apparantly the officer was under investigation by IAB and therefore was told could NOT let me go with the inital ticket. true or not whatever...
i didnt know they put up a new and different sign. i went straight when i was told i had to turn left. no biggie, but nonetheless it was a moving violation. my dad told me to go to court, plead not guilty and see what happens.. i did go, pleaded and told the judge my story, how i didnt know, its a new sign, etc.. he reduced it and that was it. it all happened so fast. i would assume the points still stayed even after the fine was paid, but i cant recall my insurance going up at all.. its my first moving violation and it was about 3 and a half years ago if not more....i would try to plead not guilty. i mean if your record is clean, the fine wont go up.. and at the very least it will get reduced..

 

just talked to geico and they said my rates wont go up since i have a perfect record. the customer service rep (who was also from NYC) said she has gone to court many times and they would automatically reduce it to no points if you show up. so now i dont want to pay the mandatory surcharge ($300) from DMV.
will keep you all posted.

i appreciate all the replies.

 

NYC is becoming such a bitch place to live in. $11 to cross the verazano bridge, mandatory $25 license plates, $300 surcharges on tickets...its no wonder so many people are moving out of NYC.
good luck dude.

 

In Mass. your first appearance is always in front of a magistrate (no cop present) where there's one officer who just reads the charges and you try to make your point to the magistrate. Of course, 95% of the time all you're going to get is either an offer of reduced fine or a plain 'responsible' verdict. At this point you tell them that you would like to appeal, pay $20 and then you will get a letter telling you when the hearing is scheduled for. This may take anywhere from a few months to a year. The original cop has to be at the appeal hearing. If he doesn't show up, you automatically get your ticket dismissed.

In my driving history (34 years) I have had five tickets. Two were won at the magistrate (I had compelling photographic evidence about signs that were supposedly there but, in fact, were not), two were dismissed at the appeal hearing when the original cops did not show up, and one was won at the appeal when I made the cop change his story and got the judge to dismiss based on the "incompetent witness." That one felt great and it's truly one for the ages.

Anyway, moral of the story, always appeal your tickets.

 

I am not sure you are getting accurate advice from the Geico rep. Even if the points do not have an immediate impact on your rate, they will certainly be considered next time you go to renew. And what happens if you get more points between now and then. And they most definitely will not "automatically" reduce it to no points if you show up. If you plead not guilty and show up at court, the prosecutor will confer with the cop to determine what they are willing to plead it down to. Sometimes they will give you a no point ticket with a fine (illegal parking on the side of the road), but sometime the will only reduce the number of points by reducing the speed.