Out of state ticket!

From: "Ralf" Subject: Out-of-State Speeding Ticket Date: Thursday, February 10, 2005 11:18 AM

This week I had to make a rush trip to Virginia to visit a dear Uncle who had a heart attack. Had to speed up to pass a slow moving truck and just as I got around him, coming the other way was a State Trooper.. at the time I was doing 65 MPH,, sadly I found out I was in a 55MPH area. The trooper ticketed me and did not want to hear any excuses. Now I have the option of sending the fine or going back to Virginia and trying to plead my case. I do need all advice, good and bad.. first ticket in over 15 years. big concern is the possibility of increased insurance premiums. What happens if I just ignore the ticket, does the traffic court automatically judge me guilty,, etc. Any and all advice appreciated. thanks. RG

Reply to
Ralf
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
pick one

You cannot be convicted unless you make a plea and/or appear in court. Sending the fine in an envelope is usually an admission of guilty (e.g. guilty plea). Your insurance will not go up if you are not somehow convicted. But if you fail to appear a warrant for your arrest will be issued in that state. I assume that it will last for 7 years, but I'm not sure.

This has happened to me twice, and I just ignored the tickets because I did not plan I going back. I actually did, once, but I drove real careful.

There is a book by NOLO PRESS called "Fight Your Ticket and Win" that is absolutely great and covers this exact topic.

DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT A LAWYER.

-jk

----- Original Message ----- From: "Ralf" Newsgroups: alt.autos.ford Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 10:18 AM Subject: Out of state ticket!

Reply to
jk

From what you say, you have no grounds to contest the citation. It varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, but 10mph over is somewhat minor. You've also made no excuse for why you should not pay the fine.

As for not paying the ticket... that depends on the jurisdiction issue as well. If that state has a bi-lateral agreement with your state, you just may find your state tags your license.

It's your conscience, integrity, self respect, morals. You decide. If it was me, I would pay the fine and have done with it, and never have to worry about it again. I would hate to forget about it and then one day a couple of years later be passing through that state on a slow day and have some patrolman stop me and in front of family or friends, be hauled away in cuffs under arrest.... AND have to pay even more than the original ticket.

If you believe the ticket was wrong, you might write a letter to the court, sent along with your fine payment, explaining the circumstances (ie funeral situation or whatever), describe the patrolman as very professional, etc, but you are unable to return and fight the citation. It's "possible" they will take your fine, but not assess points. I have seen it work, but it's not something to count on.

I'm not a lawyer either... I am just a retired cop.

Hey! Spikey Likes IT!

1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
Reply to
Spike

Was the state trooper driving a Ford?

Rodney

Reply to
rodney

| > From: "Ralf" | > Subject: Out-of-State Speeding Ticket | > Date: Thursday, February 10, 2005 11:18 AM | >

| > This week I had to make a rush trip to Virginia to visit a dear Uncle who | > had a heart attack. Had to speed up to pass a slow moving truck and just as | > I got around him, coming the other way was a State Trooper.. at the time I | > was doing 65 MPH,, sadly I found out I was in a 55MPH area. The trooper | > ticketed me and did not want to hear any excuses. Now I have the option of | > sending the fine or going back to Virginia and trying to plead my case. I | > do need all advice, good and bad.. first ticket in over 15 years. big | > concern is the possibility of increased insurance premiums. What happens if | > I just ignore the ticket, does the traffic court automatically judge me | > guilty,, etc. | > Any and all advice appreciated. thanks. RG | | | Was the state trooper driving a Ford? | | Rodney | |

Reply to
Ralf

Wow, I think now you got the attention of people in this newsgroup.

:-P

Reply to
newsgroups01REMOVEME

Use your Ford credit card to pay the fine, WBMA. ;)

mike hunt

snipped-for-privacy@>

Reply to
MajorDomo

What about writing them a check for one dollar over the ticket amount, preventing them from cashing it?

Or was that just an urban legend I heard?

Matt

Reply to
sleepdog

Reply to
Brad Kraan

I'm licensed in North Carolina and was ticketed many years ago in South Carolina. I paid the ticket quickly without complaint because he caught me fair and square. My response was rewarded... SC never told NC about the ticket and I didn't get any insurance points.

You need to pay the ticket. Whether your state will enforce it or not, you don't want to be in the position of having an outstanding warrant for your arrest waiting for you in Virginia. Things like that have a nasty habit of popping up and biting you on the ass at the worst possible moment.

Reply to
Mortimer Schnerd, RN

If he shows up for the hearing. If he doesn't, case dismissed.

Even if he does, the judge might give you a decreased fine and decrease points.

You should see if the ticket will even show up on your record in the state in which you live.

If you are a member of AAA, you should ask them for advice.

