<p>Got pulled over coming home from work tonight for doing 60 mph in a 45 mph zone. More importantly, the cop told me that he ran my license through the system and it came back as suspended. Charged me with driving on a suspended license, plus two other traffic charges (expired tags and something else).</p>
<p>I had no idea my damn license was suspended. I got a speeding ticket last spring, had it reduced to improper equipment, and mailed a bank-certified money order to the exact address that I was supposed to. I’m not sure what happened along the way, but someone messed up and my license got suspended as a result of it. I need my license for my job (I deliver food), and I’m scheduled to work again tomorrow night. I’m afraid that if I tell my employer my license is suspended, they’ll fire me. I could care less about the speeding ticket, I deserved that, but this is really messing up my world right now. </p>
<p>The cop let me drive away, so I assume its cool that I’m driving. Should I just not tell my employer about the license situation until I find out what happened? And what can I do to prove my case that I mailed the check for my last ticket when I was supposed to? </p>
<p>I don’t give ethical advice, and honestly can’t feel too much sympathy for an habitual speeder, but in any event if you kept the purchaser’s copy of the money order, the bank can determine if it was ever cashed. Even if it was lost in the mail, the copy, showing date and payee, would certainly help prove your good intentions. And do us all a favor and stop speeding, 'kay?</p>
<p>I am not a lawyer. It would seem obvious that you need to go to the DMV and get this straightened out. Find out first why your license was suspended. It is not "cool " that you are driving. I’m surprised that the cop let you drive away. Around here they will cite you and often tow the vehicle you are driving.<br>
As far as the ticket, see the post above. Good advice there.
Expired tags or something? Okay you have multiple problems. You did something that got your license suspended. Generally before that happens and when that happens you are notified by mail. You are driving with expired tags, meaning you did not pay the registration. (If you did pay but someone stole your tags the cop would know that…)
More than speeding, you are generally operating without any concern for the rules and not paying attention to the details.<br>
Stop for a day or two and get your life under control. You will feel better.
Mom lecture over. (You must have known you needed one because you did post in the parent cafe :))</p>
<p>Go to DMV now, and if you can’t resolve it walk directly to a lawyer. Your right that as a delivery driver, your employer will immediately suspend of fire you when they find out you don’t have a valid (suspended) license…</p>
<p>Normally you would be notified by mail if your license was suspended. Something doesn’t smell right here. I would get it straightened out- fast. If you REALLY believe it’s a mistake that you can correct promptly, I would not say anything to the employer. If the suspension is removed because it was not proper in the first place, you are within your rights. If it IS a valid suspension, you will need to find a job that doesn’t involve driving.</p>
<p>Made a plethora of phone calls today. Here’s what happened:</p>
<p>After my attorney was able to get my ticket reduced to a non-moving violation, he sent me a letter giving me an address to mail my $175 fine and court fee to. I gave the letter to my parents, who said they would take care of it. A month later, I got a letter from the DMV delivered to my school address. It said that I had exactly one month to pay the fine, or else my license would be suspended. I went home the next week, got a money order, mailed the fine, and kept my receipts from both the money order and the post office. A couple of weeks later, AFTER the due date had already passed, my parents got a letter at their address from the court office stating that we actually owed $200, not $175, and that we were $25 short. They mailed a payment right away, but evidently the court still suspended my license because they didn’t get the $200 by the due date. I kept the letter from my lawyer stating that the court fees and costs were $175, so I know we didn’t pay the wrong amount. Someone-either the lawyer or the court system-erred on the fine amount, and didn’t tell us about it until it was too late.</p>
<p>As far as the notification goes, the DMV sent its one and only letter to my school address. The primary address that I have on my DL is my home address, and I have no idea how or why the DMV sent a letter to my school address. I moved out of that address earlier this summer, so it is possible that subsequent letters were sent to a vacant house.</p>
<p>In regards to the speeding, I was on a four-lane, divided highway at midnight. I honestly thought the limit was 55, but it was 45. There were no other cars on the road to give me reference. It was my mistake, and I probably deserved the speeding ticket. I’m more worried about losing my job because of a clerical error made hundreds of miles away, though. Not to mention the fact that I was charged with a 1st degree misdemeanor, which better not stay on my damn record.</p>
<p>We cross posted ^ but I find it hard to believe you have money for an attorney but not money for tabs.
