Advice :Needed:DD got a ticket :(

[Cathy baby RN]

Today as I was leaving my house, 2 police cars pulled up. I asked if I could help them and they said is your last name Johnson. I said yes. By now my heart was pounding...I have 3 teenage daughters, 2 of whom were at work.
They said there was a call that a green car had bumped an unoccupied vehicle at the post office. Someone had called in her license plate #. I said she was at work at the movie theatre and could we drive there together and look into this. I knew if a police officer had walked up to her at work she would have a meltdown. She just turned 17.
She had been to the post office mailing some letters for her boss. He sent her. She said she really didn't think she bumped anyone. She had her radio up pretty loud. She was pulled into a tight parking space, and she apparently brushed the bumper backing out. She does have a white mark on her front right had side, so she must have hit the truck. The officer said the truck had minimal, if any,damage. She has a tiny car.He said, if she had been there the guy probably would have let it go. The truck is 14 years old. The rubber on the bumper was pulled off.
I asked the officer if I could see the truck, but said the guy went home.
I called our insurance guy. He said we should just offer to get the car fixed because she gets $150 off her premium for never getting a ticket and good student status. I asked about this ticket, even if we did pay out of pocket, and he said it would be ok because it wasn't a moving violation.
I looked again at the ticket. It said the reason for the ticket is "failure to leave information". My questions is, should she plead guilty or not guilty.She really didn't realize this had happened and even if she did, I don't think she would have known to leave her information, or even what information to leave. She's been driving a little over a year. This is a good kid who never gets in trouble. All the money she made working at her barely minimum wage will go to pay for the ticket. She hasn't stopped crying since this afternoon when this happend. I told her, this is a life lesson and I am thankful this was all it was....when the police car pulled up, of course, I had thought the worst.
I was just wondering if anyone could offer us a little advice.

 

[Beth76]

I'm not sure about the ticket, but if she was on the clock at the time, her boss might be liable. When I worked in a (union) grocery store in college they encouraged us not to leave the store while on paid break. That if we got into an accident the store would be liable since we were technically working. This is what I was told; who knows if it's true. Sorry your daughter had such a rough day.

 

[safetymom]

This happened with my daughter. The police called me and told me. She made arrangements with the person to pay the damages and that was the end of it along with the ticket. She was very lucky. It could have been worse.

I made her pay and she learned a valuable lesson that day. She wasn't going to tell me but I told her mothers always know what is going on.

 

[daisyduck123]

First, I'm so sorry this happened to your DD. May new drivers have fender benders. It comes from inexperience.

If she's been driving for a year, she's got to know what info. to give/get in case an accident ever happens again. I would pay out of pocket for the damage, & not go thru insurance.

I would instill a rule of no radio at all while driving for at least the next 6 months.
If she couldn't hear/feel her hitting another car, then she is not being a very observant driver. What if it had been a person? She could be charged with hit & run.

 

[Cathy baby RN]

Thanks so much for your advice.


Safterymom......do you know about how much $ the ticket cost? Did you have to go to court??

daisyduck....I agree about the radio. No more radio and no more cell phone while in the car. It really scares me to see all these teenagers on their cell phones while driving.

 

[barkley]

i don't think any judge will be sympathetic (should she plead not guilty and purse a hearing) about the issue with music being loud (not an excuse for not paying attention to what was going on in/around her vehical-and in all honesty you can 'feel' your car touch another vehical more often than hear it). and as for not knowing 'if she did hit it' to leave a note and what type of info. to leave-thats a primary law covered in drivers ed./training and in the vehical code that drivers are expected to know-and again i doubt a judge would be sympathetic.

that said-if she pleads not guilty and goes before a judge the fine could be higher, so in my mind she should 'cut her losses' and pay the ticket and the reasonable damages for the other car (and both of you should be glad that the insurance company is not going taking away her 'good driver status'-that seems like a pretty liberal policy).

 

[safetymom]

It was over $100 I think. I just made it real clear that she was real real lucky that they weren't going to press charges since she left the scene without saying anything. She was smart enough to realize that it was a small price to pay and not have the insurance involved and nothing more than a ticket.

