Ticket from US, what to do?
16-Apr-2006, 09:26 PM
#1
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 46
Ticket from US, what to do?
Anyone know or got any "experience" getting a ticket from US?
I was just in NY for the long weekend. On the way back, just about 10 min from crossing the boardor back into Canada(!!), on I-81 in the middle or nowhere, no traffic, a cop was hiding behind the trees ( no kidding!) and got me going at 81miles/h, limit is 65mph. If you translate back to Km/hour, that it's like 129 over 104 km/h.
The ticket has no set fine/penalty on it. The cop said I have to sign (guilty or not) and send it to the US court which will then send me back to penalty info.
So The questions are
1) Do we Canadian have to pay for any US traffic ticket? (tho I'll probably pay for it anyway since I do go to US once awhile so I don't want to get in trouble if I get caught again (touch wood) next time perhaps?))
2) If there's demerit point from the US court decision, it shouldn't affect my driving record in CANADA, right? My license is still clean darnit!
3) Will insurance company knows about it at all?
The irony of this ticket was the whole 6-7 hours drive back from NY, I was going at only 110-120km/h max (ie ~70-75 mile/hour on 65mile/hour road). It's just that last bit of "home run" being so glad that I'm finally back soon and there was no other car around at all, that I went a lil faster. WORSE yet was I noticed that all of a sudden small area of trees and I actually thought about cop hiding there and I WAS SLOWing down already. But I guess the cop got me before I slowed but still... darn!!
I was just in NY for the long weekend. On the way back, just about 10 min from crossing the boardor back into Canada(!!), on I-81 in the middle or nowhere, no traffic, a cop was hiding behind the trees ( no kidding!) and got me going at 81miles/h, limit is 65mph. If you translate back to Km/hour, that it's like 129 over 104 km/h.
The ticket has no set fine/penalty on it. The cop said I have to sign (guilty or not) and send it to the US court which will then send me back to penalty info.
So The questions are
1) Do we Canadian have to pay for any US traffic ticket? (tho I'll probably pay for it anyway since I do go to US once awhile so I don't want to get in trouble if I get caught again (touch wood) next time perhaps?))
2) If there's demerit point from the US court decision, it shouldn't affect my driving record in CANADA, right? My license is still clean darnit!
3) Will insurance company knows about it at all?
The irony of this ticket was the whole 6-7 hours drive back from NY, I was going at only 110-120km/h max (ie ~70-75 mile/hour on 65mile/hour road). It's just that last bit of "home run" being so glad that I'm finally back soon and there was no other car around at all, that I went a lil faster. WORSE yet was I noticed that all of a sudden small area of trees and I actually thought about cop hiding there and I WAS SLOWing down already. But I guess the cop got me before I slowed but still... darn!!
16-Apr-2006, 09:59 PM
#2
Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: AJAX
Posts: 572
I can t see it affecting your insurance but if you wanna know ask them or go to another broker and ask.. but I would pay it if you are planning on returning cuz you might have to deal with some bs if you don't.
In Canada the NSF ( no set fine ) starts at like 49+kmph they gave it to you at only 25 over geez... well I hope for you that the fine isn t huge.
In Canada the NSF ( no set fine ) starts at like 49+kmph they gave it to you at only 25 over geez... well I hope for you that the fine isn t huge.
16-Apr-2006, 10:57 PM
#3
Registered User
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 46
ok sucksssssssssssssssssss
someone just found this for me:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dan...er/demerit.htm
"Drivers convicted of a driving related offence in the State of New York, the State of Michigan or any Canadian province or territory, will have home jurisdictional penalties such as demerit points and/or suspensions applied to their Ontario driver record as if the offence occurred in Ontario. "
It's looking much worse that I was imagining....
Years of clean driving record.... on the verge of getting screwed from out of the country!?! darn!
someone just found this for me:
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dan...er/demerit.htm
"Drivers convicted of a driving related offence in the State of New York, the State of Michigan or any Canadian province or territory, will have home jurisdictional penalties such as demerit points and/or suspensions applied to their Ontario driver record as if the offence occurred in Ontario. "
It's looking much worse that I was imagining....
Years of clean driving record.... on the verge of getting screwed from out of the country!?! darn!
