At least it wasn’t a parking ticket!
Getting a ticket isn’t cool.
Have you ever received a traffic ticket, or a vehicle citation of some type? Well, if you’ve been driving long enough, you have probably had one come your way at least once for whatever reason. Even the very careful among us can get them. I got one recently, and wasn’t exactly thrilled. But instead of getting upset about it, I set out to try to fight it and contest the ticket.
Background
Not long ago, I had gone to a local department of motor vehicles (or whatever the exact name is) branch to get a license plate renewal sticker. Somehow, there ended up being some type of snafu when I mailed in the renewal, so I basically got a note recommending as an option that I could go to a local office to get this resolved. So, I did.
The day I went there, it was snowy with a kind of cold, humid feel outside. I walked in, and surprisingly – didn’t have to wait an hour! Rather, I got in and out of there within a matter of 10 minutes. While I was walking out, the lady behind the counter suggested to me that I wait for another day to apply the sticker to the license plate. Her comments were essentially that these stickers don’t tend to affix to license plates well in this type of snowy, wet weather. Based on this suggestion, I put the sticker card in my car’s glove compartment, and thought I would just apply it sometime in the next few days when the weather was better.
The Citation
Six days went by, and I hadn’t applied the sticker yet. The weather cleared up, and I was going to get it affixed, but hadn’t gotten around to it yet. I was going to get it done soon though, it was just a matter of remembering some morning I got into the car.
Well, on that 6th day, I had to go to an appointment in a city nearby. In a difficult area to find street parking, I lucked out and found a spot. I spent a few hours in the meeting, then came out to my car. To my surprise, I found a ticket on windshield, secured under the windshield wiper blade.
My initial thought was that I somehow parked in a no-parking zone, or during some time frame when parking wasn’t allowed. Or, perhaps it was zoned parking, where one needed a local permit? So, I took a look at the ticket to see what it was. To my surprise, it was for not having a license plate sticker for this year.
I thought, “Come on! Why in the world is some municipality – one in which I don’t live and rarely visit – ticketed me for this?”.
So my reaction was this: the ticket itself is valid in the sense that no sticker was affixed. You’re supposed to have one, and I didn’t. Fair enough. However, since I already paid for the sticker, why not try to make the case that I shouldn’t have to pay it? Sure, I didn’t affix the sticker, but I wanted to get out of paying the ticket since I had legitimately bought the ticket. I just hadn’t yet affixed it.
Contesting It
I immediately looked at the ticket more closely, and saw that it was for $25. Not a big amount, but not what anyone wants to have happen. Since my instant mindset was that I wanted to find a way to legitimately avoid paying this, I looked to see where I could go to pay it or contest it. Standing outside my car, I used my phone to get directions to the city clerk’s office. Then, I got in and drove right there.
Once I arrived, I made my way to the right office after asking a few questions, and then explained the situation. I was told that it was a valid ticket. Accordingly, I could pay it – or, appear in person at a future date to contest it, or fill out a form to contest it. Well, I didn’t have time to go back there, so filled out the form.
In doing so, I made sure to detail everything that happened, what I was told about waiting to affix it, and the fact that I had already bought the ticket. Additionally, I brought a copy of the ticket, proof that I had paid, and asked them if they would photocopy the information. Finally, I wrote the request in a respectful way, but made it clear that I had a lot of facts and support to back up my position that I shouldn’t have to pay for this ticket.
I was told that I could expect a letter within a few weeks, with the decision.
The Outcome
I anticipated getting a letter indicating that I owed the $25. However, when the letter arrived, I opened it to find a pleasant surprise: I was deemed “not liable”.
Hooray!
They realized that I had a good case, and that even though I hadn’t affixed the license plate sticker, the fact that I bought the sticker was good enough. Which it should have been, based on common sense.
Lessons Learned
- Don’t put yourself in a position to have to contest any kind of ticket
- If you do contest, make sure that you have a genuine, legitimate reason as to why you shouldn’t have to pay
- Provide all relevant documentation and proof that could help your case
- State your case in a detailed, well thought out, convincing manner
- Be respectful in your approach, and nice to people involved
No guarantees of course, but by taking steps that you can control, it can only help put the odds a little bit in your favor.
