Amending a Speeding Ticket in New York City Traffic Violations Bureau

In most of New York State, your traffic ticket can be resolved via plea bargain. In this scenario, your attorney goes to court for you and gets the points reduced in exchange of paying a fine for a parking ticket. There is one exception to this procedure, and that is for all tickets issued in New York City. All city tickets go through a unique legal system called the Traffic Violations Bureau (TVB). This is an administrative agency within the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). There are eight hearing centers in New York City: one in The Bronx, two in Brooklyn, two in Manhattan, two in Queens, and one in Staten Island. The Traffic Violations Bureau does not allow for any plea bargaining.

However, there is one exception where you can get less points than the violation listed on the ticket. Speeding tickets can often be modified if done properly. Judges have the discretion to modify a speed to a lower category speed under certain circumstances. Say for example you are charged with speeding 72 mph in a 50-mph zone. This is a 6-point ticket, and you are facing an additional $300 Driver Responsibility Assessment Fee on top of the fine. At the end of the trial, the judge can amend this to speeding 70 in a 50-mph zone. This is significant because it lowers the points from 6 to 4 and eliminates the $300 Driver Assessment Fee. There are several different variations on how this can be done.

Different judges have different rules on when they will amend the ticket and under what circumstances. It is imperative that a traffic ticket attorney handle this in court for you. A local traffic ticket attorney is most familiar with all the judges’ practices and can use the information to maximize the possibility of amending the speeding ticket.

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office is a law firm that practices traffic ticket defense. Our attorneys are in the New York City Traffic Violations Bureau everyday fighting traffic tickets. Please feel free to get in touch with us to discuss your New York speeding ticket.