16-Apr-2006, 10:59 PM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Toronto
Posts: 5,836
this reminded me of something i saw on global back a few months ago....dug around and found an article on it...
Good Luck with everything man...
Highway Robbery (Air Date: November 7, 2005)
Sean O'Shea & Candice Mak
Global Defenders
Monday, November 07, 2005
From his hiding spot on New York's busy Highway 190 sits trooper Brian McCloud. He watches and waits. Training a keen eye on drivers with a heavy foot.
Come up too fast on this state trooper's radar and you'll face the consequences.
"We get a lot of people driving at high rates of speed through here," McCloud tells the Global Defenders, shortly after pulling over a driver. "You were going 72 in a 55," McCloud says, asking whether the young female behind the wheel is running late for school.
These New York highways are among the most patrolled in America.
Break the traffic laws and you could face an enormous penalty.
Whether you're American or not.
Just ask Lee Brown of Toronto - who got nabbed by state police in the spring.
She was caught driving 22 m.p.h (about 35 km/h) over the speed limit.
Brown didn't bother fighting the ticket, choosing to plead guilty - and accepting a heavy fine.
"It was $180 U.S," Brown says, admitting she found the original ticket pricey at the time. "Yes, I was a bit surprised, it was that much. But what the heck, I paid it."
In fact Brown's problems were only beginning when she paid the fine. In New York state, the true cost of speeding is much more than the speeding ticket itself. And don't blame police.
Under a new state law called the Driver Responsibility Program, New York fines some drivers not just once - but twice.
"I don't think they really thought through due process and the rights of individuals when they put it into effect," says Fonda Kubiak, a Buffalo, New York based lawyer.
Kubiak says the Driver Responsibility program isn't aimed at making roads safer -- it's a simple cash grab.
"The legislature amended the vehicle and traffic law in 2004 primarily as a revenue-generating tool to get some more money into the coffers of New York State who are under severe budget restraints at the present moment," adds Kubiak.
Two months after paying her speeding ticket - Lee Brown got a surprise letter from the state of New York. It was a demand for more money under the Driver Responsibility Program.
Remember: Brown had already paid a $180 speeding fine.
But on top of that, the state government was now demanding an extra $300.
Total price of that speeding infraction? $480 U.S., which translates into $565 Cdn.
"It feels like a bit like the scams that used to go on in the south in the 1960s," says Brown. "It seemed very wrong."
No one had told Brown she'd face the extra fine. It was payable, because her ticket carried six demerit points.
But there are no signs on New York roadways warning about the program. No one mentioned a secondary fine either when she got her ticket or later entered her plea.
"There's no warning at all, I hadn't heard a thing about it," says Brown.
Even the police say the extra fines come as a surprise to drivers.
"I'd say probably 90 to 95 per cent don't even know, aren't aware of it," admits trooper Brian McCloud. "I don't think it was too publicized here."
Had Lee Brown known about the Driver Responsibility fines, she says she would have fought the original ticket. Now, she's refusing to pay the extra $300 dollar bill.
Some critics call the Driver Responsibility Program "highway robbery" - especially unfair to anyone living out of state, and who would have no way of knowing that a simple speeding ticket could be so expensive.
If you don't pay the fine and try to cross the U.S. border into New York state, you face the loss of your driving privileges, the confiscation or your vehicle or even arrest. All good reasons to consider fighting tickets given in New York state, either if it means hiring a lawyer or paralegal.
Lee Brown says she will not pay the ticket, out of principle. But she realizes that means no more driving trips to New York state.
Good Luck with everything man...
Highway Robbery (Air Date: November 7, 2005)
Sean O'Shea & Candice Mak
Global Defenders
Monday, November 07, 2005
From his hiding spot on New York's busy Highway 190 sits trooper Brian McCloud. He watches and waits. Training a keen eye on drivers with a heavy foot.
Come up too fast on this state trooper's radar and you'll face the consequences.
"We get a lot of people driving at high rates of speed through here," McCloud tells the Global Defenders, shortly after pulling over a driver. "You were going 72 in a 55," McCloud says, asking whether the young female behind the wheel is running late for school.
These New York highways are among the most patrolled in America.