The last time I got a speeding ticket, I had the option of writing the judge to explain the circumstances. I got a reduced fine. ANd the ticket didn't seem to affect my insurance rates.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

It is an urban legend.

Reply to
Jeff

If you lived in Canada, they would automatically issue a bench warrant for your arrest.... I think it has to do with some piffling little thing called "acting like an adult and accepting the responsibility of your actions".

The last time I got a speeding ticket, I was speeding... I admitted I was speeding..... if I didn't do that, I would be a liar..... if I lied about speeding, it would be easy for me to lie about other things..... and it would become difficult for people to figure out if I was lying or not.

Sorry... I got sidetracked...... I'm not picking on you in particular. Your post was there when I hit "reply". There are some responses (including yours) that suggest shirking responsibility is ... well, irresposnsible. I served many years on our local FD (and still instruct there). I've scraped many people off the pavement that thought they were "speeding safely". Given the latest trend of blaming our own shortcomings on outside influences I can only wonder where the learning curve went....

Reply to
Jim Warman

Hey! Spikey Likes IT!

1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
Reply to
Spike

Just mail the check and move on. Saves on travel & court costs. For 1 ticket in 15 years, your doing pretty good.

Reply to
Tiger

Yeah, but paying the fine and pleading guilty and increased insurance costs won't make you a better driver. Taking the appropriate courses and practicing the appropriate driving habits will.

In fact, taking responsibility for this won't help anything, except the local budget in that jurisdiction in VA. Unless you kill or injure someone or crash into another car, this is a victimless crime. (I am not talking about speeding in general, just the fact that you got caught.)

I am not saying you should not take responsibility for your actions. You broke the law and got caught. But, except for the reprocusions of not taking responsibility (like having a warrant for your arrest), I don't see how it matters.

And fixing tickets is a way of life:

formatting link
Besides. studies show that speeding doesn't kill. Differences in speed and poor driving do. The average speed on highways in uncongested areas is higher than the speed limit, while the death rate per million miles driven goes down year after year.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Not wanting to get drawn into a discussion on morals (but heading there anyway)..... Simply because people are doing something doesn't make that thing right. Fixing tickets, bribing building and meat inspectors, stealing figuring pads from work - people do this stuff but that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

As for speeding or other erratic behaviour being a victimless crime.... At milepost 40, it might be a fine... at milepost 42 it could be a headline.... "2 dead, 2 airlifted to hospital". Accidents happen and speeding is one of the major factors (notice I didn't say "cause" - accidents are usually caused by a group or chain of errors and/or omissions). Even if all the traffic is speeding at the same rate, we cover much more ground during our reaction time because of that.

You are correct saying that paying the fine and admitting guilt wont make us better drivers but the hit to the pocketbook and self-esteem should serve as a wake up call.

>
Reply to
Jim Warman

From this patrolman's experience, SPEED KILLS.

The biggest difference is that fast speed generally kills younger drivers and slow speed generally kills older drivers. Young drivers are more apt to go fast because they lack the fear factor which life's experience imparts. Older drivers tend to be far more cautious; even too cautious. They generally drive slower thus impeding the smooth flow of traffic. One of their worst is getting on or off the freeway. Unfortunately, in both cases, they quite often take innocent others with them.

Of course, it's not all speed. It's reaction times, too. The nature of that should be obvious.

It's also vehicle maintenance. Older drivers, especially on fixed incomes, have less available to spend on upkeep. Conversely, the younger drivers who are employed have the income to maintain good tires and the rest.

But, fast or slow, I'm one of the ones who spent a career picking up the broken pieces of the guilty as well as the innocents.

As for paying or not paying.... it's not my conscience. I guess I was raised in a different time; a time when personal responsibility and self respect were important issues. No, I don't like handing out my hard earned income for something I didn't want, but I would consider it my debt to society for what I did wrong, and the price I pay for the privilege of driving.... for driving is not a right, it is a privilege granted by the state. Those who advocate not paying cause me to question the basic morals of the society in which they live. It may seem trivial, but if they would skip out on a traffic ticket, what else would they be willing to do?

Not every>

Hey! Spikey Likes IT!

1965 Ford Mustang fastback 2+2 A Code 289 C4 Trac-Lok Vintage Burgundy w/Black Standard Interior Vintage 40 Wheels 16X8" w/BF Goodrich Comp T/A Radial 225/50ZR16
Reply to
Spike

Amen, Spike!!

I'm semi-retired from our local fire department (kind of a misnomer since the vast majority of our calls are for MVAs, these days). I still teach, amongst other things, vehicle extrication. We usually have a shortage of trained rescue techs since most of these calls require a very strong stomach.

Funny... not one person expects to have an accident..... those that haven't had the "pleasure" of experiencing a severe impact always think that accidents only happen to "the other guy". It is seldom realized that to "the other guy", "not me" IS "the other guy"...

Stay safe...

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.