experience handling traffic tickets in Pleasant Hill will make them of invaluable assistance as you fight your ticket.