# Californians who have dealt with FTAs on fixit tickets... **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353 "2011-07-08T21:23:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/41 "2011-07-15T07:39:04Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Actually, at that time I could not. I had no predictable source of income, I was hanging by a thread, so I’d be promising something without any way of following through. > > And as I alluded to in the OP, I had much, much, much, much, much bigger fish burning everywhere at the time. I’m only one human being with some pretty serious challenges in the first place, and all this happened as a result of absolutely crushing circumstances that I was VERY busy dealing with at the time. > > So yeah, this went to the bottom of the pile. Of course all this could have been avoided by not breaking the law. But yes, you should have gone to court and explained your situation, financial straits or no. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/42 "2011-07-15T16:02:15Z")
So, Stoid, what exactly do you want to accomplish? Do you want your license back, or not? Do you want to get your car registered and insured, or not? If you want either or both of those things, then that’s going to cost you money, time, and aggravation to accomplish. If you don’t want one or both of those things, there are still legal housekeeping issues to take care of (getting a state ID, selling or donating your car, et cetera) and you will still have those FTA’s hanging over your head. This will also cost you money, time and aggravation to deal with. You really havn’t made it clear in this thread what you actually want, though. You say X amount of money will take care of this or that part of the problem, but if you had X amount of money lying around you’d spend it on something else. Do you really want this problem solved or not? So, decide what you want, and figure out how to make it happen. Hire one of those ticket attorneys and do what he or she says. Go to court and beg the judge for forgiveness and a payment plan/community service. Or do nothing, let your car get impounded again, and let the legal consequencs of an FTA catch up with you sometime (which will not be fun). You’re an adult, so act like one. Or you could just whine here about how hard this all is, but that won’t accomplish what needs to be done, now will it? ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/43 "2011-07-15T16:54:10Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Yes, that’s true. > > But does it have to be the cop that wrote it? > > Could it be, say, the custodian of ticket records? Or the document could be self authenticating like some official records are. It also depends if your state in particular has a public records rule. I’m really vague on traffic rules and laws.\*\* Really Not All That Bright\*\*, but are you saying that traffic tickets are civil and not criminal? ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/44 "2011-07-15T18:44:55Z")
> [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](#): > > You really havn’t made it clear in this thread what you actually want, though. Sure I did: > [@Stoid](#): > > This is IMHO, I have a problem,\*\* I’m asking what other people have experienced. \*\* > > **So the reason I’ve explained all this is to get feedback and input from California Dopers who have been through this process, either on their own or with the assistance of a ticket attorney.** I’d especially like to hear from anyone with experience in Southern California, and with experience with The Ticket Clinic. > > So…just looking for your experiences. Since a number of people have given me exactly what I actually want, by relating their personal experiences with similar situations, it’s obvious that I succeeded in making clear in this thread what I actually want. (Actually, even the title of the thread makes it pretty clear what I actually want, in its own way…) I haven’t made it clear what I’m ultimately going to _do_, because I haven’t decided - that’s _why_ I asked people to share their experiences, to help me make a decision by giving me some idea of how other people in similar circumstances have fared. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/45 "2011-07-15T18:50:37Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Of course all this could have been avoided by not breaking the law. But yes, you should have gone to court and explained your situation, financial straits or no. At the time of the first ticket, I wasn’t even aware of not having registered, my life was consumed with much bigger drama. And as I’ve explained, the idea of showing up was also not something that I had any awareness of. Pretty much all the problems of life that arise from a lack of money and time can be avoided if one has sufficient money and time. When I had sufficient money and time, I didn’t have these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2011, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/46 "2011-07-15T19:37:50Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > I understand and appreciate the need to register vehicles and how that helps with many different things, including fighting (or at least solving) crimes, so I have no fundamental objection to a law requiring it in the same way I do the laws against prostitution and drug use. That’s nice. It is also irrelevant. > [@](#): > > But I do think the penalties are pretty harsh in terms of the fines I’m facing. No one else does. The reasons the penalties are what they are in your case is because you made excuses for yourself instead of biting the bullet. Now it is much worse. This is 100% your fault. > [@](#): > > And I know it’s for a failure to appear, but really in my mind it was for a failure to pay the original fine, since I never in any way recognized or understood the practical reality of the ticket, that it was a demand to appear. Yes, it’s written on the ticket, but I didn’t read the ticket It was written down and handed to you, but somehow the penalties for ignoring it are harsh. > [@](#): > > I knew I had no means of correcting anything so I just shoved it aside for the day when I would be able to do something. And now you are being taught why that was a bad idea. If it is possible for you to learn anything, which I lack confidence is the case. > [@](#): > > And before you bring up “ignorance of the law is no excuse” - I’m pondering my own ethics right now, not the law, and I’ve always thought that in a good many cases ignorance of the law is a damned good excuse and I can’t understand how it wouldn’t be, so that factors into my thinking as well. By putting it on a piece of paper and placing it in your hand, the state went out of its way to be sure that your ignorance was addressed. Reading what was right under your nose was too much of an effort for you, and now you are whining excuses about how you didn’t know. Put it this way - you were entirely convinced you were going to win your appeal when you sued your boyfriend, and you lost just as resoundingly as every single person on the SDMB, lawyer or layman alike, said you would. You did not prevail on even one single point. What makes you think your beliefs about the law are any different now? Sell your car and use the money to pay off the tickets and fines and the rest of the mess you have made for yourself. Do not buy another car; you cannot afford one. Or ignore everythi8ng that is said to you, and you will wind up in jail. You won’t learn anything from that either. