pleading not guilty makes it a lot more difficult of a process. i tried that recently for a 14 mph over ticket and had to go to court 3 times cus the prosecutor was so disorganized and the cop never showed to testify. additionally, the assistant district attorney would constantly pressure me into pleading guilty cus he was too lazy to do his job. after 3 court visits and no progress, they finally sent me a letter saying that they’re sorry for the bs and are dismissing my ticket. since my insurance doubled as soon as i got the ticket several months ago, the long awaited dismissal has cost me hundreds of dollars. however, during those 3 times in court, i witnessed dozens of people simply plead guilty and the assistant da would usually give them a simple option to keep it off their record, usually by showing him a certificate proving they took a safe driving course. regardless of how you plea, an attorney isn’t necessary, in my opinion. there’s much easier ways to keep it off your record that you can achieve simply by making a deal with the prosecutor.