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You don’t need to be speeding to get an imprudent speed ticket. Also known as a basic speeding ticket, these can come from anywhere at any time. It all depends on which police officer you come across and what they think about roadway conditions.
Many of the people who get imprudent speed tickets get them during storms, snow, or other times of low visibility. Whenever traveling at a speed limit that doesn’t seem prudent for the given conditions, you can get one of these tickets.
What Does Imprudent Speed Mean?
Each state defines imprudent speed laws differently. In New York, imprudent speed is any “speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions” (See: NYS VTL §1180(a)).
In New Jersey, imprudent speed is any speed that doesn’t fit the situation, such as going too fast through a crosswalk or driving the speed limit in heavy snow.
Each state is different, but many imprudent speed tickets have a few similarities. Most of them are a kind of speeding ticket with no specified limit. Instead of relating to a speed limit, these tickets relate to the officer’s and the court’s perception of “reasonable and prudent” speeds.
The relative nature of these tickets makes them one of the more varied speeding laws in the country. While one police officer might think you were driving at an imprudent speed, another in the same jurisdiction might think you were driving at an acceptable speed.
Basic Speeding Law Tickets
Basic speeding law tickets are essentially imprudent speed tickets. When a jurisdiction establishes a basic speeding law, it often contains a provision with the words “reasonable” and “prudent.” That provision establishes the same thing as specific imprudent speed laws.
Although basic speeding tickets don’t have the same name as imprudent speed tickets, the two are functionally identical. Other similar laws include the following:
- Basic Speeding Tickets
- Imprudent Speed Tickets
- Unreasonable Speed Tickets
The official text of the law varies from place to place, but the purpose is almost always the same.
Since it would be virtually impossible to regulate the speed of every vehicle in every possible condition, legislatures enact basic speeding laws. These laws enable officers to write imprudent speed tickets to cover a wide range of violations without the need for additional laws.
Cost of Basic Speeding Laws
Imprudent speed tickets vary from place to place. The average traffic ticket costs apply to most of them in most places, but there are also individual laws specific to each jurisdiction.
Most jurisdictions consider basic speeding violations to be misdemeanor offenses. Some places will call them gross misdemeanors, class B misdemeanors, or just misdemeanors. Virtually no location considers them traffic infractions or felonies.
Even though they’re not as bad as felonies, misdemeanors are still criminal traffic tickets.
Criminal traffic tickets come with high fines, fees, surcharges, and more. Imprudent speed tickets can also increase your insurance premiums by an average of 23.2%.
To find out how much more you’ll have to pay, multiply your monthly premium by 0.232. Next, multiply that number by the amount of months you’ll have to pay it.
In New York, that’s 48 months. In Washington, that’s 36 months. If you pay $113 a month for insurance, you can end up paying an extra $1,248 for a single imprudent speed ticket.
How to Fight These Tickets
If you want to fight these speeding tickets, you should hire a lawyer. If you can’t afford a lawyer or want to represent yourself, start by pleading not guilty. Pleading not guilty is the first step in the traffic ticket dispute process.
After you plead not guilty, make sure that you have the correct information about your ticket. Contact the court and ask for your citation number, which might be called a case number of ticket number. Then, make sure you have the right hearing date. Once you have all the correct information, you can prepare your defense.
In traffic court, you’ll have only a few short minutes to present your defense. In criminal court, you will have a few hours or maybe a few days. Keep in mind that most traffic ticket attorneys only work in traffic court. If you have a criminal traffic ticket, you will need a criminal defense attorney.
Be Prudent about Your Imprudent Speed Tickets
The best thing you can do with your unreasonable or imprudent speed ticket is to be reasonable and prudent. A clear mind will help you find the best possible solution, prepare your case, and potentially get your ticket dismissed.
If you still have questions about unreasonable, imprudent, or basic speeding tickets, comment them below! If you already have a ticket and want faster help, message your attorney through the WinIt app.
