So, you got a speeding ticket. To be honest, it could (and usually does) happen to everyone at least once. In fact, every day, 112,328 people are slapped with an average of about a $150 fine for speeding. You could never speed for 10 years and get a ticket your first time creeping over the limit, or you could speed every day and be lucky enough not to get caught. Bad timing and sheer luck might work to your advantage or your disadvantage, but the fact is that once you’ve got the ticket, you’ve got to do something about it.

There are three directions you can take when confronted with such a problem: fight it, seek mitigation, or pay it. Check these options out to see which is right for you, and find out where to contact a traffic lawyer.

Fight It
This might be the way to go if you have evidence that you weren’t actually speeding, or that your ticket was unjustified for another reason. Sometimes, you can start with a settlement conference, where you may be able to negotiate a less-serious penalty, without the time and expense of a trial. Other times, your cases might go to trial. In these cases, hiring a speeding ticket lawyer or a traffic lawyer to take care of the finer details of the case may be in your best interest. Let them brief you on tips for traffic court before you plan on taking a ticket to court.

Seek Mitigation
If this speeding ticket is your very first or the first in many years, checking out mitigation options could keep the violation off of your driving record. This involves admitting to the violation and explaining the circumstances that might convince a judge to go easy on you. You could receive reduced consequences, like a reduced fine, extra time to pay, or an alternative to one part of the penalty. Your traffic lawyer could help you out with this procedure.

Pay the Ticket
In some cases, the cost of a speeding ticket lawyer, the time and effort of mitigation, and the risk of a higher charge might make it more worthwhile to simply pay your ticket. The real cost of a speeding ticket is how much higher your insurance premiums rise, which can last several years in some states. Find out how you can lower these rates and get points off your license, whether it is by going to traffic school or taking a course online.

Around 41 million speeding tickets are issued every year, and you very well could be the subject of one of them. The overall cost of speeding and its resulting injuries amount to around $40.4 billion every year — Keep a traffic ticket lawyer’s number in your pocket just in case, especially if you are looking to take a ticket to court.