Help with a traffic ticket issue

[luvsJack]

Ignition keys can get stuck. Either you can not turn the key off or you just can't get the key out. I have had it happen. Old cars, old keys, too much junk on my key ring--take your pick, it will cause it to happen. And she may have realized what was happening when she stopped to get gas.



OP, take the ticket to court, let your dd explain what happened and see what happens. If the judge finds her gulity, you pay the fine, which you would have had to do anyway. If the judge does not find her guilty, then you don't have to pay the fine.

You would be surprised at how many traffic tickets are dismissed once they go to court. The officer is doing his job by writing the ticket for something that he saw your daughter do; its the job of the judge to decide if she should pay the fine.

 

[Hannathy]

Ignition keys can get stuck. Either you can not turn the key off or you just can't get the key out. I have had it happen. Old cars, old keys, too much junk on my key ring--take your pick, it will cause it to happen. And she may have realized what was happening when she stopped to get gas.



OP, take the ticket to court, let your dd explain what happened and see what happens. If the judge finds her gulity, you pay the fine, which you would have had to do anyway. If the judge does not find her guilty, then you don't have to pay the fine.

You would be surprised at how many traffic tickets are dismissed once they go to court. The officer is doing his job by writing the ticket for something that he saw your daughter do; its the job of the judge to decide if she should pay the fine.

And I do believe in going to court if you have been wrongly accused BUT what message does it send to her DD who did break the law and wasn't wrongly accused to go and try to get the judge to dismiss it?

It is pretty plain that she broke the rules.

 

[lillygator]

did op say how the cop knew it was her daughter?

 

[Hannathy]

I was thinking, If this is a very special permit that is pretty rarely given, Do you really want to make a stink about it? and have a Judge reopen why it is needed? And why the rules aren't being followed. IMO I would pay the fine as quickly and quietly as possible and hope it flies under the radar to be looked at again as to whether it is needed and not have it revoked.

 

[dakcp2001]

She broke the rules, pay the ticket. Instead of looking for ways to blame the cop, how about teaching your daughter about following the rules and accountability.

And if you do fight the ticket, you need a better story than they key got stuck. I am not buying it. My guess is the cop didn't eihter, and nor will the judge. And if something is wrong with the car, you call someone. Perhaps now is a good time to learn about AAA.

 

[luvsJack]

And I do believe in going to court if you have been wrongly accused BUT what message does it send to her DD who did break the law and wasn't wrongly accused to go and try to get the judge to dismiss it?

It is pretty plain that she broke the rules.

The judge has the ability to listen to extinuating (sp?) circumstances and then he/she can decide it is enough to dismiss the ticket.

As for the message to her daughter? To use our court system for the reasons it was intended.

 

[dakcp2001]

The judge has the ability to listen to extinuating (sp?) circumstances and then he/she can decide it is enough to dismiss the ticket.

As for the message to her daughter? To use our court system for the reasons it was intended.

You call it extenuating circumstances, I call it poor judgement. This is why 15 year olds should not be driving alone. Where is that actually allowed anyway? Seems so dangerous.

 

[JodiR]

Sorry.. This is too complicated of a story/too much involved to put on here and explain correctly.

The cop knew who she was because all the officers know who has a school permit and who is 16 or older.

I asked to see the video... I was told I have to subpeona through my lawyer.

The cop told me he knew who she was. I just want to know why he waited until she got home to ticket her. No one is giving me answers. I called the chief of police and he laughed at me.

As for hearsay.. the police say they are told all the time of kids driving around on school permits. How do these people know where they are going?

I guess I am just rambling....

 

[Princess Dolly]

What was your point in calling the chief? Were you looking to file a complaint? Once a UTC has been written there is no taking it back.

 

[dakcp2001]

Sorry.. This is too complicated of a story/too much involved to put on here and explain correctly.

The cop knew who she was because all the officers know who has a school permit and who is 16 or older.

I asked to see the video... I was told I have to subpeona through my lawyer.

The cop told me he knew who she was. I just want to know why he waited until she got home to ticket her. No one is giving me answers. I called the chief of police and he laughed at me.

As for hearsay.. the police say they are told all the time of kids driving around on school permits. How do these people know where they are going?

I guess I am just rambling....

It is irrelevant. And only he knows whyt he did that. It could be for a million different reasons. Maybe he wanted to see where she was headed. Maybe he wanted to see how far off course she would go. Maybe he wanted to finish his donut. It doesn't really have any bearing on why she got the ticket.

 

[Tozzie]

If the key was stuck in the ignition and she was already at a gas station why didn't the girl ask them for help?

 

[LisaR]

Sorry.. This is too complicated of a story/too much involved to put on here and explain correctly.

The cop knew who she was because all the officers know who has a school permit and who is 16 or older.

I asked to see the video... I was told I have to subpeona through my lawyer.

The cop told me he knew who she was. I just want to know why he waited until she got home to ticket her. No one is giving me answers. I called the chief of police and he laughed at me.

As for hearsay.. the police say they are told all the time of kids driving around on school permits. How do these people know where they are going?

I guess I am just rambling....

I don't understand why you are concerned about WHERE he gave her the ticket? How long did he follow her? Was he tailing her for an hour?

I'm guessing he was running her plates and waiting for that info to come back before pulling her over and he was waiting to see where she was going since it appeared to him that she was going somewhere she wasn't allowed to go. I don't get why this is an issue for you. Unfortunately, your DD screwed up. It doesn't matter if he ticketed her in your driveway or a mile back. It is what it is.

