New York playing big silent type

Out of State Tickets

An attorney says a Floridian driving in New York will not have a ticket reported to her home state. He may be right. But New York would report more serious offenses (DUI) to Florida.

Generally, though, most states report traffic violations to the home state under the Driver License Compact.. There's a catchy motto: "One Driver, One License, One Record."

Noise Ticket

One poster on Yahoo Answers thinks he can beat his noise ticket because the officer didn't have any measuring equipment. This guy should read the ordinance.

But it's likely the judge is going to rate the officer's testimony as expert opinion. Wish cops wrote more noise tickets in my town.


---brought to you by How to Beat a Traffic Ticket

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It's back ...............

The fake "you got a ticket in New York" email we first reported July 8 is apparently making the rounds again.

Even the Wall Street Journal ran a story.

Key advice: don't download the ticket.


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Marshal selling 1/2 price tickets?

One Connecticut marshal allegedly approached defendants and offered to "fix" their tickets at half price, cash. When given the money, he pleaded "nolle" for them.

Since prosecutors claim he pocketed the cash and pleading nolo contendre doesn't normally make the fine go away, it's unclear what happened to the cases. The marshal's attorney intends to contest the charges.

If you get an email from New York saying here's a traffic ticket, delete it. The state troopers say they don't send you traffic tickets electronically. Their lab is analyzing the ticket the email wants you to download.


---how to fight a traffic ticket, step by step: ebook and free articles

Image courtesy of nixxphotography

100,000 tickets found & California changes traffic school

We reported June 2 that Greenburgh, NY is unearthing tickets from as far back as 2000 and charging people.

We didn't report that they'd reportedly discovered 100,000 misplaced tickets because we didn't believe it. But here's another report that says, indeed, the court found that many tickets "crammed into cabinets and buried in corners".

This town of 86,764 was apparently losing almost 25 tickets a day for 11 years. Surely somebody in all that time came in, wondering what happened to their ticket?

Traffic school in California will no longer keep a point off your DMV record as of July 1. The ticket will still be hidden from insurance. Ouch.

Apple no longer accepts DUI checkpoint apps for sale on its Iphone. It's hard to believe that someone checks his Iphone for DUI spots before choosing where to drink. Or that afterwards, she's sharp enough to review the DUI app.


---brought to you by How to Beat a Traffic Ticket: The Six Steps Guide
Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook or instant PDF download

Image courtesy of Bill Longshaw

Cop writes ticket, then asks for date

A little extra with your traffic ticket? One Indiana woman got a speeding ticket--with the officer's phone number on the back. He allegedly asked for a date. The officer has since retired,
amidst an investigation. Hopefully he's working on his timing.

Get a ticket in California--and you contribute to a slew of state causes. In the last 2 years, legislators have tacked on fees. So you're not only paying your traffic citation--you're kicking in for a state conviction fee, new courthouse construction, and emergency air transport services. The legislature is thinking of adding spinal cord injury research and DNA identification.

Right, right--traffic tickets are about deterrence. Not revenue. Sure.

New York drivers will now get 2 points if convicted of using a cell phone while driving. Previously the charge reportedly involved a fine but no points.


Image courtesy of Idea go

You know it's a bad day when ...

You know he's having a bad day when a person ....

---leads the police on a merry chase, then climbs up on the roof and pelts them with tiles

---steals a computer which photographs him in his car and sends pictures to the owner

---posts a threat to the chief of police on Craigslist over a traffic ticket

Diamonds aren't the only thing that lasts forever. Greenburgh, New York thinks traffic tickets do. A new court administrator found thousands of open tickets, some from the 1990s. The town is trying to collect on those from issued in 2000 and later.

Some people are complaining they already paid the tickets 11 years ago. But they can't prove it--who keeps records that long? (Well, probably my dad.) They may be right. A town that can sit on all those tickets for so long might be a little sloppy in connecting payments too.

---How to Beat a Traffic Ticket: The Six Steps Guide
Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook or instant PDF download

Image: graur razvan ionut

Can someone stand in for the officer in court?

A law student recently had a traffic ticket. When he arrived at court, the officer wasn't there. But a woman told him she was appearing for the officer. Huh?

The Sixth Amendment to the US Constitution provides

"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to ... be confronted with the witnesses against him ..."

Since the woman wasn't at the traffic stop, she cannot be a witness against the driver. She can't be cross-examined because she has no firsthand knowledge of the incident.

If she's trying to represent the officer, is she an attorney? Is the unlicensed practice of law a crime in that state? (Probably--lawyers have a strong lobby.) She still can't testify.

Your questioning of her might proceed like this:

You: Does the United States Constitution apply in this state?

Her: Yes

You: Are you familiar with the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution? ....



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A New York police officer was in his car writing a ticket when an allegedly drunk driver rammed him from behind. Unfazed, the officer finished issuing the traffic ticket before going to the hospital. The driver who struck his car drove off, to be apprehended by other police.

St. Clair County, Illinois is having a clean up day. Anyone with a minor traffic warrant can come in to try and settle up. They promise there'll be no arrests.


Image courtesy of Graeme Weatherston

Vigorous defense -- but no lying

Don't get too creative in your defense when fighting a traffic ticket. One New York man is now charged with perjury for allegedly lying during his traffic ticket trial. Some day it's better to just stay in bed.

Elgin, Illinois is moving towards electronic tickets. Yesterday we reported on Oklahoma highways doing the same thing.

Pay the DA and walk away?

In some New York counties, if a driver pays a fee to the District Attorney's office and goes to traffic school, the DA will ask for a dismissal or not prosecute the traffic ticket. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct questions the practice.

I wonder what people would think if the driver paid the judge (instead of the court) and went to traffic school and the ticket got dismissed? Is there a difference?

Nevada has a requirement that police departments audit their traffic tickets twice a year. There is a proposal to reduce that to annually.

How to Beat a Traffic Ticket: The Six Steps Guide. Available for just 99 cents from Kindle or Nook. Or instant PDF download