NYS traffic tickets

[Zigma]

K, so I got a traffic ticket last week on the 21st. I could care less about the ticket/amount but I can't seem to pay it online. The fucking thing doesn't show up. For those who are curious, the officer was hiding like the douche that he was and a vehicle pulled up besides me, I swerved to the left to avoid him causing me to end up in the lane where it says Left lane MUST turn left and well.... I didn't turn left. Here is where I'm confused. Officer told me 40 bucks, ticket says $40 + $60. WTF?!

I'm just putting down my charge card information and mailing it in, is that a smart idea or can I just go to the DMV and pay it there for whatever the amount is?
Also, do traffic tickets add points to your license? I have none, just curious.


Thanks.

[Sythe]

60 bucks is for "proccesing" or some other bs. As far as points it depends on the charge. They can add points tho.

[Zigma]

$60 to process a fucking ticket? what the fuck lol. Sometimes I hate living in the city.

[Sythe]

Yup. honestly its in all big cities i guess. I went from NYC to LA and its the same bs

[Havent]

I'm sure the civil codes differ from CA, but this might help. www.ticketassassin.com - I've actually beat 2 speeding tickets through Trial by Declaration.

Why should you always fight your traffic ticket?

When you receive a traffic ticket, the court will usually suggest that you must appear twice to contest it: first to appear and plead not guilty and second to stand trial with the officer present. This is not true. You can contest your ticket by mail without making a single court appearance. Contesting your citation through the mail gives you a better chance of winning your case than at a court trial. Even if you seem to be guilty of violating the law, the procedural hassles for the prosecution will often lead to a dismissal. If the prosecution does not submit its version of events in writing to the court by the deadline date, your case will be dismissed regardless of your guilt or innocence. Dismissals due to lack of prosecution are won in approximately 30% of written defenses.

The law allows you to contest any traffic infraction entirely by mail. You can appear via mail through a Written Not Guilty Plea pursuant to CVC 40519(b). In your plea you can request a Trial by Written Declaration pursuant to CVC 40902. In this way you can contest your citation without appearing at all and, for reasons already discussed, will have a better chance of winning than at trial. Further, if you lose your trial by declaration, you have 20 days to request a Trial de Novo (new trial) pursuant to CVC 40902(d). You then can appear in court for the first time for your second chance of winning.

Why doesn't the court inform every defendant of their legal right to appear in court via mail (Written Not Guilty Plea), contest via mail (Trial by Written Declaration), and have a new trial (Trial de Novo) if they are not happy with the outcome of the first trial? Money. Most courtesy notices hardly mention or do not mention these rights at all. Many courtesy notices from California traffic courts begin, "To avoid the inconvenience and long lines associated with a court appearance... pay the bail amount listed above." The justice system uses its own bureaucratic inefficiency to discourage you from seeking justice. Nice.

If they even mention the possibility of contesting a citation, they also mention that this generally requires two court appearances, one to plead not guilty, a second for the actual trial. If you do appear in person to plead not guilty, most courts will make you enter your plea last, inconveniencing you to the maximum. Then it will ask you to return to court for a trial. The two days' pay lost through these two separate appearances amounts to more than the traffic fine for most people. This is why less than 1% of cited motorist ever bother to contest their citation. Ignorant of their legal rights, confused and intimidated by the courts and police, 99% of Californians ticketed simply pay up.

The California Traffic Court System extorts over a billion dollars a year from California citizens by keeping us ignorant of our rights. They confuse and intimidate us with a muddled "courtesy" notice mentioning license suspension and jail as possibilities (these are only possibilities for those who ignore the citation entirely). The courts also benefit from the inherent respect most people have for the police that keeps them from questioning the officers' often-arbitrary decision to issue a citation.

California traffic courts use the formality of the courthouse to further intimidate those brave enough to appear, scaring them into pleading guilty or accepting an assignment to attend traffic school. The court strong-arms the majority of defendants, too busy or too intimidated to appear, to surrender without a fight: we collapse like a piece of IKEA furniture and meekly mail in the protection money hoping these bullies will leave us alone. By sustaining this proctological racket, California traffic courts rake in a small fortune for state, county, and local governments. Al Capone would be proud.