As someone who may have been pulled over a few or more times in my life, I can assure you the cops generally do exactly what they did to your daughter. They follow you for awhile until you are nice and nervous and then they hit their lights. I've always assumed they are using the time to run plates and watch your behavior.

 

[daughtersrus]

I don't get that one either. And maybe I've just been lucky but I can honestly say I have never had a key get stuck before in 30+ years of driving.

I don't think that it's very common (in almost 30 years that DH has been an auto tech, he's never had one), but if I did, the last thing that I would do is pull into the garage and leave a car running.

 

[crashbb]

Sorry.. This is too complicated of a story/too much involved to put on here and explain correctly.

The cop knew who she was because all the officers know who has a school permit and who is 16 or older.

I asked to see the video... I was told I have to subpeona through my lawyer.

The cop told me he knew who she was. I just want to know why he waited until she got home to ticket her. No one is giving me answers. I called the chief of police and he laughed at me.

As for hearsay.. the police say they are told all the time of kids driving around on school permits. How do these people know where they are going?

I guess I am just rambling....

I still don't get the hearsay thing. Your daughter WAS off the route and the police officer SAW your daughter while she was off the route. That isn't hearsay - that is a witnessed event. Hearsay would be if someone told the officer that your daughter was off her route and he never witnessed it yourself. Being warned that it is happening often is not hearsay - it's a heads up. Like officers being told that a certain neighbourhood was having a lot of thefts.

 

[Princess Dolly]

Is this in Texas?

 

[Tozzie]

My dd is 15 and has a school permit. She turns 16 in August.

She was picked up for being off the route yesterday. She went to get gas and was going to a baseball game at the school. Her ignition key was stuck so she was going to drive to my sisters house (yes.. 2 blocks off the route) to get help. She saw a cop following her and she panicked and started turning (never went to my sisters).

A cop saw her and followed her until she got to our house. She had already pulled into the garage. He motioned for her to come to his car. He then told her to stand at the trunk of the cop car. She received a ticket and a big fine.

I want to know why he waited until she got home to give her the ticket. The cop told me today when I called that he knew she was 15 and had a school permit. So there is no excuse that he had to put the car plate in the computer, etc. She was not speeding, not drinking, not texting. He knew who she was..

No one will give me an answer.. I want to know why he did not stop her the minute she made a wrong turn. He followed her for over a mile.

He asked if the parents were home (we were not).

I just feel this whole process was handled wrong. Yes she did something wrong but I was told they are basing the reasoning of giving a ticket vs. a warning on hearsay. That is not admissable in court.

It wasn't handled wrong at all, well at least on the police end of it. I would have laughed at you too if you called up with such nonsense. The officer may issue the summons at anytime after he witnesses it. Your questions are a pathetic attempt at trying not to take personal responsibility. Pay the fine and teach your daughter that all actions have consequences.

 

[LisaR]

One more thing, OP'er. I have no clue how these special license deals work for 15 y/o, but if your sister is really that close to this route that your DD takes, can't you add her on to this permit so she can go there if she has a problem? That way so won't be off the route next time.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Sorry.. This is too complicated of a story/too much involved to put on here and explain correctly.

The cop knew who she was because all the officers know who has a school permit and who is 16 or older.

I asked to see the video... I was told I have to subpeona through my lawyer.

The cop told me he knew who she was. I just want to know why he waited until she got home to ticket her. No one is giving me answers. I called the chief of police and he laughed at me.

As for hearsay.. the police say they are told all the time of kids driving around on school permits. How do these people know where they are going?

I guess I am just rambling....

How complicated can it be? Your daughter has a restricted permit, she was driving somewhere that she is not allowed, a police officer(who may know her from school?) saw her, knew she was on a restricted permit, knew that she was in a location that she was prohibited from, followed her while maybe/maybe not running her plates, waited until she was safely at home where a responsible adult may be, and cited her for breaking the rules. That's the jist of what you posted; is it wrong?

 

[mjkacmom]

And I do believe in going to court if you have been wrongly accused BUT what message does it send to her DD who did break the law and wasn't wrongly accused to go and try to get the judge to dismiss it?

It is pretty plain that she broke the rules.

Here, in this situation, I'd have dd go, and plead GUILTY to the prosecutor (who's job it is to do this all day). Most of the time, you will pay the county more, but your insurance less, so it's a win-win for both parties. It stinks to pay a thousand or so a year for a stupid mistake (that didn't even put others in harms way).

Yes, sometimes they might even dismiss it, even if you plead guilty.

 

[luvsJack]

You call it extenuating circumstances, I call it poor judgement. This is why 15 year olds should not be driving alone. Where is that actually allowed anyway? Seems so dangerous.

The laws have changed a great deal so I have no clue about where this is still allowed, but both of my sons were driving at 15. They both had "hardship" license so they could go to work and to school. They didn't have to stay in a route though, but they could not drive after 10 p.m.

Older ds got a ticket once for being out after 10 because he was a few minutes late leaving work and had to stop for gas. The officer told him to just go to court and explain. He did and the judge dismissed it.

Younger ds has had several tickets dismissed, but none had anything to do with driving at 15.


I am not saying the judge SHOULD dismiss the ticket, its not up to me to decide that. But, going to court and explaining herself is an option for the OP's daughter. The judge MAY decide that the circumstances are enough to dismiss it or he/she may decide that her dd was using poor judgement. But, that is really up to the judge.