 

[Cathy baby RN]

.

that said-if she pleads not guilty and goes before a judge the fine could be higher, so in my mind she should 'cut her losses' and pay the ticket and the reasonable damages for the other car (and both of you should be glad that the insurance company is not going taking away her 'good driver status'-that seems like a pretty liberal policy).

Thanks Barkley...good advice. I think our insurance agent just felt sorry for my husband and I. We've had all our insurance(car, homeowners and small business) with the same agent for over 30 years. We also have 6 kids. 4 driving and 2 to go( 11 and 13 year boys). I think he felt sorry for us. Plus, we've really never made a claim.

 

[DawnCt1]

In traffic court you can plead not guilty and explain your circumstance. You can also explain that full restitution was made and get a letter from the other driver. In fact, if you send it in, not guilty, you often get a letter in the mail giving you an opportunity to explain what happen or submit any "evidence" that would explain the situation. In this case, I would get a letter from the "victim" stating that she contacted him and that full restitution has been made. Traffic court is so busy that they may dismiss it through the mail with no appearance. If there is an appearance, she may be able to plead it down to a lesser fine. A traffic ticket is the GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING. It isn't the fine, its the fact that it is on the drivers record and underwriting, in our state of Ct. looks at it for 39 months.

 

[sweet angel]

I work at a law firm. We always plead not guilty on behalf of the clients. The ticket should tell you the fine -- or the court administrator can. Generally, if there's a court date listed on the ticket, she will need to show up.

 

[barkley]

Thanks Barkley...good advice. I think our insurance agent just felt sorry for my husband and I. We've had all our insurance(car, homeowners and small business) with the same agent for over 30 years. We also have 6 kids. 4 driving and 2 to go( 11 and 13 year boys). I think he felt sorry for us. Plus, we've really never made a claim.

we've got all ours bundled with the same company too (for years)-but our agent has no discretion in these matters. the 'main office' does a check of our dmv records at renewal time and makes any increases in accordance with our policy (and the nature of the ticket is'nt so much moving vs. non moving violation for ours-it's how many points the dmv assigns on our records).

btw-be thankful if the other car owner is willing to settle outside insurance companies-we always submit claims through ours to handle with the other person's, if it's not our fault it's not a negative reflection on us, does'nt cost anything, and it causes the repairs to be guaranteed any for workmanship.

 

[pfishgirl]

First off ... for your DD

cant you call a legal advisor in your area ? i dont think they would charge anything since it was only on the phone..

 

[golfgal]

If the ticket was as you said "failure to leave information" the insurance company really can't charge you with a moving violation so as long as you don't file a claim, your rates should be ok. Having a long term relationship with an agent really comes in handy in cases like this because agents may have some latitude in these exact situations for good customers, depends on the company.

 

[alanapapa]

One other thing to think about with going to court, don't forget to add in the court costs. I had a ticket years ago in California, that was about to go to warrent (I forgot about it) and called the court to find my obtions and was given the amount due and a court date. I showed up, was called, and since I was there, the Judge decreased the amount of fine, by $100.00, but then added $150.00 in court costs. I had figured what I needed and had a money order for it and was now $50.00 too low. So of course since I did not have the money, or a credit card (poor 19 year old kid) I went to jail. I called a friend and he came down to bail me out, but he got to the court 5 minutes after it closed, so he went to Downtown LA to pay. I had my fines paid before I left the original courthouse jail, but due to how long it took to have the paperwork go through, I was not released until after 2:00 in the morning. The only good thing was that I was refunded 2/3 of the fine as I spent 2 days in jail, according to how LA does math.

 

[Cathy baby RN]

Thank you so much for all your sound advice! You Dis people really come through.

golfgirl- the ticket definetly says "failure to leave information". Our agent is so sweet. He is going to call the man for me. My husband is out of town, and I didn't feel comfortable calling. I would have probably started crying lol.

barkley-in Illinois we don't go by points. We use to live in Colorado and I think they have the point system. If she pleads guilty and asks for court supervision, she goes to traffic school for so many hours and if she doesn't get another ticket within a year, it will be taken off her record. I know they charge $ for traffic school.


sweet angel-the ticket does have a court date and time. There is a place to check non-guilty and you have to send it back at least 10 days before your court date and they will send you a new date. You also check if you want a trial by judge or jury. If you want to plead guilty, you just show up at the assigned time. Just wondering why you always plead non guilty on behalf of the clients?