My Questions for You
Have you ever received a traffic ticket or citation of some sort that you didn’t think you should have to pay?
Have you, or anyone you know, successfully contested a ticket or fine? If so, please share what happened and what led to the success?
My boyfriend contested a ticket and was successful! It was great because he saved $160. I don’t get how – he was definitely at fault!
Daisy – that’s quite lucky to get out of that one, I too wonder how that happened considering you say he was at fault. Interesting!
Tickets in California are SO EXPENSIVE now. It’s at least $400-$600+ for a moving violation. I got hit with an “unsafe lane change” and must now pony up. But I seriously don’t think I was being unsafe (driving 10 miles below the speed limit & signaling)… imho, the police officer was coming up behind way. too. fast.
Well Heeled – that’s a really high price to pay. At that price point, I could see how it might really drive behavior modification, since nobody wants any gray area tickets like you might have received. How frustrating, but I guess it is what it is.
Very nice Squirrelers! I need to do this with my property reassessment!
MoneyCone – good idea, that could yield some significant savings! Applying the same persistent approach and mindset to a bigger ticket situation seems like smart thinking.
I once was ticketed for “following too closely.” There were three other people in the car with me, and none of us understood what the officer objected to, plus tailgating is one of my pet peeves. I went to court and explained my side. I made clear that I wasn’t calling the officer a liar–I was not–just that none of the four of us in the car recognized anything like ‘following too closely’ had happened. I lived in a city at the time, and was ticketed in the rural environs. The judge theorized that what I was used to–bumper-to-bumper city traffic–perhaps made me oblivious to what the officer found objectionable. He found me guilty, but waived any fine or penalty. I did have to take a half-day off work though. All in all, a good experience. And I’m very cognizant since of following too closely! 🙂
Kurt – the half day off work must have been annoying as a price to pay, but at least you got away from any fine or penalty. Seems like a good learning experience for you, based on how well you seem to be taking it.
I did it once a long time ago… when I had the junior license and got busted going 75MPH on the highway… in a zone that was only 45MPH but where traffic usually cruises at 70! Even cops do when they’re not busting people. Unfair, I tell you!
Invest It Wisely – it looks like you may have been randomly selected out of the herd that time, like an antelope targeted by the tiger in the wild. You can tell I watched a nature show recently 🙂
I’ve had only a few tickets, but I don’t drive very much. Once I got a ticket in Louisiana while driving to New Orleans. I was definitely targeted for my out of state license plate. I had seen the officer driving along the expressway and he slowed down to let me get ahead of him, then pulled me over. I wasn’t speeding, but he said I was going 20 miles over the speed limit. I said something to the affect that my new car (’cause I was driving a 3 month old car) must have something seriously wrong with the speedometer then. He told me I could come to court to contest it. Sure, I’m going to return to backwater Louisiana in a month to contest this $160 ticket (which was quite high in 1989). It was definitely an unfair ticket and I had no ability to fight it. #$%^!
Linda – you bring up a really good point about how out of the way places can make some real money off out of town people. Red light cameras can be another way for municipalities to rake in the money with a lower chance of contesting, if in a highly trafficked area with people from elsewhere. Sorry you had to pay that one!
Never received any driving violation ticket yet. Lucky? Maybe, but I would say safe and responsible driver.
You’re probably doing something right to have no tickets. Good job.
Hooray!
Great story! The only story I have is one of getting out of a speeding (barely) ticket. The office pulled me over, but I was coughing so bad that he didn’t even take my drivers license and told me it’s okay and to just slow down. It was actually a funny story 🙂
Don – now that is an interesting strategy! Cough and seem so sick that they feel bad for you or just don’t want to bother! I’m sure that was genuine on your part, and I’m just kidding and don’t advocate it, but it’s funny nonetheless.
Great story. I contested a citation once for being parked in a no parking zone. The curb was white, and there were no signs, so I took a picture and mailed in my contest form. I got a response that I was no liable, since it was not marked. However, I went by that same spot about a month ago, and there are clear signs now posted!
Robert – great work, on two fronts. First for successfully getting out of an unfair ticket, and second for getting them to make things more clear in terms of signage.
Yes, definitely good to pay close attention to the rules. While things can be contested, it’s best not to be in that position in the first place and waste time.