"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/21/2014 at 09:00 • Filed to: None
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"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
01/21/2014 at 09:00 • Filed to: None | 0
| 16 |
My wife is in VA helping her mom move into a retirement home, and she got a ticket for running a red light in her mom's car. My wife said it was yellow, the cop said it was red, and you know how that discussion is going to end. I guess she forgot she wasn't in Texas, where red lights are treated as more of a polite request than a requirement to stop. Anyway, she thinks the ticket is $50, which seems paltry to me, and 4 pts. I have no idea how points work since I've never gotten a ticket (knock on wood). A friend said she should just pay the ticket and ignore the points, since our insurance company will likely never find out about it since it occurred out of state. Anybody out there with more experience with this sort of thing?
timateo81
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 09:09 |
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Google. Most states have this , which means those points are going to find their way back to your insurance company.
You have to decide what's best for you. If you're worried about points and money and stuff like that, it may be worth it to hire a lawyer in VA to represent you in court. They are good and may be able to get charges reduced or dismissed, which may favor you financially over the long run.
I was ticketed for 15-over out-of-state last year. I hired a lawyer who was able to get the charges dropped for court costs (which were included in the ticket already, so I would've paid them whether I went to court or not), plus I had to take an online defensive driving course (was like $50) and prove that I passed. I also had to pay the lawyer, which wasn't terrible. They represented me and I never even had to set foot in that state. again, I didn't save any money up front, but without those points on my insurance I'm not risking an insurance rate increase which DOES save me money. Also, the state where I live treats out-of-state offenses as though they happened in-state, and 15-over is grounds for license suspension for some period of time (at least a month).
Nick, Drives a Cobalt LT
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 09:10 |
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Since it is so far out of state I would say pay it and call it done.
If it was local I would fight it and explain to them that the light was yellow.
Jagvar
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 09:12 |
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Virginia is ruthless. I got a ticket for running a red in Arlington, VA (again, fairly certain it was actually yellow) but I remember it being much more than a $50 fine. I think 4 points is right, though.
Certain states count out-of-state points against your driving record and others don't. Here in Virginia, I think any points you accrue in any state count. I don't know if Texas is the same.
offroadkarter
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 09:13 |
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Find out if points from VA show up in TX. They are so far apart its very likely that they don't. NJ points don't show up on a PA license and they are right next to each other.
If you do have to fight it, hire a lawyer in the area thats well known with the local Judges (and not in a bad way, don't hire Lionel Hutz) and have them represent your wife so she doesn't have to be there in person.
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timateo81
> Jagvar
01/21/2014 at 09:14 |
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I think it's worth pointing out that license points and insurance points are different, not always apple-to-apple, and usually the insurance companies are more ruthless than state bureaucracies.
Squid
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 09:16 |
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The points will cost you in the long run, the states DMV's are now starting to talk to each other. Before the internet that may have been true about them never knowing but I wouldn't bet on it. A lawyer may be your best option to lessen the financial blow longterm by getting the points dropped or the charges dropped.
consult a lawyer or pay the fine and pay the insurance company in the long run.
Textured Soy Protein
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 12:33 |
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ttyymmnn
> Textured Soy Protein
01/21/2014 at 13:35 |
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SCMODS!
Axial
> Jagvar
01/21/2014 at 19:49 |
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Arlington also hates cars though, and is basically a crappy place to live if you love motoring. Prince William County, on the other hand, is pretty lenient. Unless you got the 26 year-old "Fuckin' New Guy" pulling you over for doing the speed of traffic simply because he's got a quota and you've got a Corvette. Then it sucks.
The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 20:01 |
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I got my first ticket for "running a red". It was a 45mph road, big intersection, in the middle of nowhere, far from home, and it was a close call. I very well might have run it. But the cop was kinda a dick about it. He could have seen that I was nowhere near home and that it was my first ticket after 9 years of driving. So I figured I would contest it. Dumb folks scheduled me on the wrong day. Basically, the town schedules all of their cases on a Friday, and they put me on a Thursday. I figured since they didn't show up and it was not my fault they scheduled me on the wrong day, they would throw it out since they, in my mind, "failed" to meet their court date. Nope. I rescheduled and since I would be in school for the date they scheduled, they had to push it back pretty far. By the time the court date came around, the cop forgot all the details and the judge threw out the case.
From what I've heard, you should never "just pay it" because you basically admit guilt. I say contest it. Try to arrange it with a holiday visit to the in-laws. Maybe by then the cop will forget the details as well. If that doesn't work, could your wife do an online traffic course to keep it off her record?
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ttyymmnn
> The Opponaut formerly known as MattP123
01/21/2014 at 20:08 |
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It's too far away to bother with contesting it. This would be my wife's second ticket (she caused an accident a few years ago) and defensive driving kept her record clean. I imagine we'll go that route again. Thanks for the reply.
TwoFortified
> ttyymmnn
01/21/2014 at 23:01 |
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Huh. Here in Washington (because apparently LEOs are halfway decent) the same thing happened to me several years ago (yes, I was EVEN YOUNGER...I think I was probably 17...and it was late on a Friday...). I said yellow, he said red, I assured him yellow, he gave me the "no, really" eyes, and I held firm.
Got off with a warning that obviously never materialized into a ticket because I, like your mother and all other decent drivers, don't blow through red lights. That cop is a dick.
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ttyymmnn
> TwoFortified
01/21/2014 at 23:15 |
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It's Virginia. My wife wouldn't have gotten that ticket in TX.
X-cchannel-M
> ttyymmnn
01/22/2014 at 15:21 |
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Contest the ticket, even if you don't hire a lawyer. If the trooper does not show up for the court date the ticket may be dismissed. If he does, just explain the circumstances and the penalty may be reduced. Worst case is you end up paying what you would anyway. Totally worth it in my book.
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ttyymmnn
> X-cchannel-M
01/22/2014 at 15:23 |
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How does on go about contesting an out of state ticket? I'm not going to fly back to VA for traffic court.
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X-cchannel-M
> ttyymmnn
01/22/2014 at 15:29 |
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Sorry, assumed you lived in DC or MD.