Ugh, I’ve been driving for years and in an unfamiliar city I get a traffic ticket for not making a right turn in a lane that’s right turn only during certain times of the day.
Great.
So … I got cited for not carrying a valid DL. Oops. Left it at home. I am told that I can present my DL to the court clerk. The citation however doesn’t have any more information about this. I looked online too. Not much more information. I called. Court closed for the day by the time I actually had time to make a call.
So do I just show up to the courthouse and say here’s my DL and that’s it? Or do I have to schedule an appearance in writing or some bullshit like that?
I also got cited for the not making a right turn thing (duh). Again, I have to “contact” the court, but I’m not sure whether that means written correspondence or what. Again, I tried calling the court but they were closed for the day.
What have your experiences been with traffic citations and paying the fines?
The traffic ticket you got will probably have some sort of address for where the traffic court is. Most likely it will be a side entrance to the main court building. Inside will be some windows and probably a “take a number and wait your turn” type system. They’ll call your number, you’ll go to a window and show your ticket, they’ll verify your license and let you pay your fine. It’s pretty no fuss, just a bit of a bother on time.
I checked the box on the back of the ticket that said “Guilty”, because I was, and sent it in with the payment. Why do you need to appear in court – are you protesting the ticket?
He’s got two citations: one for the illegal turn and one for driving without a license. If he wants to avoid the fine/points for the second one, he’s got to go to court and present the ID to the clerk.
You might be able to burn off your right turn ticket by doing a defensive driving class. You’re gonna have to go to the court to show them your DL anyway, so ask the clerk whether it’s possible to do the DD course. You’ll probably have to pay court costs on it, but it’s better than having a moving traffic violation on your driving record, and your insurance company may give you a discount on your premiums. In Texas, we get 10% off for having an active DD course on file.