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/47 "2011-07-16T00:03:46Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > That’s nice. It is also irrelevant. Not even slightly irrelevent to the matter I was pondering. > [@](#): > > No one else does. Incorrect. Many people do. But that IS irrelevant. > [@](#): > > The reasons the penalties are what they are in your case is because you made excuses for yourself instead of biting the bullet. Incorrect. The reason the penalties are what they are is because that is the penalty for failing to appear. The reason I failed to appear is NOT because I made excuses…in order to make excuses I would have had to have known I was failing to appear and made a decision (propped up by excuses) for why I decided not to appear. That is not the case. > [@](#): > > This is 100% your fault. Absolutely, and I have blamed absolutely no one else. As for how well I read and comprehend…judging from the rest of your “contribution” to this thread, it’s generally considered unwise to fling stones from behind the glass walls of your own house. Regards, Stoid ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/48 "2011-07-16T03:12:27Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > Not even slightly irrelevent to the matter I was pondering. No, it is entirely irrelevant. You don’t get to decide whether or not to abide by the traffic laws. > [@](#): > > Incorrect. Many people do. Nope, no one thinks that. The state put the explanation on how you should have acted right into your hand, and you didn’t even bother to read it. > [@](#): > > Incorrect. No, it is quite correct. > [@](#): > > The reason the penalties are what they are is because that is the penalty for failing to appear. The reason I failed to appear is NOT because I made excuses…in order to make excuses I would have had to have known I was failing to appear and made a decision (propped up by excuses) for why I decided not to appear. That is not the case. Yes, it is the case. You said, and I quote - > [@](#): > > Actually, at that time I could not. I had no predictable source of income, I was hanging by a thread, so I’d be promising something without any way of following through. > > And as I alluded to in the OP, I had much, much, much, much, much bigger fish burning everywhere at the time. I’m only one human being with some pretty serious challenges in the first place, and all this happened as a result of absolutely crushing circumstances that I was VERY busy dealing with at the time. > > So yeah, this went to the bottom of the pile. This is making excuses for yourself instead of acting. > [@](#): > > As for how well I read and comprehend…judging from the rest of your “contribution” to this thread, it’s generally considered unwise to fling stones from behind the glass walls of your own house. I don’t have any outstanding tickets, my registration is current, and both my cars are paid for. And on the occasions when I got tickets, I paid for them. You blew them off, and are now paying the consequences - which are much more severe than they would be if you had taken the trouble to read what was right in front of you. What I would _not_ recommend is going to court and telling the judge that you didn’t know you needed registration and insurance on your car, and that you blew off your tickets because you didn’t read them, and that you are only interested in getting back on the road. Because the judge is going to react in pretty much the same way the judge did in your last trial, and during your last appeal. You don’t have a leg to stand on. Your only chance is to do now what you should have done then, and accept that it is going to suck about nine times worse now than it had to. Practice saying the following about twenty times a day, morning and night - “I’m sorry, your honor. I messed up badly. I have no excuses. I am prepared to do whatever I can to make this right. I apologize for my mistakes - please help me work out a way to set this right.” Regards. Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353/49 "2011-07-16T03:40:43Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > No, it is entirely irrelevant. You don’t get to decide whether or not to abide by the traffic laws. Nor was I pondering the question of whether I should or not. Slow down, read carefully, and you will see this. > [@](#): > > Nope, no one thinks that. Since I know you haven’t checked with everyone, I know this isn’t true. However, I also know that it IS still irrelevant, so it doesn’t matter. > [@](#): > > The state put the explanation on how you should have acted right into your hand, and you didn’t even bother to read it. Exactly. Since you know this, you know that your continued assertions about what I chose are incorrect. Because I have said it since the OP: > [@](#): > > Having a flawless driving record and not having to deal with a moving violation in over 30 years, and because my life was insane, I knew I didn’t have the money to pay but \*\*I had NO idea anywhere in my mind about showing up somewhere instead. \*\*To me, you just pay tickets. And I couldn’t pay. Because I didn’t read it, and instead made assumptions based on prior experience, I failed to know and understand that it was my duty to make an appearance. All foolish, all my fault, and still not a conscious choice to not appear when I knew I should. The quote you pulled was a statement of my fiscal reality, and has nothing to do with whether I knew and understood what my options were and still made _the decision_ to not appear, I didn’t. Because of an earlier decision not to read the ticket. And saying that I “decided” not to read the ticket it giving it too much credit, since it never crossed my mind to read it in the first place, I simply added it to the stack of bills I couldn’t pay to be dealt with later. Oops. > [@](#): > > the consequences - which are much more severe than they would be if you had taken the trouble to read what was right in front of you. Very true. And I was fully aware of that: hence this thread. > [@](#): > > What I would _not_ recommend is going to court and telling the judge that you didn’t know you needed registration and insurance on your car, and that you blew off your tickets because you didn’t read them, and that you are only interested in getting back on the road. Since saying that would involve lying, there’s no danger of that happening. > [@](#): > > “I’m sorry, your honor. I messed up badly. I have no excuses. I am prepared to do whatever I can to make this right. I apologize for my mistakes - please help me work out a way to set this right.” No need to memorize anything, since that’s pretty close to what I would say naturally. Again, carefully reading and comprehending what I’ve actually said would have spared you the effort. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/californians-who-have-dealt-with-ftas-on-fixit-tickets/588353.md?page=2)