<p>My dad got ticketed for failing to stop completely at a stop sign. He wants to plead not guilty and try to appeal the case. (He says he had trouble seeing the sign, seeing as it was dark and he needs and will be getting new glasses.) I don’t know much about traffic violations, so I wanted to see what others think/if anyone else has had any experience with traffic tickets in New York state. Also, if it matters, it is his first ticket in seventeen years. </p>
<p>As a side question: my parents have car insurance on our vehicle, but my name is not on it. They claim it is legal for me to drive the car, provided I have a driver’s license, is this true? I couldn’t quite find what I was looking for online.</p>
<p>My husband’s philosophy is that every ticket deserves an appeal. And…he has been extraordinarily successful (without offering anything in the way of an excuse) at negotiating the ticket down to a non-moving violation. Regarding the insurance, I haven’t a clue.</p>
<p>Your parents need to call up their insurance company and add you onto their car insurance policy. They need to add you to the insurance on each of their vehicles if you plan on driving each of them. We have 2 kids who drive. Both were added to our insurance policy and yes, it costs a pretty penny to do so.</p>
<p>Not keeping up with your glasses subscription does not sound like a valid excuse to me. I also am pretty sure that if you have a driver’s license your insurance company will want you listed. If you are away at college most of the time they’ll give you a better rate.</p>
<p>That doesn’t sound like much of an excuse to me. </p>
<p>Many car insurance policies cover someone whom you let drive your car occasionally (ie. a neighbor who temporarily needs to borrow your car), but I would assume that, as their child, you drive the car more than occasionally. I’m not sure where occasionally leaves off and regular driver begins. That would be a question for your insurance agent. I imagine each policy/state is different.</p>
<p>as someone who’s had to pay a zillion car tickets with an equal amount of excuses…u have to be in a really reallllly good position to prove your case for one. Number two, sometimes its more expensive to fight these tickets…#3 Its YOUR problem if you were driving “impaired”…driving without glasses to help you see. I’m afraid, I don’t think u’ll win this one. But if you’re willing to spend the money on the principal…go for it!</p>
<p>It’s worth showing up and offering some sort of defense- i.e. he thought he came to a full stop. Lose the glasses story. There’s always the chance that the officer won’t show up and he’ll get off.</p>
<p>He was guilty so why not just pay the fine or do the traffic school thing if they allow it? The good news is he didn’t cause an accident when he ran the stop sign.</p>
<p>Regarding insurance - the companies usually ask if there are any other licensed drivers in the householdso it seems that they would have had to claim you already.</p>
<p>no offense uscd, but nyc is really only after traffic fines, lol. its not a logical process. some tickets are worht fighting, others really just arent. i do agree to the trying to plead to lesser offenses…which we did with my ds…who had lots of interviews etc in nyc…he has a bad history to begin with, concerning parking violations…lol, for some reason, he is so freakin special…no one should ever have ticketed him!! especially during the snowstorms that made his life a tad more inconveinent! ( I do hope the sarcasm was coming thru loud and clear:)
lol
on the ohter hand…our ds, accidentally backed into a car in her parking lot, and i swear she would wear a “hair shirt” if she could for making our lives “inconvenient”…</p>
<p>In MA, at least, the court will usually offer you a “$50 special” if you show up in a suit & tie and don’t say anything particularly stupid. Usually worth the effort.</p>
<p>When our D was in college, she didn’t have a car at school. When she was at home during the summer, she would drive the family car. Our insurance agent said that she was covered as an occasional driver without having to put her on the insurance. So definitely ask your agent.</p>
<p>The Op title and post indicate the driver did not fully stop, and gave reasons(excuses?) why. What principle do we have here? Fight for what principle? If we are going to argue principle, this is a driver guilty as charged, based on Op’s explanation. The right thing to do if one is guilty as charged is accept the consequences. Gee, how’s that for a principle?</p>
<p>In MA, we have to list all members of the household as regular drivers. Insurance companies can and do deny claims for household members who are not on the policy. An “occasional” driver is one who may borrow your car, like a friend or a neighbor, or someone you might let drive on a long trip, but who does not and will not expect to drive your car on anything approaching a regular basis.</p>
<p>When my d went to college without a car, we were able to remove her from the policy for that period of time. When she came for vacations, etc., we had to put her back on. When she went back to school, off she came again. Saved us some money.</p>
<p>Check with your agent/insurance company. You could be in for a rude surprise if your dad’s wrong.</p>
<p>Any involvement with the motor vehicle tickets will quickly dispel any conceptions you might have about fairness and justice in our legal system. Fortunately I have had minimal involvement, but for each instance the term “kangaroo” court comes to mind. The decision to contest or not should be based on costs and the risk of points which could generate immediate or future concerns about insurance costs or additional fines. In NY you can be fined by the local authorities and then the State of NY can send you a bill for additional fines. A lawyer will be able to assure that there are no points and the fines are minimal. Of course, you will need to pay the lawyer. Figure about $500 for a simple in and out appeal.</p>
<p>OP- 2nd question first … you need to be added as a driver on your parent’s policy. If you are involved in an accident, proving that you’re a casual driver will be very difficult.</p>
<p>As for your Dad, it’s really his decision. That said, his “excuses” won’t work … at all. He is entitled to protest the ticket. It’s time-consuming. But as PiterBizon (post #13) correctly points out, Prosecutors would rather plead out traffic violations than spend lots of time and effort prosecuting these cases.</p>
<p>In our area, if you protest the ticket , you lose the option of traffic school. Given the cost in increased insurance, I’d plead no contest and go to traffic school.</p>
<p>OP: if you don’t live with your parents–if you have a legal residence (not college) at another address–it is perfectly fine for you to drive your parents’ car on their insurance. If you do live with your parents, they need to talk to their insurance company.</p>