My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of California.

I've been cited for 21655.5B, improper use of the carpool lane. Unfortunately I don't think I have a good enough case for contesting the fine to convince a judge, so I'm hoping to get the fine reduced ($446 seems a little steep).

It seems like one option is contesting by mail but that doesn't seem likely to lead to a reduction. Please let me know if I'm wrong.

The other option is to appear in court. I've heard that sometimes judges will offer a reduced fine in exchange for a guilty plea. Does anyone have experience with this?

If anyone has advice on what strategies are most likely to lead to a reduced fine, I'd love to hear from you. Thanks.