I don’t live in New York and got a ticket in Erie County. Do I have to come back?
Not always. For most traffic infractions a New York attorney can appear for you, and in the City of Buffalo even a not guilty plea can be sent by mail or email. What you cannot do is ignore the ticket. The Buffalo agency warns that an unanswered ticket leads to a license suspension. If you are licensed in another state, a New York conviction is also reported back to your home state, so paying the fine to make it go away is rarely the end of it.
Where Erie County Tickets Are Heard
Erie County is the most populous county in upstate New York outside the New York City area, with 954,236 residents at the 2020 census and Buffalo as its county seat. Where your ticket goes depends on where you were stopped and what you were charged with.
Inside the City of Buffalo, non-criminal moving infractions go to the Buffalo Traffic Violations Agency at City Hall, 65 Niagara Square. Created in 2015 under the direction of the mayor, the agency took over cases the DMV’s Traffic Violations Bureau used to hear. The city notes that some infractions are still handled in Buffalo City Court, and criminal traffic charges fall outside the agency’s non-criminal role.
The county’s two other cities, Lackawanna and Tonawanda, each have a City Court, and Lackawanna City Court lists a separate email address for its Vehicle and Traffic matters. Outside the cities, the state court directory shows twenty-five town courts, from Alden and Amherst to Wales and West Seneca, and ten village courts, including Depew, Kenmore, Lancaster, Orchard Park and Williamsville. Hamburg, Lancaster, Orchard Park and Alden each have both a town court and a village court.
Who Writes the Tickets
Erie County is covered by State Police Troop A from stations in Boston, Alden, Clarence, Elma, Grand Island, Holland, Newstead and Collins. Troop T, which patrols the Thruway, has its Buffalo station in Cheektowaga. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the many city, town and village police departments write their own tickets.
Most of the county’s expressways carry a local name as well as a number. The Thruway itself is Interstate 90, and Interstate 190 is the Niagara Thruway. Interstate 290 is the Youngmann Expressway and Interstate 990 the Lockport Expressway. US 219 is the Southern Expressway, NY 400 the Aurora Expressway, and NY 33 and NY 198 are the Kensington and Scajaquada expressways. Surface routes such as US 20, US 62, NY 5 and NY 78, which is Transit Road, fill in the rest. The Peace Bridge connects Buffalo to Fort Erie, Ontario, and the county’s northwest edge borders Ontario’s Niagara Region.
How the Buffalo Traffic Violations Agency Works
The agency describes its process plainly. To plead not guilty, sign Section B of the ticket, add your phone number and any change of address, and send it by mail to Room 115 at City Hall or by email to the agency. You will then hear back by mail. After reviewing your driving history, the agency may offer a reduced plea. If no plea is offered, or you turn it down, the case is set for a hearing before a Judicial Hearing Officer, and the city states that the original offer will not be available at that hearing.
Hearings run several days a week in Room 1802 of City Hall, with a virtual trial option. Attorneys must have a written waiver of appearance on file, and the agency will not discuss pending cases by phone.
That first offer is made on paper, based on your record, and it disappears if you go to a hearing. Deciding whether to take it is the most important choice in a Buffalo ticket.
What a Conviction Costs
If your license comes from another state, the cost starts at home. New York reports your conviction to your licensing state under the Driver License Compact, and what happens next is governed by that state’s rules, not New York’s. If you hold a Canadian licence, do not assume a New York conviction stays in New York; get advice before you plead.
New York also applies its own consequences. Points are assessed on conviction. A speeding ticket costs 3 when you were up to 10 mph over, and the figure moves to 4 above 10 over, 6 above 20, 8 above 30 and 11 above 40. Handheld phone use or texting adds 5, and a red light, stop sign or failure to yield adds 3. Six points within 18 months triggers the DMV’s Driver Responsibility Assessment, charged each year for three years, and 11 points within 24 months can lead to suspension. Driving while suspended is aggravated unlicensed operation, a crime rather than a traffic infraction.
Insurance comes last on the bill but often costs the most. Insurers set premiums by their own rules from the convictions on your record, so the charge you finally plead to matters more than the fine attached to it.
How We Handle Erie County Tickets
The Law Offices of Isaac Abraham represents drivers with tickets returnable to courts across New York State, including Erie County. For most traffic infractions we appear on your behalf and you do not have to travel. Where a charge requires your presence, we tell you well before the date.
For Buffalo tickets we file the waiver of appearance and handle the plea offer with you before it lapses. New York drivers have left us more than 2,000 five-star reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
My ticket was written in Buffalo. Which court is it in?
If it is a non-criminal moving infraction, almost certainly the Buffalo Traffic Violations Agency. The city says some infractions are handled in Buffalo City Court, so check the court named on your ticket.
If I reject the Buffalo plea offer, can I get it back later?
According to the city, no. The original offer is not available at the hearing before the Judicial Hearing Officer.
I was stopped on the Thruway near Buffalo. Who wrote that ticket?
Usually State Police Troop T, which has a Buffalo station in Cheektowaga. The case still goes to the local court printed on the ticket.
What happens if I never answer a Buffalo ticket?
The Buffalo agency says your license will be suspended and you could later be found guilty by default. It also points out that driving while suspended is a crime.
Free Case Review
Whether you live in Western New York or far outside it, an Erie County ticket can be handled without guesswork. Call or text 646-397-9529, or use the form on this page, at no cost.