If you have recently received a speeding ticket, you might be thinking about going ahead and pleading guilty. If you're willing to do so, you can often send your payment in the mail, pay it at the Clerk of Court's office or even pay it online. This might seem like the easiest option, especially if you actually were speeding when you got pulled over. However, hiring an attorney to help you fight your case rather than pleading guilty can be smart. This is because in some cases, you can have your ticket reduced or dropped completely. These are a few reasons why it's often better to take this route rather than pleading guilty.

1. Your Insurance Might Go Up

Depending on your insurance carrier, your previous driving record and the severity of your speeding ticket, there is a chance that your insurance rates could go up for several years if you plead guilty to your ticket. Even though the cost of the ticket itself might not seem too expensive, when you add in the cost of paying higher insurance premiums for months and months on end, pleading guilty might not seem like the best option.

2. It Could Affect Your Job

Do you have to drive for your job? For example, do you drive a commercial truck, or do you drive a company vehicle as a part of your day-to-day work? If so, you should be extra concerned about your driving record. Even if you were driving your personal vehicle when you got the ticket, having a not-so-clean driving record after pleading guilty could cause you issues at work.

3. It Could Affect Your License

In most cases, you aren't going to lose your driver's license for a simple speeding ticket. If your speeding ticket was serious -- such as if you were going much faster than the posted speed limit or if there were other factors at play when you got pulled over -- you could risk losing your driver's license by accumulating too many points. This could also be the case with more minor tickets if you have had infractions in the past. You probably do not want to lose your driver's license over a speeding ticket, but in some situations, this could happen if you plead guilty.

As you can see, there are quite a few reasons to consider working with a speeding ticket lawyer rather than pleading guilty. To find out more about what an attorney can do for your case, consider contacting a local law group like Campbell Law Group PLLC.