Have read recently in other posts that some states have an amnesty (or such) program for speeding tickets. My daughter received a ticket in Missouri last night, am trying to head off any increase in Auto insurance. She attends college there, was called by "friends" that they were too drunk to drive, she went to pick them up and was nabbed doing 8 over limit on the way back to campus (about 2 in the morning).. Cop informed her that he would be reporting this to the school, which has a zero tolerance alcohol policy. She is throwing herself at the Dean this morning hoping that he agress that she did the right thing by fetching these knuckleheads, hoping that she will not be expelled through association.. Any help in the ticket thing would be most appreciated. Sorry for the bleeding rant on something not really that desperate considering all the misery going on south of us..
I had three kids in college. I always believed when they reached that age they needed to answer for their own mistakes. I always told my boys if I got a call from them in jail they might as well get comfortable cause... At that very minute i'll know theyr'e safe and can't get into any More trouble. Sounds like a minor life issue to me that is more of a learning experience that doesn't need fixed. I always thought...if they can be energetic enough to run at 2 am in the morning. they can also find a side job to pay for there mistakes. Tough love PJ
It sounds as though she did the right thing by picking up the friends rather than possibly leave them drive under the influence. The speeding thing? Well, we've all done it at one time or another. Not sure if there's a way out of that, but maybe a good early lesson for her. If the dean gives her grief over this, I believe it would not be a just thing (mho). The main thing, regardless of what the school says, she kept some drunk students off the highway that night. Good luck. Stu
He should NOT expell her........but maybe the knuckleheads.... Sometimes doing the right thing turns out so wrong..... I drove a drunk home 1 night, in his car and the car was worn out. The drag link fell off and I wrecked his car. He had no insurance.......and I lost my license. I was sober.....never had a drink...... Karma has a way of coming around .......a few years later....he lost his license.....driving someone home..from the bar. Sadly, he lost his life a few years after that....driving drunk..... ALCOHOL and driving KILLS...... Good luck on the school and just pay up on the ticket.......if she learns a lesson.....it will be well worth it..... .
I was told down here in Fla., by a highway patrol, that insurance companies do not consider 9 miles an hour over the posted limit as "speeding". They almost consider it as a non-moving violation. Maybe it will not screw up your insurance rates?
Update for those who have interest... She was chewed on by the Dean, as we did as well, repeatedly. Hard to be too mad when she was doing the right thing though, except for the ticket thing... Cop must have been in a bad "out of doughnuts" mood or something.. Can only sit back and wait in regards to insurance thing.. This basically falls into the "no good deed goes unpunished".. Apparently, one of the knuckleheads was under age, another vomited in her back seat, none paid her for her gas, 40 mile one-way trip (Branson - Springfield).. She is safe from repercussions via school at least (private church affiliated school) she could of been canned from her scholarship... As stated by others above, this was one of those sucky life lessons..
Does Missouri offer defensive driving classes? That will allow her to keep the ticket off of her record. As for the getting in trouble with the school...the dean would have to be one hardass mofo to punish her for that.
Hey Dad, Call an attorney in the town that the offense took place. Usually they can make a phone call and get the ticket 'buried' for about twice the fine. No ticket, no insurance increase. I think she did the right thing, although the ingrates shafted her. Tell her just to not make a habit of it. Afterall, what are Dads for?? Been there. JayD
If you haven't paid or pleaded the ticket yet, call the prosecutor for whatever county issued the ticket. They will tell you if you are eligible for either a "prosecutors diversion" or "safe driver" program. Both are what you refer to as amnesty programs and will still cost you the ticket price but will keep the points off the license and the insurance won't know about it. Make sure you meet the criteria for the program when you ask about it too. The Indiana program has three stipulations...you can't have been going more than 25MPH over the posted limit, you can't have gotten a seatbelt citation in conjunction with the speeding ticket, and you can't have a ticket on your record in the last 24 months (although you can have other diversions if they don't know about them and very few counties actually check).
Imfatdad...what county was it in? My relative is a Sheriff of a county south of Springfield (good chance it's the same county)...maybe I could call uncle Mike and pull some strings? I normally wouldn't offer this kinda help but considering the situation, I truly appreciate the fact that she was keeping the roads (that all of my family drive) safe. If she were my daughter, I'd be giving her a pat on the back! I can't make any promises but worth a shot!
