I've had a few speeding tickets. Fortunately, I come from a political family, and while that doesn't mean that I have any connections to cheat the system anymore, I was able to get a little insight into how the system works and use it to my best advantage.
Politics is all about quid pro quo. Once you know what everyone involved wants, things become easier.
The local government wants money. Traffic citations are a major source of revenue for them. Someone has to pay for the new radar guns, after all.
The officer issuing the ticket wants a conviction, preferably a nice tidy guilty plea.
What you want varies from state to state. Pennsylmania uses a point system, which not only can incur a license suspension, but also can affect the cost of insurance. That means what you want is to avoid points, or if that is not a factor, keep your costs to a minimum.
One thing you have to accept is that unless you have a very good chance at successfully fighting the ticket, you're going to end up paying. That's politics for you. Accept the loss, and worry about priorities. I did at one point go through connections to ask a local lawyer/politician for advice on the matter, and was told that beating a ticket without legal representation was quite difficult, and the lawyer's fees would end up costing much more than the fine.
I stayed calm and asked the policeman about points the last time I had a ticket. (Oh, and btw Jeysie, I am a careful driver. The one time I was distracted and allowed myself to go a little fast on an empty road resulted in a ticket. The others were going down a very steep hill right after a very sudden drop in speed limit - in other words, a speed trap) I was told to plead not guilty, so I did.
What happened was that I went to the court on the assigned date. There were several others waiting, probably everyone who pleded not guilty to a ticket from that officer in the previous couple of months. One by one, he called us over for a talk.
This was the negotiation. He offered that if I pled guilty to a lesser charge, I would get no points, and a partial refund on the fine paid. I accepted, signed a form, and left without once stepping into a courtroom.
Like I said, it may vary depending on the state laws, but that was my experience, and it is likely you may have something similar.
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