OIC, you have your parents taking care of your messes- Not very impressive- how old are you , 5?</p>
<p>*Ive gotten a speeding ticket before- for going 5 miles over the limit WITH the flow of traffic and yes I contested it, but it wasn’t dropped or reduced & I had to pay THAT day I appeared before the magistrate- not at a later time.</p>
<p>You don’t say how fast you were going for the ticket you thought you paid- However, I am confident in saying that you cannot get a ticket reduced unless you appear before a magistrate & it is made pretty clear what the fine is and how it should be paid, which is immediately unless you arrange for payments.</p>
<p>So driving on a suspended license- Not. Good.
Driving 15 miles over the speed limit. Not Good.
Expired tabs. Not. Good.
Something else? What? Surely you know what the other charge was. Not. Good.
Are you driving your employers car or your own car?</p>
<p>I don’t think you take the rights and responsibilities of driving a motor vehicle very seriously and when I see your comments regarding drinking games on other threads, it alarms me even more.</p>
<p>You are an accident waiting to happen, take advantage of the fact that an accident hasn’t happened yet & clear up your status ASAP.*</p>
<p>See, I hired an attorney and never had to go to court. His system was odd, though-he charged his attorney fee up front, and then sent the bill for the court costs after he settled your case. I’m used to paying a flat rate for everything right up front.</p>
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<p>Once again, my attorney appeared in court for me. He got the fine reduced, he just quoted me the wrong amount when he sent me the invoice.</p>
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<p>Not good at all, but also not my fault. Never knew that it was suspended, and it shouldn’t have been suspended at all since I did exactly what I was supposed to do with regards to paying my fine. I kept all of the documentation, though, so I’m think that I’ll be alright as far as that goes.</p>
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<p>Agreed. I was honestly mistaken about the limit, though.</p>
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<p>Agreed. </p>
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<p>I thought it was something else, but it (expired registration) apparently means the same thing as expired tags.</p>
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<p>My own car.</p>
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<p>I’m in college. I’m also legal. I drink, like many other college kids my age do. That doesn’t have any impact on my driving, however.</p>
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<p>I’ll take that into consideration. It would certainly be easier if they people around me did their jobs right as well.</p>
<p>I’m in college. I’m also legal. I drink, like many other college kids my age do. That doesn’t have any impact on my driving, however.</p>
<p>However, by your own admission you have been drinking heavily since high school.
You also recently asked advice about getting something that occurred in high school expunged from your record ( substance related perhaps?) & you haven’t addressed dumping your problems on your parents to fix for you, even though at 21 you have been an adult for three years.</p>
<p>Be a man and take responsibility for your own messes, and if you can’t pay for your own attorney, don’t behave in a way that requires the services of one.</p>
<p>"I’ll take that into consideration. It would certainly be easier if they people around me did their jobs right as well. "</p>
<p>Dude…as the mom of eight children (4 who are “legal” ) I have heard every excuse in the book. When you get a ticket, IT IS NO ONE’S JOB BUT YOUR OWN TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS RESOLVED. There should never be any of your mail sitting in a vacant house. The postal services will forward your mail but you have to actually fill out the card or go online and make the change. Don’t you that excuse in court or the Judge will laugh himself straight out of his/her chair. First, your employer should not be allowing you to drive his food around with expired tags. Time to resolve that…about an hour if the tags are registered in your college state. If they are registered in your home state, the time to resolve that was this summer when you were drunk as a skunk at some party. Your priorities are not in order. Sounds like they never have been. Being legal and being an adult are very different things. I think you should work on the later.</p>
<p>Want some moral advice? (You did ask) Start taking FULL responsibility for your actions. Be humble. Be a man. Stop blaming, stop pointing fingers. Dig deep and do the work to fix this. The time you have taken to post your case here, you could have been at the DMV actually doing something about it? Did your attorney or mom take the driving test for you? Of course not. It is not their fish to fry.</p>
<p>I’m confused. Why did you (or… your parents?) hire an attorney to start with? Every speeding ticket I have ever gotten I deserved Not a lot, but I have had a few. And paid as directed. No problems ever here (except higher insurance rates for a couple of years). Sounds like you might have been better off just paying up to start with.</p>
<p>Twice, in five years. Nothing to be worried about.</p>
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<p>I’m sorry that I trusted my attorney, who told me that everything was alright. My tags just expired a few days ago (the 15th), so spare me that. I didn’t even realize it. </p>
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<p>I posted this at 1 am. I went to the DMV first thing this morning, and got my license reinstated. I requested new stickers for my tags online. I made an appointment with a different lawyer for tomorrow. That’s all I can do today. </p>
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<p>I can afford (barely) an attorney who can get things down to a non-moving violation. I can’t afford drastically increased insurance premiums every month. I guess it is a choice between the lesser of two evils.</p>
<p>I think you would be better off without an attorney.
