Old traffic tickets could get your license suspended
If you remember getting pulled over, but never paid a fine or appeared in court, your license may already be suspended.
Do you still have a copy of whatever paperwork the officer handed you? If you do, pull it out and find the traffic ticket (which sometimes is titled “simplified information”). Toward the bottom of the page you’ll find a date with the label “return by mail or in person on:” next to it. That’s the date you needed to mail back the ticket by, either to pay the fine or ask for a court date.
If you mailed it in, you might be okay. In some traffic courts, it can take six months or more for your day in court to arrive. It doesn’t hurt to give a call to the court clerk and make sure they received it, though.
If you never mailed back your ticket, you will not get any further notice before your license is suspended for being a scofflaw. I had a client recently who was driving around, completely unaware that suspensions had been ordered by four judges in three different towns! If a police officer stops someone with a suspended license, that scofflaw is not going to be allowed to drive away again. The car will either be left where it is to be retrieved by a licensed driver, or possibly even towed to an impound yard. What’s more, an officer might be inclined to issue cite you for aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, which is a misdemeanor.
This suspension can be lifted easily enough, by simply showing up in court, but you’ll have to pay a “scofflaw fee” of $70 as well. That’s separate from any fines you might receive for the original violation, and yes, each individual suspension results in its own fee. Getting ahead of a situation like this is much better than having an officer tell you to step out of the car because you’re not legally allowed to drive it.
If you think you have an outstanding traffic ticket, don’t delay in calling Selby Legal to set up a free consultation. The sooner you know your options the better prepared you can be to address the issues.