<p>Yes – first offense.</p>
<p>In a perfect world, there would be a mix of judgment, punishment, learning lessons, and moving on for my kid. But I know that’s not realistic.</p>
<p>I’ll keep you guys updated. Thank you for everyone who took the time to post.</p>
<p>When D1 was a senior she got a ticket for going 85 at the 65 speed limit zone in NJ. I threatened to take her car away if she got points. She hired a lawyer on her own. The lawyer was a friend’s father. I thought friend’s father would send an associate on the court day, so I was very surprised when he showed up himself (he was a senior partner at a law firm). Because D1 was represented by a lawyer, she was bumped ahead of other people without a lawyer. The lawyer pleaded down to lower speed. D1 ended up with a fine, but without any points. D1 didn’t have to say or do anything other than paying the fine.</p>
<p>Aaaahhhh…very good information, oldfort. So I sort of infer that the cost of an attorney (if your D’s experience in NJ is a predictor for DE) might be very well offset by the avoided cost of fine + points. Way to go for your D to find her own attorney! That’s the best possible outcome – they emerge having learned something on many levels.</p>
<p>No matter what, she is not driving our car again for the next 6 months or longer. It was a nice perk to make her life easier; no more.</p>
<p>I once got a ticket in Florida going back to school from winter break (long, long time ago) and I was supposed to appear but didn’t and my license was suspended for a year but only in Florida. I had a NY State drivers lic. and could drive in any of the other 49 states.</p>
<p>^I think this is the genesis of many convoluted road trips where suddenly someone realizes they’re approaching a certain state and starts to take the long road home…</p>
<p>But thank you emilybee – even if her license is suspended, she may still be allowed to drive in her home state. If her mom who is now very upset will let her…</p>
<p>razorsharp – good point – I asked her when I got home from work. Unlike NY, where they give you a narrow long print out from a hand held device that has probably the worst ink quality I’ve ever seen, D got a 8.5 x 11 clear print out as her ticket which just said “speeding” and “lack of insurance” (she was so rattled she couldn’t find the card which was buried in the arm rest thingy). </p>
<p>Our car (and her as a driver) was fully insured at time of stop, so I have heard that’s a non-issue. There was no mention of reckless driving or driving while impaired. I have to say – she is a good kid in that regard – if she knows she is “going out” (drinking) she will not drive our car or anyone else’s. That’s not to say she might not be a passenger in a car with someone who has been drinking, but there’s only so much you can control…</p>
<p>She should bring the insurance policy on her court date. She may still get a fine for not having the insurance information at the time ticket was issued, but it would be a lot less severe than driving without insurance. </p>
<p>I think due to modern age of computer, traffic violation information is easily shared between states.</p>
<p>Another good idea. Thank you.</p>
<p>I feel like I should go with her. But I can’t leave work right now. Maybe I can get H (the <em>scofflaw</em>) to go? Bad idea…</p>
<p>“even if her license is suspended, she may still be allowed to drive in her home state. If her mom who is now very upset will let her…”</p>
<p>Oh, I hear you. If it were my kid, not only would I not let him drive for a long while, it would be the last he would ever see of the car we bought him. </p>
<p>I am sure when I got the ticket in Florida I didn’t even tell my parents.</p>
<p>OP, I got a speeding ticket in a neighboring state a few years ago, and didn’t pay the fine. (It was one of those obvious speed traps where limit suddenly drops from 50 to 35 and small town cop is sitting there waiting…I wasn’t even aware I was over the limit. :rolleyes:
) Next thing I knew, my license was suspended in MY state. I had to hustle and pay the fine online. So I wouldn’t count on that.</p>
<p>We never bought her a car, but the way it works out, she will thus not have a car for the fall term or Spring (because I’m so upset and also, she doesn’t really need it). So probationally speaking, her lack of car status according to Statute NY-MOM/1992-D is this: no car for you! Until I feel differently.</p>
<p>I think that’s official-ish, right?</p>
<p>Not sure how it works between states, but I wouldn’t want an outstanding arrest warrant floating around for not showing up in court, or for not paying a fine in another state. It would be my luck to be minding my own business and cruising through Hazard County in some state and getting stopped for a broken tail light, the deputy running a check and seeing outstanding warrant from other state and me ending up working on Sheriff Hogg’s turpentine farm for a few years. If I had unattended traffic or criminal stuff hanging in another state, I’d want an attorney helping me clean it up.</p>
<p>Totally agree. I never said she would ignore the court date or not pay the fine – I realize (and so does she) that doing so brings on its own world of hurt. She has, from the ticket date, fully intended to show up for the assigned court date and pay the fine.</p>