Dealing with the stuff yourself will be cheaper- won’t put you in a position where you are dependent on someone else knowing your business & will make you take it more seriously.</p>
<p>I agree that if your tabs were just a few days over, that it isn’t that big of a deal & if you take care of that ASAP- I am sure that part of your ticket will be dropped.
Also if you can prove that similar roads have a higher speed limit, that part may be dropped or at least lowered as well.</p>
<p>I have never hired an attorney for anything, despite my 52 years of age and a colorful past .
I couldn’t afford it-cause I have been out of my childhood home since I was 17, and didn’t get married till I was 23.
I have consulted attorneys re: real estate issues but having one handle my traffic tickets? c’mon.</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with the ticket for 60 in a 45. It happens all the time and has happened to me and some of my family members. There are roads where 60 simply doesn’t seem very fast. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to keep racking up tickets. My son has the same problem (although it’s been awhile now). He was getting really stupid tickets- sort of “bad luck” tickets- but the point was that he could not afford to keep getting them so he had to be extra careful and make sure he knew the speed limits on every road. He even got one for having a headlight out IN THE DAYTIME. (money maker for a small town) I’ve done my own time at defensive driving school.<br>
I also can see how you can have a lapsed registration/tags. 3 people in our 11 person legal department had that happen here in our state. It’s not a big deal. You just correct it.
What you CAN’T have is a suspended license, so I’m glad you are getting it all straightened out. Now go drive more carefully so you are safe and don’t get tickets.</p>
<p>I had to pay them $110 to reinstate it. They had it all in the computer apparently, they suspended it on the second of this month because the payment for my earlier ticket wasn’t correct (due to the attorney or some mishap there). I didn’t know any of this, but it was no big deal at all to get the license reinstated. They just wanted more money (surprise, surprise). </p>
<p>I put in a request for new tags online, but they won’t accept it until I get a new inspection as well. This is my first year doing all of this stuff on my own (my parents used to take care of it), and I’m failing miserably at it. At least I’ll know what I need to do come this time next year, though.</p>
<p>I was thinking the same thing as emeraldkity4… you are pretty young to be hiring an attorney to bail you out of anything. I have had some attorneys, but only for big stuff – divorce, estate handling. Guess you will be paying better attention the speed limit from now on. Honestly, I think people who get speeding tickets deserve to pay higher insurance rates. It is kind of offensive to me that you can get an attorney help you reduce the charges when you really were speeding.</p>
<p>I bet everyone on this forum can think of roads they drive all the time that seem to have stupidly low speed limits (I sure can!). But they are all posted. </p>
<p>And believe it or not, there are actually reasons (sometimes) for those speed limits. One of our 45 mph zones on a local highway was set as a deal with local homeowners when they built the road to keep the noise level down. Another 30 mph zone (on a road where 50 feels more reasonable) is because of county rules about needing wider shoulders for higher speed limits.</p>
Not a lot, but I have had a few. And paid as directed. No problems ever here (except higher insurance rates for a couple of years). Sounds like you might have been better off just paying up to start with.</p>