Though the school and local PD may have a close relationship where off-campus offenses will be reported to the dean, in this case they have no corrolation. Your daughter was a hero and was a designated driver, and therefore sober. A cop nabs her going 8 over and gives her a ticket for speeding, not for drinking. The school your daughter attends, like the University of Delaware that i attend, has a strict no under-age drinking policy. If someone gets picked up off campus for an alcohol related offense, then the school will be notified of the offense and the person will face discipline from the school as well as the local authorities. This is a different scenario than say, if a whole bunch of people were drinking underage in a dorm room, but one person wasn't drinking. If the room gets busted up, then the sober guy goes down too because it appears that he's partying. Your daughter wasn't cited for drinking and therefore can't be held accountable for her friends OFF CAMPUS indiscretion. This is a free country, and even of your daughter wanted to go to bar and stand there all day, so long as she doesn't drink, she can't be held accountable. The only thing your daughter is guilty of is speeding, and I doubt the university has a zero tolerance no speeding policy. This is happening because the cop is being an asshole. Once the schools judicial system hears the details here, your daughter won't have anything to worry about. Her friends might be a different story though
DO NOT PAY THAT TICKET. Get an attorney. It's going to cost you roughly 200 dollars (fees vary) plus the fine to get it taken car of, but it will be gone and insurance increase will not be an issue. It's going to save you and your daughter a lot of money in the long run. That's how it is done in Missouri. You pay the attorney and he calls the prosecutor. The conversation goes something like this. "Yes sir Mr. Prosecutor, it appears my client was speeding...but I think her speedometer was inaccurate. Here's 200 dollars, do you think you could bust that down to defective equipment if I promise to get it taken care of? (wink wink) Prosecutor says, "Well yes sir, I think that is a fine idea. No need to bother a judge with all of this nonsense." DONE. Not ticket, no insurance increase. Believe me, you want to do this now. It's not about enforcing the law and it sure as hell isn't about making the roads safer. It's all about REVENUE.
I have one of those pending right now. Monsterflake even hooked me up with a "discount" place that specialized is greasing the wheels of justice. http://www.trafficlawcenters.com/pages/1/index.htm
Why...for going 8 over the limit!!! In my opinion she has a decent case to be well pissed off...she goes way out of her way to do the right thing by her buddies and she gets told off. What lesson is she getting taught right now! Like another poster said she deserves a pat on the back. 8 over the limit at 2am is nothing. As for the ticket - I'd be on the phone to the cops boss explaining the full story to him before I spent a cent on lawyers, double fines or anything else. And if he doesn't drop the ticket, then go down the other routes.
"The boss" and I both discussed this at length, all morning.. I concur that 8 over the limit is nothing, but IT IS over the limit.. AND it could raise our insurance premiums, four drivers and 5 cars add up.. I must be " a Dad" here and let her know that although her being being altruistic, she did violate rules. Damn, another case of turning into my Dad!!!! Re the Dean: the officer told her that he was going to call the Dean to inform of the ticket, beacuse of the alcohol involvement. Again this is a Private (Church)Univ with code of ethics and conduct. I personally think he was being way over the top on this. This was reason that we decided that she should head off any repercusions by her reporting incident first.. But this issue is moot now, the ticket is worry now... No question that she did do the right thing, we have told her repeatedly that we are proud of her, but on the other hand, the was taken advantage of by these kids, who so far have not offered any gas money, cleaning of the car, or to pay for the ticket.. Life is hard... Again, so very minor to other shit people are dealing with down south of me... last rant. Thanks all for the possible solution scenerios....
I got stopped last year at 2:30 AM south of Huron, SD, on a four lane divided going 5 over. I hadn't seen another car for at least half an hour. The female highway patrol person (PC there) kept me for about 40 minutes and acted pissed that I wasn't drunk or a fleeing felon or something. She couldn't give me a ticket but made me sit in the car with her and her BO while she went through all the hoops and finally gave me some stupid warning. I think the officers out at that time are just pissed about being out there and have to hassle anybody even bending the rules just to prove their own worth.
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