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driver's license got suspended, would it be fair to ask my ex to pay the citation?

who should pay the citation?

  • you should - you signed the ticket!

    Votes: 40 71.4%

  • your ex should - it's her car and your intentions were good.

    Votes: 16 28.6%
  • Total voters
    56
3

3nm

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 30, 2006
991
0
after losing my wallet during spring break, i found out that my driver's license has been suspended for almost two yrs :)eek:). i was driving my ex's car to drop her off at the airport back in '06, and we got pulled over for a burned taillight. i bought the bulb but things happened and we broke up before i could fix it. since she took the ticket (my signature's on it, but she'd need it to fix the citation), i assumed (my fault) that everything would be taken care of. but apparently she never got it fixed and never paid the fine. in addition, she sold her old car and has been driving a new one for more than a yr already. to get my license back, it'll cost almost $700 because of "failure to appear" (V.C. 40509.5) twice (i never got the notices). in addition, the new court date is about two months from now, which will coincide with my midterms. =\

in a way, i feel that i'm the one who's ultimately responsible for the fine b/c 1.) i signed the ticket, 2.) it's my license (and the traffic clerk warned that the court can issue a warrant for my arrest). but it's flipping $700! i'm a broke butt college student and that's almost two months worth of food! not to mention that i really had the intention to fix the citation. also, my roomie reminded me that i was doing my ex a fav to drop her off at the airport.

any thoughts/advices? would it be fair to ask my ex to pay the citation?

(more) rant: it took over 30 mins just to get the DMV guy to tell me what was the make of the car i was supposedly driving. he wouldn't tell me the exact violation due to "privacy concerns." wtf? (did i wanna kick him in the nutz :mad:) first of all it's my flipping driving record. secondly, did he expect me to go to the court w/o knowing what i was there for?
 
I think this is something that you really just need to pony up and pay for. I know it's not exactly fair, but you were the one who received the ticket so it really is your responsibility to make sure it is taken care of. Just my thoughts.
 
^^^ reason why i don't think going to the court will do any good.
 
on the other hand, i'm afraid that going to the court may make it worse. being young is not exactly an advantage in court.
 
Contact an Attorney. It may cost you a few hundred bucks (to the lawyer) but he'll have better luck getting things resolved than you will.
 
I don't understand why they would issue a citation for such a thing vs. just a warning to get it fixed in the first place, but that's beside the point.

How would they expect you to get the citations if they're sent to the address of the registered owner and not to your driver's license address? Presumably the officer knew it wasn't your car when he wrote you the ticket and that it was your girlfriend's?

I'd agree getting a lawyer involved might be the best course of action here. $700 and all of this hassle over a burned out tail-light? Seems excessive to me.
 
You just need some human intervention. The system has been at work trying to remedy the situation the best way it knows; more and more fines. Appeal to the judge, having $200 on hand and compromise.
 
Koodauw said:
I think this is something that you really just need to pony up and pay for. I know it's not exactly fair, but you were the one who received the ticket so it really is your responsibility to make sure it is taken care of. Just my thoughts.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. You were the driver and the one who got the ticket. I think your best bet is to just suck it up and pay it. I really don't see your ex from two years ago agreeing to pay for it.

Good luck and let us know how it turned out.
 
emw said:
How would they expect you to get the citations if they're sent to the address of the registered owner and not to your driver's license address? Presumably the officer knew it wasn't your car when he wrote you the ticket and that it was your girlfriend's?
Click to expand...

Presumably this is what happened, but without this information it's difficult to advise. The real issue isn't the fix-it ticket, which is usually a trivial matter, but the Failure to Appear, which is serious. If you could not have known that you were supposed to appear, for good reason, then I think this has to be explained to a judge. Assuming this the case, forget the lawyer and bring along whatever information you have to show that the notice to appear went to somewhere else other than your address. I'd also ask the ex (girlfriend I assume, not wife?) to appear with you to explain her actions. Probably she won't but at least you can tell the judge that you tried. And don't forget to tell the judge that you're a poor college student.
 
Exactly. Your poll needs a third option, for getting this fixed legally so that neither of you has to pay the fines. I don't know how your legal system works, but if this happened where I live, I would go down to the traffic court, now, not on your court date, and talk to a Justice of the Peace about doing the paper work for setting aside everything, based on your story. That would then result in my seeing a judge, who I could explain everything to, and would probably result in a stern warning, and everything getting thrown out.
 