The court has done its best to discourage you from contesting your ticket. My site is designed to expose the not-so-scary Wizard of Oz hiding behind the trappings and formality of the law. You can contest your ticket by mail without a single court appearance. You can win your case with a single letter. You can exercise your right as a citizen to be heard. The state-sponsored car tax via unfair citation can be overcome.

[Kurp]

A $60 processing fee is like Ticketmaster on crack.

[archibaldcrane]

Thanks for that website tip, I just got a speeding ticket (80 in a 65 at 2 a.m.) here in California, I might try the mail-in stuff to see if I get lucky.

[Nightbreed]

When I got my ticket it took over a month to appear online, during that time I called in twice and the lady told me not to worry about paying it until you see it online. It took almost 40 days for it to appear online, so you can either wait it out or mail it.

[Lampoon]

Or you can drive there and pay in person.

[Zigma]

Fuck that, I'm too lazy to be bothered with all that waiting. I'll just plead guilty and pay. There is a DMV across where I work, I'll go there later today. What I don't want however is points in my license.


Thanks all.

[Lampoon]

You won't get points for making a wrong turn. Relax.

[Quixon]

I can't believe all the bullshit you guys go through in California. All the tickets I've gotten in NY the officer always told me to Plea by Mail.

That never results in you getting out of the ticket though unfortunately, you just get a court date in the mail in a month or so.

[Titanss]

Weird I just got like a $104 ticket here for no tags, insurance and two no seat belts cause for some fucked up reason you are responsible for your passengers .. Who Knew!

[0ni0n]

Weird I just got like a $104 ticket here for no tags, insurance and two no seat belts cause for some fucked up reason you are responsible for your passengers .. Who Knew!

I got a ticket for $130ish for not signaling before moving from the right lane to the left. It was 2am Friday night somewhere remote in delaware, there was absolutely no car in a half mile radius, except for the cop car who hid behind a bush.

[Lampoon]

Bored cops are the worst.

[Titanss]

^ get this.. I'm on the highway and I see the idiot cop a mile up, make sure I'm going 70 ya know because my windows are tinted who the fuck thinks can he see a seat belt.. anyway fucker pulls out. I look at my brother and think you got to be kidding me, maybe he's getting this asshole doing at least 80 beside me .. nope dude gets off the exit, I get the blue lights. "You know why I pulled you over today?" , "Umm fuck no", "Wearing no seat belt." Gee I didn't know they were hiring cops with superman powers able to see a person without a seat belt going 70mph 500 yards from him through tint.. jc

Edit: for 1 poster before

[jmc]

Weird I just got like a $104 ticket here for no tags, insurance and two no seat belts cause for some fucked up reason you are responsible for your passengers .. Who Knew!

Only $104?......

Here in MA:

No tags: Towed car, $200 fine + Tow lot fees

No insurance: Arrestable Offense (required by law to have insurance) $250 fine

No Seatbelts: $25 each

[Lampoon]

My cousin got 2 tickets $80 each for not having child seat for his 6 1/2 year old boys. Both were buckled in by regular seat belt in the back seat. The NY law requires you to have child seat untill they are 7. Buying child seats every 2-3 years because they grow is a scam imo.

Some laws are just retarded or rather aimed at retards, but it's the law abiding people who get the brunt of it.

[jmc]

My cousin got 2 tickets $80 each for not having child seat for his 6 1/2 year old boys. Both were buckled in by regular seat belt in the back seat. The NY law requires you to have child seat untill they are 7. Buying child seats every 2-3 years because they grow is a scam imo.

Some laws are just retarded or rather aimed at retards, but it's the law abiding people who get the brunt of it.

or to.... you know, prevent a kid from going through a windshield in the event of a car accident?

and yes, I have seen a child get injured after slipping out of his seatbelt during a car accident. It was a freak accident, but still happened.

[Lampoon]

Right, because 6 1/2 and 7 years is such a big difference.