South Sound Sidekick series offers advice from experts living in the, well, the South Sound. It posts every Friday. Today, The Counselor is back with advice for those pulled over for speeding.

Dear Counselor,

I got a speeding ticket. What should I do?

ANSWER: Obviously slow down!  Quit driving that Hot Rod Lincoln.

Everyone at some point in his or her life will probably get a speeding ticket.  What should you do?  Here in Washington state you have four choices; you can 1) pay the ticket 2) ask for a mitigation hearing, 3) ask that the ticket be deferred or 4) contest the ticket.

Let's look at each of your options for a minute and the consequences of the choice you make.

If you pay the ticket it will remain on your driving record for three years.  You car insurance could increase by 10 to 11 percent per year for the three years. (Depending on your carrier). You might not have had a ticket in 15 years, but you know what they say, "When it rains it pours."  I have spoken with many insurance agents who say that same thing, no infractions in 20 years and then two or three in a short time, not good.

You can ask to mitigate the fine. Mitigation is where you go and tell the judge why you had a good reason to be speeding and the ask the court to cut you some slack, which will, in most cases, be granted to some extent. All this does is reduce the fine, it still goes on your record as an infraction and stays there for three years and has the same insurance issues.

You can go to court - and if you have not had a ticket in the last seven years - you can ask that the ticket be differed under RCW 46.63.070.  Basically, this means you pay court costs, typically around $150.00 and if you don't get any more tickets for one year the case is dismissed and does not go on your record. But, if you get another speeding ticket in that year then, well you are looking at two tickets not one.  Remember, when it rains it pours.

My suggestion?  I am a firm believer in option #4.  Hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer and let them do their job.  An attorney trained in traffic infractions can almost always make the outcome of you situation better (not always, but nothing in the world is 100 percent), either by getting the ticket dismissed, or getting it modified to a non-moving violation.

With a lawyer you probably won't have to take a day off work to go to court, you won't have to stand up in a courtroom and make an argument to a judge and you will greatly increase the chances your insurance premiums won't be skyrocketing. For some people that is money well spent.

Now, what to do when pulled over for speeding? Be polite, as with all things in life, politeness goes a long way in making things better. The officer in the field has tremendous discretion in what they do and what message they convey to the judge who will ultimately decide your case.

The citing officer only writes a few lines on the back of the ticket.  But those words will clearly telegraph to the judge whether or not you were a butthead. If the judge gets the feeling before you even open your mouth that you are a jerk, it is going to make prevailing just that much more difficult.  So BE POLITE DAMMIT.

Next, do not say anything to the officer about your speed.  First question out of the officer's mouth always is "You know why I stopped you?"  Then you say something (that by the way will always be written on the back of the ticket) like "Speeding?" with a sheepish look on your face. Or "Sorry I was talking on my cell phone"  (Whoops another $125), or the classic "I am running late."  Basically these are all admissions that you were speeding and you knew it.  Be polite and do not answer questions about your speed or why you were stopped.

That's it for me.

The Counselor. 

P.S Stay out of the left lane unless you are passing every one.  It is an infraction to drive in the left lane and impede traffic so stop doing it. And it really frosts my ass.