As the seat of Berks County, Pa., Reading draws more motor vehicle traffic than most cities its size, as citizens come to town to take care of official business. Some rush up I-176 on the Morgantown Expressway; others clog state roads 222 and 422. The West Shore and Warren Street bypasses also get crowded and tricky as motorists try to get home as soon as possible after taking care of county business.

If you get caught in the rush to or from Reading, you know how easy it can be to get a traffic ticket for speeding or running a red light. In large packs of cars, it is easy to not notice your speed, and even easier to try and be the last person through the yellow light at an intersection. Unfortunately, that light turns red sometimes before you get there.

Before assuming that you are completely guilty and mailing in your fine, you should reflect on your options. The fine will cost you money in the short term, sometimes a substantial amount, but it could cost you a lot more in the long term if points accumulate on your driving record or your insurance premiums become inflated due to your alleged violation.

Think about these questions before pleading guilty to a speeding offense: 1) Are you positive that the police officer took an accurate measure of your speed? S/might still be learning how to operate the gun that emits bursts of light to measure speed, part of the new LIDAR technology. 2) Did s/he get your speed using VASCAR technology? If so, there is a great possibility that the stopwatch was punched too quickly by an inexperienced person, thus giving a misleading reading. 3) Did you receive a speeding ticket because of a radar reading? That machine might not have been calibrated in the past several years, and it could be seriously off in its measurements.

Those are just three of the type of questions that a good Reading speeding ticket lawyer can raise. S/he might be able to prove to a judge that the law enforcement officer lacked enough training to use a LIDAR gun, or that the simple VASCAR machine was misused.

Before admitting your guilt as you pay a steep fine, call for a free consultation to see if you have a possible defense against your ticket. If you wait to contact an attorney until after you put your check in the mail, not even the best Reading traffic ticket attorney can assist you.

Here’s another surprise that you want to eliminate: if you have points already added to your driving record, a few more could put you over the limit and cause your license to be revoked. If that happens, you not only won’t be able to drive legally, you could even lose your job. Many employment contracts require a valid license for employment, so a speeding ticket could nudge you all the way into the unemployment office in Reading. That’s too steep a price for a traffic violation!

Instead of going down that road, call for a consultation and allow a Reading traffic ticket lawyer to take a look at your case. A trained professional familiar with traffic law can become a powerful ally in your fight to preserve your record and safeguard your money and job.

The money you would use to pay a Reading traffic ticket attorney’s fee can more than pay for itself when weighed against fines, higher insurance charges and even possible lost wages. Getting a reduction in your fine or your case dismissed could save you thousands of dollars over the next few years. Don’t stall, make a call.