Don't just pay your ticket. Ever.

No matter how guilty you may think you are, a trip to the courthouse can usually garner you a lower charge at the very least and even a dismissal in some cases.

Prosecutors are usually eager to lighten their caseload in court and this is a good thing for you. This means you can negotiate a plea deal wherein you get a lesser charge in exchange for your guilty plea. (i.e. DUI lowered to reckless driving or a speeding ticket for 20 over lowered to 10 over.) It's not as hard as it sounds. Here's what you do:
Go to your arraignment and plead not guilty.

1. Ask the judge for a pre-trial hearing.
2. At the pre-trial hearing you can talk to a prosecutor.
3. Ask the prosecutor for a deal.
4. If it's a good deal, go for it!

Really, these guys have hundreds of cases a week to handle and they want to get out of there as fast as you do. If they can dismiss your case, they will. otherwise, the'll almost always downgrade the charge in order to get you to enter a guilty plea.