Break the traffic laws and you could face an enormous penalty.
Whether you're American or not.
Just ask Lee Brown of Toronto - who got nabbed by state police in the spring.
She was caught driving 22 m.p.h (about 35 km/h) over the speed limit.
Brown didn't bother fighting the ticket, choosing to plead guilty - and accepting a heavy fine.
"It was $180 U.S," Brown says, admitting she found the original ticket pricey at the time. "Yes, I was a bit surprised, it was that much. But what the heck, I paid it."
In fact Brown's problems were only beginning when she paid the fine. In New York state, the true cost of speeding is much more than the speeding ticket itself. And don't blame police.
Under a new state law called the Driver Responsibility Program, New York fines some drivers not just once - but twice.
"I don't think they really thought through due process and the rights of individuals when they put it into effect," says Fonda Kubiak, a Buffalo, New York based lawyer.
Kubiak says the Driver Responsibility program isn't aimed at making roads safer -- it's a simple cash grab.
"The legislature amended the vehicle and traffic law in 2004 primarily as a revenue-generating tool to get some more money into the coffers of New York State who are under severe budget restraints at the present moment," adds Kubiak.
Two months after paying her speeding ticket - Lee Brown got a surprise letter from the state of New York. It was a demand for more money under the Driver Responsibility Program.
Remember: Brown had already paid a $180 speeding fine.
But on top of that, the state government was now demanding an extra $300.
Total price of that speeding infraction? $480 U.S., which translates into $565 Cdn.
"It feels like a bit like the scams that used to go on in the south in the 1960s," says Brown. "It seemed very wrong."
No one had told Brown she'd face the extra fine. It was payable, because her ticket carried six demerit points.
But there are no signs on New York roadways warning about the program. No one mentioned a secondary fine either when she got her ticket or later entered her plea.
"There's no warning at all, I hadn't heard a thing about it," says Brown.
Even the police say the extra fines come as a surprise to drivers.
"I'd say probably 90 to 95 per cent don't even know, aren't aware of it," admits trooper Brian McCloud. "I don't think it was too publicized here."
Had Lee Brown known about the Driver Responsibility fines, she says she would have fought the original ticket. Now, she's refusing to pay the extra $300 dollar bill.
Some critics call the Driver Responsibility Program "highway robbery" - especially unfair to anyone living out of state, and who would have no way of knowing that a simple speeding ticket could be so expensive.
If you don't pay the fine and try to cross the U.S. border into New York state, you face the loss of your driving privileges, the confiscation or your vehicle or even arrest. All good reasons to consider fighting tickets given in New York state, either if it means hiring a lawyer or paralegal.
Lee Brown says she will not pay the ticket, out of principle. But she realizes that means no more driving trips to New York state.
17-Apr-2006, 03:08 AM
#6
Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 354
It gets worse some more...
Ontario has traffic offence reciprocity with New York State where information about traffic offenders is shared. Tickets received in New York state can result in demerit points for the equivalent HTA offence being applied to your Ontario driver's license. That ticket also shows up on the driver's abstract that insurance companies get.
If you are convicted and do not pay your ticket, your license to drive in New York is revoked. You do NOT want to get caught driving there with unpaid tickets, because both you and your car will go to your respective jails.
Even if you don't return to New York, your license here in Ontario can be suspended for non-payment of New York State traffic tickets. That's reciprocity at work again.
Ontario also has reciprocity agreements in efefct with all other Canadian provinces, most nearby US states, and several states on the Snowbird route down to Florida way.
Ontario has traffic offence reciprocity with New York State where information about traffic offenders is shared. Tickets received in New York state can result in demerit points for the equivalent HTA offence being applied to your Ontario driver's license. That ticket also shows up on the driver's abstract that insurance companies get.
If you are convicted and do not pay your ticket, your license to drive in New York is revoked. You do NOT want to get caught driving there with unpaid tickets, because both you and your car will go to your respective jails.
Even if you don't return to New York, your license here in Ontario can be suspended for non-payment of New York State traffic tickets. That's reciprocity at work again.
Ontario also has reciprocity agreements in efefct with all other Canadian provinces, most nearby US states, and several states on the Snowbird route down to Florida way.
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