I got a very tiny speeding ticket about 45 min north of dallas on the highway.
My first one ever in my life.

So, I call the court, they say the ticket is like 150 bucks, but for another 50 bucks they keep it off my record and dont tell my insurance company.
I live out of state so they said this is the only alternative since I cannot take defensive drivers course. Is this normal? None of my friends know anything about how texas does their tickets and i never heard of a 50 dollar hush hush fee.

 

Also.. does everyone use the same internet website? www.officialpayments.com O.o

Just trying to play it safe since ive seen enough scams by government workers.

 

Some states that border your home state don't have a way to share your driving record with your own home state. Did the courts ask you to pay by cash, cc or debit by chance over the phone??? Example Colorado & Arizona don't share driving & ticket info.

 

And why can you not taken a defensive driving course?

 

they said i cannot take it bc my drivers license is not of Texas.

They said Cash, Money order, or Online. Im not driving all the way to their little town by the highway to pay for it. >.<

 

Dunno bout all that man. I'd try to talk to the Justice of the peace if it is a tiny town...I think that's the right person.

I got a ticket in Lamesa, TX and went to talk to someone, thinking it was the JP. It was like 26mph over the speedo limit so they weren't going to let me take Deferred adjudification (so it wouldn't hit my record as long as I didn't get a ticket in the state for 6 months)...I talked to her, and she let me do the deferred adjud.

Did you get it from a TX DPS? or local PD/SO?

Having said that, you should be able to do the deffered adjudification....since you won't be going through TX, you won't get a ticket.

 

is it true that if you get a speeding ticket in a state you will never go back to (lets say rhode island, its small) then you can get away with not paying it, and a warrant will be out for your arrest, but only in that state? i thought i read something like this in a car magazine where a guy got a ticket in a state, but since he never planned to come back he just ignored it.

 

lol. im in the military, i think a warrant is the last thing I need before commissioning.

It was the TX DPS. They said my deferred adjudification is the 50 dollar fee.

 

When you do deferred adjudication you cannot get any tickets for 3 months.

 

only in that city!

 

I've been in and out of the traffic court system several times over the years.
I can clear up a few things.

There's no such thing as a "hush hush" fee. Perhaps the terminology was interpreted wrong. Courts will send you paperwork to take defensive driving for a fee, if you live in another city. The $50 sounds about right. However, you live in another state. You may not be able to do this. I would call back and ask. Perhaps you'll get ahold of another clerk. Be specific with your wording so you guys are on the same page.

All moving violations that you were found guilty of, and or paid, will show up negatively to your insurance company. Moving violations pull up no matter what state you're in also. It will go against your driving record even if your insurance policy is in another state. I just happened to my GF. She moved here from Indiana. All her violations went against her when she opened up a new policy here in Texas.

Deferred Judification can not be asked for over the phone. It has to be done in court. It is a non-supervised probation period given by the judge, where you can not recieve a ticket for the duration. There is no set standard on time frame given. It is up to the discretion of the judge. However, 1st offense is usually 3-6 months and 2nd offense is usually 9 months. I know because I've recieved both.

It is true that if you just don't pay the ticket or go to court a warrant will be issued for your arrest. The warrant is not federal. It is only good within Texas. Only a state trooper or local law enforcement, in the town where the warrant was issued, can arrest you. I know this too, because it also happened to me.
I would strongly advise against having a warrant issued. This will show up on your criminal record where ever you go. If an employer decides to run a back ground check, guess what? You're screwed.

My advice. If you do not want to return to the town on court date, just pay the ticket and be done with it. It'll save you alot of heartache in the long run....

 

yea thats what they told me. 5 years of driving so far and this is my first speeding ticket. >.< hopefully my last?

 

and sorry if i didnt clarify, but my main question was:

Is the 50 dollar, keep it off the record and dont tell my insurance company fee real? I dont have to do anything else except not get a ticket for 3 months. Not even defensive driving.

 

3 months or 6 months depends on the ppl who assign it, Mine was for 96 in a 70, and it was 6 months...It was the only time I'd heard 6 before, but it kept the ticket off the record so I agreed.

I've had others in cities that were only 3 months. ( I've had a lot of experience with this). knock on wood the last 3 yrs have been spotless.

If its given by the DPS, then you cannot get a ticket in the entire state. If its a local PD/SO then its just in their county/city.

IIRC I did have to pay a little extra for the deffered. And yes deferred is just that, stay clean for the given time in the specified areas and your all clear, no other hoops...just no moving violations.

 

okay, an update............ this is amazing.

ticket recieved on 8/02/2008.
I paid the amount + amount for get it off my record.
They sent a affidavit out on 9/04/2008.
I recieve it 9/12/2008.

It must be turned in prior to the ending of the deferral date.
deferral is the "dont get a ticket" date zone???

my deferral ends on 12/04/2008 if it is.

sounds right? texas is rough

 

yup, your good.

 

thx.
i was like, i got 1 day left to send it?????? this is crap!
haha.

geez i never want a ticket ever again.

 

[QUOTE=texas is rough[/QUOTE]

What do you mean? Pay some money and you don't have your insurance go up. That sounds good to me. Texas would rather you pay the state than pay an insurance company.

I'm just curious if it can ever be tracked down. I know it won't go to the insurance company, but does the state keep record of how many times you've done deferred adjudification?

 

yea but they make it difficult for people like me who never had a ticket before and have no clue about how it all works.

I called the court and they said notary public needs to notarize my affidavit.
uhhh what? I have to drive down to texas and find a notary public guy to sign the paperwork? thats dumb... and the court lady helped out like 0.000%.

 

That's due to the pure lack of intelligence most court employees have...