# Do I have to pay this ticket? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 9, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285 "2012-04-09T18:29:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/1 "2012-04-09T18:29:31Z")
I got a ticket for going into a bus lane too early. It’s for 65.00. It has my driver’s license on it but the plate # is totally incorrect. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/2 "2012-04-09T18:38:30Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > I got a ticket for going into a bus lane too early. It’s for 65.00. It has my driver’s license on it but the plate # is totally incorrect. Failure to answer, one way or another, either pay by waiver or go to court, may result in a warrant being issued. A so called “harmless error” can be brought up as a dismissal motion in court, but don’t bank on it being dismissed. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/3 "2012-04-09T18:43:02Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > Failure to answer, one way or another, either pay by waiver or go to court, may result in a warrant being issued. > > A so called “harmless error” can be brought up as a dismissal motion in court, but don’t bank on it being dismissed. Thanks. I do intend to fight it. I’m also wondering if the cop screwed up and put my plate # on someone elses ticket. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/4 "2012-04-09T18:43:34Z")
Well, short answer, no, you don’t have to do anything. However, the consequences of the choice to not pay the ticket would probably vary by location. Around here, I’d think it would either get your license pulled or a warrant for your arrest would be issued. I’ve picked up two friends from jail for unpaid tickets. The tag number doesn’t matter because anyone could rent or borrow a car – it doesn’t have to be your car for you to break the law in it. The ticket is tied to your license # because the driver was cited, not the car. Now a parking ticket I might skip out on because there’s only the tag number. In fact, I once did skip out on a parking ticket because I didn’t live in that city anymore and also, I sold the car about a month later, so there the tag that could be tracked back to me ceased to exist. Good luck, City of Ft. Lauderdale, in collecting on that one! ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/5 "2012-04-09T18:46:02Z")
They won’t track you by plate number, but by license number. You need to either pay it or contest it. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/6 "2012-04-09T19:10:57Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Joanna CassidyNow a parking ticket I might skip out on because there’s only the tag number. In fact, I once did skip out on a parking ticket because I didn’t live in that city anymore and also, I sold the car about a month later, so there the tag that could be tracked back to me ceased to exist. Good luck, City of Ft. Lauderdale, in collecting on that one! If it was trackable, the money is not the issue, states have reciprocal agreements, if a compact state is a member with the home state, the state in which the violation occured, if out of state, will send a notice of suspension, if suspended there, to the home state. In accordance with the compact, the home state will suspend your DL too. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/7 "2012-04-09T19:21:34Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > If it was trackable, the money is not the issue, states have reciprocal agreements, if a compact state is a member with the home state, the state in which the violation occured, if out of state, will send a notice of suspension, if suspended there, to the home state. In accordance with the compact, the home state will suspend your DL too. First, it was a parking ticket. So it wasn’t a moving violation and my license _probably_ wouldn’t have been suspended for that. My understanding is that warrants aren’t generally issued for nonmoving violations unless there’s a big fat stack of 'em that are all unpaid. Not all states always have reciprocal agreements, and in this case, the two states in question did not have such an agreement. I verified this before I blew off the parking ticket. This was a long time ago, and there may very well be a reciprocal agreement now, but there wasn’t then. ---
**Author:** ![lawbuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/13edae/32.png) [@lawbuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawbuff)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/8 "2012-04-09T19:28:01Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > First, it was a parking ticket. So it wasn’t a moving violation and my license _probably_ wouldn’t have been suspended for that. My understanding is that warrants aren’t generally issued for nonmoving violations unless there’s a big fat stack of 'em that are all unpaid. Sure, it depends on the court, whether they want to issue a bench warrant for failure to appear? > [@](#): > > Not all states always have reciprocal agreements, and in this case, the two states in question did not have such an agreement. I verified this before I blew off the parking ticket. This was a long time ago, and there may very well be a reciprocal agreement now, but there wasn’t then. The DL compact was enacted in 1960, but when specific members/states joined, I do not know. > **[Driver License Compact](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driver_License_Compact)** > > The Driver License Compact is an agreement between states in the United States of America. The compact is used to exchange data between motorist's home state and a state where the motorist incurred a vehicular violation. Not all states are members, and states respond to the data differently. > The Driver License Compact, a framework setting out the basis of a series of laws within adopting states in the United States (as well as similar reciprocal agreements in adopting provinces of Canada), gives... ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/9 "2012-04-09T19:49:06Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > They won’t track you by plate number, but by license number. You need to either pay it or contest it. Correct; people commit infractions; not their property. The ticket is tied to your drivers license; the car you were ticketed for in relation to the infraction (and it’s plate number) is irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/10 "2012-04-09T21:39:17Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Now a parking ticket I might skip out on because there’s only the tag number. In fact, I once did skip out on a parking ticket because I didn’t live in that city anymore and also, I sold the car about a month later, so there the tag that could be tracked back to me ceased to exist. Good luck, City of Ft. Lauderdale, in collecting on that one! Let’s take this further. Assuming you happen to be aboard a commercial aircraft that’s diverted for some reason or another to a Florida airport. Upon landing you are required to disembark the aircraft for re-boarding later. However, upon re-boarding, an ordinary security check reveals your name still attached to the unpaid ticket. So you could be denied boarding at that point and hauled off to jail. In any case, you do realize you might not ever be allowed to visit Disneyworld. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/11 "2012-04-09T23:10:26Z")
> [@lawbuff](#): > > A so called “harmless error” can be brought up as a dismissal motion in court, but don’t bank on it being dismissed. Agreed. I don’t think that is severe enough for a traffic judge to toss the whole case. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/12 "2012-04-10T06:39:49Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > Agreed. I don’t think that is severe enough for a traffic judge to toss the whole case. Where I live, if you plead “Not Guilty”, you go talk to the DA (or whoever) first. That is where you get the best deal. Simple mistakes can allow you to call into question the attentiveness of the officer and work a deal. The last thing this guy wants is to have to drag the cop into court (in front of the judge) and have him answer why he made such a rookie error on the ticket. Wastes everybodys time. I’ve beat 2 tickets this way. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/13 "2012-04-10T06:59:31Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > I got a ticket for going into a bus lane too early. It’s for 65.00. It has my driver’s license on it but the plate # is totally incorrect. Do you recognize the plate number as belonging to a car to which you have access? If not, they face a much greater burden in proving that you were driving it. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/14 "2012-04-10T07:34:15Z")
How do you mean “got a ticket”? Were you stopped by a police officer and cited in person or was this something that an enforcement camera caught? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/15 "2012-04-10T09:56:30Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > First, it was a parking ticket. So it wasn’t a moving violation and my license _probably_ wouldn’t have been suspended for that. My understanding is that warrants aren’t generally issued for nonmoving violations unless there’s a big fat stack of 'em that are all unpaid. My GF was changing her driver’s license to a new state and the process was held up by a 14 year old unpaid parking ticket. She has never held a license in this state before, they tracked it through her current state license. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/16 "2012-04-10T12:52:48Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Do you recognize the plate number as belonging to a car to which you have access? If not, they face a much greater burden in proving that you were driving it. No. The plate # is completely wrong. I suspect that it may belong to one of the other drivers that was pulled over for the same reason I was. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/17 "2012-04-10T12:54:15Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > How do you mean “got a ticket”? Were you stopped by a police officer and cited in person or was this something that an enforcement camera caught? I was stopped by an officer for going into the bus lane while the white line was still solid. The officer saw how upset I was so he told me I could go to court and he would says that he had no evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/18 "2012-04-10T13:03:48Z")
You admitted already that you violated the law. Why not just pay the ticket? Somehow I don’t buy the cop’s story about saying he would say he had no evidence. If that were the case, why did he give you the ticket in the first place? I predict you coming out on the losing end on this one. ---
**Author:** ![secretsmile36](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@secretsmile36](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/secretsmile36)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/19 "2012-04-10T13:45:31Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > You admitted already that you violated the law. Why not just pay the ticket? Somehow I don’t buy the cop’s story about saying he would say he had no evidence. If that were the case, why did he give you the ticket in the first place? I predict you coming out on the losing end on this one. He said he couldn’t take it back as it was computer generated. If it had been written on paper he said he would have ripped it up. Why would he lie? ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285/20 "2012-04-10T13:54:15Z")
> [@secretsmile36](#): > > I was stopped by an officer for going into the bus lane while the white line was still solid. The officer saw how upset I was so he told me I could go to court and he would says that he had no evidence. No evidence other than him seeing you do it and you admitting that you did it. Do you think that an officers eye witness testimony is inadmissible in court? Why not just pay the fine and stop driving in the bus lane in the future? :dubious: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-have-to-pay-this-ticket/618285.md?page=2)