Traffic violation procedures

Michael Perez5 said:Great... so I guess that option is off the table now? It doesn't exactly sound like my best idea to just roll up to the DMV and ask them to stamp my driver's license...

What should I do? Maybe I should file an official appeal?

Honestly, you can't... there isn't much left to do at this point :-(

Your best bet is to just head down there and make some noise, because if you don't show up, they'll probably just tack on another misdemeanor (I think $167) and then you'll have the local police breathing down your neck to collect it...

The only thing is, if the timing is just terrible right now, you could try dropping by and asking the clerk—strictly off the record, of course—if they could push it back a month or two and just give you a call later... it’s definitely not how things are supposed to work, but hey, if they're feeling generous...

Look... I can't just hand over my driver's license. If I lose that, I'm basically one step away from being on welfare. I wouldn't mind paying the fine, but how am I supposed to explain to them that giving up my license isn't an option?

How could I even frame a valid reason for why I didn't file an appeal immediately, and instead, I'm sending it now after two months have passed?

What kind of excuse would actually work here?

urbanraven16 said:Oh, Michael Perez5... seriously, how did nobody give you a heads-up on this disaster? :-(

It’s pretty much over now... once they hand you that citation on the spot, it doesn't matter if you haven't paid yet—the clock starts ticking the very next day for your window to contest it... if you wanted to stop that citation from becoming final, you had to file an appeal within eight days...

But now it's official, and you've already missed the deadline to try and roll back the whole mess...

Unfortunately, there isn't much left to do, so you're looking at turning in your driver's license, and you'll have to cough up the fine plus all the extra fees, otherwise they'll just send it to collections through the IRS, and if that fails, things could get even uglier with potential jail time...

It really is a shame, because there was a decent shot at getting a suspended license instead or maybe even a lighter fine...

Man, for crying out loud, didn't any lawyer around here think to give this guy a little advice before it hit the fan?!

Just head back over to page 4 of this thread, the whole mess is laid out right there... along with all the suggestions about filing a formal complaint, obviously...

I guess I have a whole pile of advice on why I shouldn't write him...

Michael Perez5 said:I guess I have a whole pile of advice on why I shouldn't write him...

I mean, what can you do? It’s what happens when you start listening to some guy down at the local diner instead of actual lawyers...

Look, I’ll admit I was being stupid, but there is just no way I can give up my driver's license. If I lose it, I’m basically screwed—I'll be on welfare. I don't mind paying the fine, but how am I supposed to explain to them that losing my license would leave me completely destitute?

How could I possibly frame a valid reason for why I didn't file an appeal immediately, but am instead trying to do it now, two months later?

What kind of excuse might actually work?

edit:
So, I just got off the phone with some lawyers... and apparently, just like urbanraven16 mentioned earlier, I might be able to delay the suspension until a time that works better for me. But there is absolutely no way to keep my license without facing a suspension. Man, this sucks... I honestly can't believe it...

Is there ANY chance I can get everything reverted to how it was and still file my appeal??
Does anyone here happen to know?

I... I didn't do anything wrong... I mean, the streetlights just weren't working 😢
Do you think a lawyer could actually help me out here?

urbanraven16 said:Oh, Michael Perez5... seriously, how did nobody give you a heads-up on this disaster? :-(

It’s pretty much over now... once they hand you that citation on the spot, it doesn't matter if you haven't paid yet—the clock starts ticking the very next day for your window to contest it... if you wanted to stop that citation from becoming final, you had to file an appeal within eight days...

But now it's official, and you've already missed the deadline to try and roll back the whole mess...

Unfortunately, there isn't much left to do, so you're looking at turning in your driver's license, and you'll have to cough up the fine plus all the extra fees, otherwise they'll just send it to collections through the IRS, and if that fails, things could get even uglier with potential jail time...

It really is a shame, because there was a decent shot at getting a suspended license instead or maybe even a lighter fine...

Man, for crying out loud, didn't any lawyer around here think to give this guy a little advice before it hit the fan?!

Wait, what's the deadline? Is there really no way at all to undo this and get back to the previous status?

Look, they aren't actually going to snatch your license away from you. What happens is you get slapped with a suspension—basically a "do not drive" order from point A to point B. I went through the exact same thing for six months. If you absolutely, positively have to be behind the wheel during that window, just slide some other paperwork, like an insurance card or a medical ID, into your wallet behind your license so the stamp doesn't show. Just grit your teeth and drive. I managed to pull off six months like that, but honestly? I wouldn't do it again. You're playing with fire, and you could end up in a way bigger mess than this. But hey... maybe luck is on your side.

Could someone please enlighten me—what specific violation actually led to his license being suspended?

To be honest, I’ve completely lost track of my own appeals and what comes next, let alone where my payment slips are—God knows. But there isn't much to it; I think it was just one or two infractions... Oh, and they finally served me the ruling from the Supreme Court before the two-year mark hit. They aren't lagging behind anymore; you can't just wait out the statute of limitations that easily.

PS: Michael Perez5, regarding that appeal you wrote about—even though you can't file it anymore—just a tip for the future: it sounds way too (way, way too) irritating and combative. I doubt anyone (whether it's the Police or the Courts) would take you seriously. You need to swallow your pride a little, or at least pretend to. Act a bit scattered, maybe play the victim—act naive, kind, or even a little dim-witted 😬 —that's how you write petitions. Not the way you do.

