Defying the fate of many Rust Belt cities, Allentown, Pa., is actually thriving, and ranks as one of America’s fastest-growing cities for many reasons. Few people know that Allentown is the third-largest city in the state, behind Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

The reasons for the city’s growth are numerous: the central business district has been totally overhauled; a huge arena has been constructed downtown; the Lehigh Valley Hospital continues to expand; numerous hotels are being built and others have been renovated and grown. Allentown even has easy access to an airport and is a county seat.

In addition, more and more people are moving further and further from the Philadelphia city limits. Some even move to Allentown to have a city feel yet be far away from Philly’s congestion, even if they work in the City of Brotherly Love.

All of this growth means more vehicles on the roadways, and Allentown’s traffic problem has grown more complicated with the city’s renewed vitality. The Lehigh Valley Thruway (Route 22) slants across the northwest corner of the city, and the Walter J. Dealtrey Memorial Highway (I-78) forms a smile just south of the city.

Hundreds of thousands of motorists have a reason to come into or leave Allentown every day. Some come to do business with the county, others are roaring out of town early in the morning to work a job in Philadelphia. That means crowded conditions on all of the major traffic arteries, which raises the possibility of a traffic ticket.

For instance, it can be almost effortless to lose track of your speed when zooming along in a pack of commuters hell-bent to make it to work on time. Or, you can play stop and go in some parts of the city while in a long line of cars. Like musical chairs, you can be the one stuck in the middle of the intersection when the light turns red, even if you were sure that you were going to make it!

You might conclude that you are completely guilty of your traffic offense and are inclined to mail in your fine and thus admit your guilt, being the good citizen that you area. However, you should realize that you are not solely responsible for filling the county and state coffers, and there could have easily been an error when your speed was recorded.

Before dropping that envelope in the mail or paying quickly online with your debit or credit card, consider your options if you were to hire a competent Allentown traffic ticket attorney. You see, the fine you pay could be just the start of your problems. You might have points tacked onto your driving record and much higher insurance premiums, which make that speeding ticket the gift that keeps on taking long after your violation.

Take a look at these tactics that a skilled Allentown speeding ticket lawyer can possibly pursue in your case: 1) There’s a strong chance that the police officer did not have the requisite training to use the new LIDAR technology for speed detection. The officer might have easily pointed the gun at an improper place on your vehicle and obtained an incorrect speed reading. The gun might have even pointed at that truck in front of you because the laser beam hit its cab rather than your car, even if the officer had your vehicle in his aim. 2) The officer might not have had the proper certification and training to use VASCAR technology, which requires a very exact timing to push the stopwatch in order to measure your speed across a designated zone. 3) The radar used by the officer had not been properly calibrated for several months or years and could be shown to be defective in its ability to accurately measure speed.

You see, an Allentown speeding ticket lawyer knows all of the angles of traffic law to exploit in your favor. That’s why you should contact an attorney before putting that check in your mailbox. Better to put forth an effort in fighting your speeding ticket than have points tacked onto your record, which could even result in the forfeiture of your license if you have a spotty history.

That loss could lead to another, much bigger loss: your job. Many employment contracts call for the employee to have a valid driver’s license as a pre-condition for continued engagement with the company.

Stop the domino effect of a traffic ticket fine before it starts. Don’t let an improper reading or an innocent running of a red light cost you money in the short and long term. A competent Allentown traffic ticket lawyer can help you to preserve your driving record, keep your premiums stable and hang on to your job.