Just go to court, tell the Judge that you cannot pay right away, ask if you can have a reduced sentence because you did not receive the tickets and explain your situation (but be apologetic!) ask if you can pay in installments.

and Good luck!
 
Two different issues. One is that you want to get the fine lowered / repealed. The other is you want your ex to pay.

The first - go to court. This is a petty issue, at the most you are out $700. If you are an articulate person, don't worry about an attorney - you're going to sound brilliant next to the idiots in municipal court. There will probably be tons of people in a courtroon and the judge will go down the docket and ask you to plead. If you prefer to be out $700, but not have it hit your record, plead "Nolo contendere" - which is an easy way to say "I screwed up, I'll pay, but don't put it on my official record." If not, say "Not guilty" and he'll hear you out after processing the initial pleas. It may take 1/2 a day for him to get to you.

When you do reach him, don't tell the judge too much. State facts and times articulately and in a matter-of-fact way. Don't be beseeching. Every person has some sort of ridiculously confusing sob story - he'll appreciate you getting to the point. At the best, he reduces your fine to around $200 and it comes off your record. At worst, it's $700. Either way, you need it to reinstate your license.

As for your ex, I say that you suck it up and pay it either way. I'd rather pay a ridiculous sum than get involved again with a person that's out of my life.
 
unfortunately, when you signed that ticket, you accepted responsiblitiy for taking care of the citation.......but you should definitely go to court to explain the circumstances and hope folr mercy!!

Have you kept your address up to date on your license? You are supposed to notify the DMV when you move.

As for the bad timing on the court date, you can ask for a continuance and get the date changed.
 
Macky-Mac said:
unfortunately, when you signed that ticket, you accepted responsiblitiy for taking care of the citation.
Click to expand...

This may be true, but I'm not convinced that it is. Remember, this is not a moving violation, it's a fix-it ticket, which is related to the maintenance of the vehicle. If you borrowed a friend's car and were pulled over for a burned-out taillight, would you or the car's registered owner be responsible for the repair?
 
IJ Reilly said:
This may be true, but I'm not convinced that it is. Remember, this is not a moving violation, it's a fix-it ticket, which is related to the maintenance of the vehicle. If you borrowed a friend's car and were pulled over for a burned-out taillight, would you or the car's registered owner be responsible for the repair?
Click to expand...

Agreed. I also don't feel the OP is responsible.
 
IJ Reilly said:
This may be true, but I'm not convinced that it is. Remember, this is not a moving violation, it's a fix-it ticket, which is related to the maintenance of the vehicle. If you borrowed a friend's car and were pulled over for a burned-out taillight, would you or the car's registered owner be responsible for the repair?
Click to expand...

here's where I got that info Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara

they say that if you sign the ticket, you're accepting responsiblity even if it isn't your car. Perhaps if he had gone to court 2 years ago the judge would have let him off since it wasn't his car, but who knows.
 
Be cheesy, if you can remember what kind of car it was -- take a new tail light bulb with you.

Spending $5-10 in the hopes of getting the thing dropped can't hurt -- but stopping at Wal-Mart or something like that on the way home and spending that money and a few minutes back then likely would have taken care of it.

You found out that the vehicle was never fixed, got the bulb to fix it, now you cannot find the car...

---

Unless it is one of the stupid vehicles, where a bodyshop has to replace the bulb, due to the bumper and several parts needing to be removed... there are some of those.
 
leekohler said:
Agreed. I also don't feel the OP is responsible.
Click to expand...

Macky-Mac said:
here's where I got that info Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara

they say that if you sign the ticket, you're accepting responsiblity even if it isn't your car. Perhaps if he had gone to court 2 years ago the judge would have let him off since it wasn't his car, but who knows.
Click to expand...

Still, that's why they have judges. According to the OP's story, his girlfriend took possession of the ticket. And if the Notice to Appear was sent to an address where the ticket signer could not have seen it, then I don't see a judge holding them to anything more than the original fine, any maybe not even that.

Well OP, you've had plenty of advice, and many questions. Where'd you go? Not arrested and thrown in the hoosegow I hope!
 
IJ Reilly said:
This may be true, but I'm not convinced that it is. Remember, this is not a moving violation, it's a fix-it ticket, which is related to the maintenance of the vehicle. If you borrowed a friend's car and were pulled over for a burned-out taillight, would you or the car's registered owner be responsible for the repair?
Click to expand...

I checked the California Vehicle Code on this. The law holds the driver, meaning the OP, responsible for equipment violations while he is driving the car. There is no provision in the law for the driver not being the owner unless the car is a rental.
 
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