Paying that ticket has one serious drawback, however: It counts as a conviction on your record. And in recent years, the ripple costs of a conviction have eclipsed the immediate financial ding to your wallet. Today, the wrong ticket at the wrong time can send your insurance through the roof, result in a suspended license and steep state surcharges, and even cost you your job.

If you wonder if you need a traffic lawyer, you probably do.

Here's how various forces have converged to create a new and growing market for traffic lawyers:

Traffic ticket revenue has become more important than ever to financially strapped cities and counties, which have found it noncontroversial to bump their fines considerably in recent years. Some jurisdictions have even installed high-tech red-light cameras to catch and generate a fine to those who fail to stop.

States are cashing in, as well, by enacting surcharges for repeat offenders, some of which far exceed the cost of the ticket itself.

Although traffic ticket statistics are not compiled nationally, Eric Skrum, spokesman for the National Motorists Association, says these increased revenue demands have lead to higher quotas and stricter enforcement.

"We are seeing more and more traffic tickets, specifically speeding tickets, being issued every year because it is big money for a lot of different agencies," he says "It's a $1 billion industry annually."

The federal government also has revved up traffic tickets by mandating the states to lower blood-alcohol content levels for DWI, or driving while intoxicated, arrests to 0.08 percent (eight-tenths of 1 percent) from 0.10, despite a General Accounting Office report that the lower threshold by itself does not reduce the number or severity of accidents.

Then there's the dreaded insurance-point system; exceed it and you're looking at sky-high insurance premiums, also called surcharges, for a minimum of two to three years.

As a result, a speeding ticket today can be a high-stakes game for many motorists, especially those with recent priors. As more tickets are issued, more motorists more quickly approach either the financial pain threshold (fines, points and surcharges), the loss of their license or both.

In addition to their adverse effects on your mobility, tickets can slow or stall your upward mobility as well. Both current and future employers aren't fond of habitual traffic offenders.

"I have an insurance agent, and it's written into his contract that if he receives a DUI ticket -- not convicted, just receives the ticket -- he loses his job," says Skrum. "There are a lot of professionals who cannot afford to receive that ticket."

Meet Mr. Fixit
Robert Eutsler, " The Ticket Attorney," is a seasoned Houston lawyer who five years ago switched the focus of his practice to vehicular violations, primarily speeding and driving under the influence. His flat-fee rates start at $35 for nonmoving violations, $70 for moving violations. He spends all day in court answering the call for client after client. He rarely sees the details of any case until the judge calls it.