I just show my driver's license to the police officer and that’s basically it—there's no way around it. But I wonder, is there any chance these $333 could be paid off in installments? The officer handed me a payment slip with $333 on it.

Michael Perez5 said:Wait, what's the deadline? Is there really no way at all to undo this and get back to the previous status?

The deadline is technically a month from when you missed it, provided you file everything within eight days once whatever excuse you had actually ends.

But honestly, at this point, it’s pretty much over—game over, nothing left to save... though if you really need some kind of miracle to get them to reconsider, you’d better have some heavy-duty documentation to back up your claims, like an actual hospital stay or a death in the immediate family or something serious like that...

Regarding these $333 fines, maybe you could try paying them in installments... I mean, if this were a local courthouse, they might be flexible, but with the police department, who knows... maybe you should call their expedited processing unit directly and just see what they say...

No installment plan available... I checked earlier, and now that I'm back home, I just saw the order...
A three-month driver's license suspension under Section 137, Subsection 2??? Why on earth is it three months? Does anyone have access to that statute or know where I can look it up?

I honestly thought it was only going to be one month 😢

Michael Perez5 said:No installment plan available... I checked earlier, and now that I'm back home, I just saw the order...
A three-month driver's license suspension under Section 137, Subsection 2??? Why on earth is it three months? Does anyone have access to that statute or know where I can look it up?

I honestly thought it was only going to be one month 😢

That's what happens when you fail to stop at a railroad crossing after a whistle, light, or signal goes off...

The minimum is $333, and the max is 3 months without a license, plus a fixed 2 points on your record.

The police are technically limited by the warrant to give you the smallest penalty allowed, which is what they gave you, $333, but they aren't restricted within the range of protective measures—meaning they handed you the absolute maximum possible...

Honestly, the local police department did everything strictly by the book, so there’s really no way to overturn this now... if you had just protested like crazy while it was happening, maybe you could argue the protective measure was too harsh... but instead, you were probably busy arguing with some officer about nothing... or whatever...

The only thing you can do, assuming you have some income, is not pay those $333 immediately; just wait until the police forward it to the court for forced collection, then to the IRS, and by the time the IRS tries to garnish you, you'll have bought yourself a few months of breathing room...

Similarly, if the IRS can't collect within six months, the court might try to substitute that with jail time, but they have to send you an official notice with the right to appeal first, so once you get that, you pay and mail (absolutely!) the receipt to the court... also, don't even think about trying to dodge being served that notice... meanwhile, you can keep stacking up those $333...

Unfortunately, that’s pretty much all there is left to do...

Look, it isn't even about the thousand bucks; it’s the three months of losing my license that really worries me... because if I'm stuck without driving privileges for three months, then $3.25 is going to be a massive headache.

I wasn't actually getting into an argument with the officer... I just had my registration updated in a small town in the Midwest... so it looks like things might go...

Does anyone happen to know the name of the Chief of the local police department and where that station is located?
I would be incredibly grateful for any info...

urbanraven16, thanks so much for the advice and for taking the time to help...

Sorry to jump in like this, I know everyone here loves debating traffic violations, but I'm at work and things are pretty hectic right now, so I can't really dig through every single comment. Could someone just give me a quick answer?

So, here's the deal:
A colleague of mine was pulled over for a DUI back in July 2005. She showed up for her court date, but after the verdict was handed down, she filed an appeal—I don't know all the specifics, honestly—but then, just about a week later, she got notice that she has to pay $500, lose her driver's license for three months, and pick up three points on her record.

What I'm wondering is, hasn't the statute of limitations run out by now? Does she actually have any grounds to appeal this again?

Thanks so much for the help.

Brian Lopez8 said:That’s precisely my point, I suppose; one really ought to head down to the courthouse on the day a ruling becomes final and request access to the case files through the clerk's office, perhaps even bringing along some witnesses to formally verify that the statute of limitations hadn't already expired by the time the decision was handed down...

Of course, that is all just somewhat theoretical, isn't it? When you consider how things actually play out in practice, well, I must admit I am feeling rather skeptical about the whole thing...🙄

I don't know, man. I haven't heard of anything like this ever happening before,
and I suspect it might set a massive precedent... let them try, I guess...
Great theory, though. Truly.👍

I just got slapped with a ticket for using my phone while driving. The officer asked if I had any prior citations for phone use, and when I told him no, he just casually started writing me up anyway. He told me I could appeal it, but basically said I’d just end up with a formal warning—which doesn't really help since a warning isn't a thing if you already have a violation on your record within the year.
I tried submitting an appeal, but they rejected it because I already have a citation from earlier this year, even though it wasn't for a phone violation.
So, what's the move here? Do I try filing another formal protest, or am I just stuck with this?

So what’s the actual goal here? Pay more, pay less, or just keep dragging this along until everything becomes obsolete?
Because honestly—this thread is just an absolute firehose of information. 😬

Thomas Miller80 said:So what’s the actual goal here? Pay more, pay less, or just keep dragging this along until everything becomes obsolete?
Because honestly—this thread is just an absolute firehose of information. 😬

I don't want to pay. And honestly, I don't get the deal with this warning—this is my first time ever getting cited for something like this.