<p>Just noticed after I typed this, that she doesn’t have her own car, maybe this will still be useful.</p>
<p>She could have caused a horrible accident that could have resulted in quite a judgement against your family. I would immediately have her on her own insurance policy driving a car in her name only from now on. I know some people believe that the parents can be drawn into a lawsuit, and that may be possible, heck you can name anybody you want in a lawsuit. I understand the law to be , here in NJ anyway, that LIABILITY FOLLOWS THE AUTO. That means that if you own the vehicle you are responsible for the damage it causes no matter who is driving ( except for theft of course). It then follows that YOU would not be responsible for damage caused by a car your daughter is driving and owns. Of course a driver can also be held liable in addition the to the owner. Assuming that you own property you will want to protect yourself from potential judgements. Based on this ticket you should get her off your policy. (although this might have scared her for a while!)</p>
<p>My son is still on my policy because here in NJ rates for boys are so high. If he makes it through August he will be eligible (3 yrs driving, no tickets) for a policy with our current company that has really good rates. I hope to put him on it while he is able to get it (before tickets!) I did raise our coverage to a nice high limit in the meantime, that is an option people should consider if they have risky drivers on their policy.</p>
<p>Not guaranteeing that you won’t be sued if she has a terrible accident, but risk is greatly reduced if she is on her own policy in her own car. (car has to be in her name).</p>
<p>Wow – another good tip — thank you NJfootballmom – I didn’t know that. </p>
<p>So far, my thinking is: she has no reason or need to have a car (or have use of my car) for the next year, at minimum. After that point, I will explore having her get her own car with her own insurance. If she has learned to drive responsibly, then she can get her own insurance (or forego the freedom and pleasure of driving).</p>
<p>I have no desire to pay for her youthful experience with my hard earned dollars. This isn’t a “Mom doesn’t love me!” kind of thing. This is: you say you’re an adult but you don’t act like an adult and you could have killed someone.</p>
<p>We did hacve each kid have their own vehicle with own policies while in college. Dropped our premium for 2 cars with max coverage down to $600/year! That is more than either kid pays for 6 months of coverage. S is happy his premiums should be dropping because he’s turning 26 and has not been at fault for any accidents nor had any tickets. He’s hoping for a nice drop in premiums. D is holding steady at $700/6months.</p>
<p>OP, sorry, I didn’t mean to imply that you weren’t fully intending to have her appear and pay the fine. That has been clear all along. I just meant that it is possible that if her license is suspended in one state, it can also be in another. </p>
<p>On the other hand, I gather that you are suspending her driving privileges anyway. :)</p>
<p>Excellent suggestion about titling cars, NJFBM. My attorney friend is always going about that. Just have name on title for person who uses car primarily. Title car wife drives mostly just in her name, husband solely on title for car he uses, and try to get kids on titles only for their cars. Might jack up insurance rates for kids’ cars, but be wiser financially in case of a lawsuit judgment for parents.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, D1 had to pay close to 300 in fine. The lawyer didn’t charge her. According to D1, she was just going with the traffic, but was trying to pass an 18 wheeler because she didn’t feel comfortable driving a mini behind such a big vehicle. It was the last ticket D1 ever received. </p>
<p>Most young drivers get into more accidents and tickets the first few years due to inexperience. I wouldn’t get too upset or hysterical over one speeding ticket.</p>
<p>Regarding the lawyer, a long time ago my insurance agent said that sometimes it’s cheaper to hire an attorney to assist with traffic charges because the cost of the increased insurance costs sometimes offset the lawyer fees. All states are different and Michigan has horrendous car insurance costs so YMMV. I agree you might want to find out if anything will happen to your car insurance with your D’s charges and how best to handle that aspect.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t get hysterical but anyone driving 95 mph, let alone an inexperienced driver, is seriously dangerous. I don’t know anyone, of any age, who has been ticketed at that speed. As someone who put myself through grad school working in a claims department, I too often saw the results of people who drove dangerously. </p>
<p>To the OP: it’s quite possible that any suspension or fine in Delaware will be relayed to the DMV in your home state, as well as to your insurance company. Many states have these policies of reciprocity of information, so it shouldn’t surprise you if this is the case, nor if your insurer is notified and if there is an increase in your premium as a result.</p>