After she got home from work tonight, we sat down and talked. She says she remembers a white truck parked next to her. She said it was really rusty. I guess I'm just worried about the guy claiming more damage than actually occurred since the truck is pretty old (1993). Like I said the police officer said the rubber was just pulled off, that was the only damage he said he saw, but it wasn't in writing. I didn't get to see the car.
I have a Mountaineer and I am the only one who drives it. Therefore, I never go to the passenger side of my car. The other night I gave someone from work a ride home, and I opened her door first and there was a big deep scratch and blue paint scrapes by the rear view window. Who knows how long it had been there? I didn't call the insurance guy(maybe that's why he likes us lol). I'll just get some rubbing compound and touch-up paint and fix it myself. With the size of parking spaces nowadays, I've learned to live with knicks and dings in the door. I work in a large hospital where there is never enough parking and the spaces are so close together, you have to hold your breath to get out of your care as you squeeze out.

Oh, another highlight of the day. Another daughter comes home today. "Ma, somone stole my cell phone". I said "Well I'm glad you have insurance to replace your phone if it is stolen". Well, I called, she is insured. Then the lady says "but there is a $100 deductible". Is it worth it to have cell phone insurance??

Thanks again for all your advice and not being judgmental

 

[ZPT1022]

Some personal experiences

It never hurts to go to court. In CT you meet with a court person, not a judge first. I've never not been able to resolve things at this level. If the ticket fee in addition to the repair costs are too steep for DD she could ask for community service instead.

I should add, in CT if you pay the ticket, no contest, no points. At least that is what DH was told. You are issued a ticket, if you agree you send it in with your fine and that's the end. DH did that with his first one (rolling stop). If you disagree, or just want your five minutes in court you plead not guilty and then are mailed a court date.

For my first ticket I got the court date and showed up and basically just walked up to the court personnel person and she dismissed it, easy as that. The accident was VERY minor, a bump at 5 mph. Basically my front mounted license plate was tilted and my insurance co. sent her car to be washed and waxed, the lady was just a "B" about it and that's why it went that far. Very easy and I am so glad I went. Dismissed, no points, no fines, no anything. Kind of cemented my position that it doesn't hurt to try.

For DH's second ticket, he was speeding and didn't even get a ticket- he got a misdemeanor court summons. He was only speeding to pass someone who was driving erratically who we suspected was drunk (I was in the car). His mom works for a prominent lawyer in town who used to be our state senator, so he took him to court with him. He got him "off" with a $100 donation to Toys for Tots instead of paying a fine and/or points. This may be something to ask about. Make restitution without affecting DD's driving record. If you know a lawyer who is willing to go with her it might help

For my second ticket, I was in an accident. I fainted and got into an accident at 50 mph on the highway. I was driving along just fine and the next thing I knew I was walking around on the highway. Ummm.... Got taken by ambulance to the hospital and the police officer came in while I was on a back board and neck brace and dropped the ticket on my stomach. Classy. The ticket was for following too close, so it seemed like he was just searching for something to put. I sent that one back checked not guilty. I went to court and again talked to a court worker (I forget what they're called, sorry). She confirmed what had happened and asked if my insurance was taking care of everything (they were ) and who was hurt (only me, and still have problems from it 3 years later) and she said okay, I'm letting it go. So it's been our experience that it doesn't hurt to go and try. In my case I didn't even have to plead my case at all, either time. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it does not hurt to go in and see what they have to say. Don't know how much I would say about the loud radio but the relatively minor damage does make her story of not noticing seem more plausible. I would contact the other party and make arrangements to have the repairs done ASAP. Do it at a garage that YOU trust (do you know anyone?) Being able to show in court that the problem is being amicably solved should help too. I would also look into whether or not DD's work is responsible since she was only driving for a work related task. Again this is where it would be helpful if you had an attorney friend. Good luck!