Any Canadians get a speeding ticket in NJ ?
 

I got one, 30M over the limit. Instead of a fine the officer want me to come to court. Its in Knowlton, NJ (Warren County). Is their any other way to sort this then going to court.

Jay

Send a lawyer. You are lucky you were not arrested. What was the speed limit?

You can't just sign the back and plead guilty?

Been a long time since I've gotten a ticket in nj, but I'm pretty sure they put a court date on there as a default. It's only if you want to plead innocent.

http://njcourts.judiciary.state.nj.u...swepr2/home.do
Lets you pay it online.

dont pay it, i know ppl that got tickets in NJ/NY from toronto, and its been 2-3 years and nothing happened

just ignore it

That's horrible advice. Especially if he plans on returning to NJ in the future.

Pretty dumb, unless they plan on never visiting the US again. And I mean ANYWHERE in the US, not just NJ.

And PurrrsianPussyKat: Most tickets can be paid online, but once you go over about 20 MPH over the limit you pretty much ALWAYS have a mandatory appearance.

Your lucky they didn't impound your car.

Okay first of all you need to be more clear about what you actually received. Did you get a violation ticket with a court date or simply a date to appear in court? Do you have any option to pay the ticket? You need to find these things out.

[QUOTE=baddog;15934763]Pretty dumb, unless they plan on never visiting the US again. And I mean ANYWHERE in the US, not just NJ.


hmm perhaps...but from what ive been told and researched, its all state by state laws...

so if you get a ticket in florida, as long as you dont go back to that sTATE and get pulled over agian, ur safe

also, you can visit the states as much as you want, as long as you dont get pulled over again....

correct me if im wrong..this was my perception

Your lucky they didn't impound your car.

[QUOTE=Jai;15934834]Yes, you are wrong. States share info between themselves.

As far as visiting as long as you do not get pulled over, how do you guarantee that?

Don't listen to Baddog, he's not licensed!! :winkwink:

I have no idea either, however I did get a speeding ticket for more than 30 over in Georgia a few years back, and never paid the ticket. I read the only issue I would ever have is MAYBE getting pulled over again in Georgia (but still unlikely a problem) or if I ever wanted to apply for a drivers license in Georgia.

I have since entered the USA many times by plane and car, with no problems.

Their is no way to pay it online

When I go to

http://njcourts.judiciary.state.nj.u...earch/entry.do

And look up the ticket, I get the following

"This ticket is not eligible for payment. Please contact the court or refer to the back of the traffic ticket for additional court appearance information. " and a court appearance date and time.

the offense is

39:4-98 .29 - Speeding (.29 Indicates Exceeding By 25-29 Mph)

[QUOTE=baddog;15934886]
im not american, i dont go often, and if i do, i cud fly, i dont need a car in NY/NJ..i have lots of friends that will drive me

problem solved

NO !!!!!!!!!!! WRONG advice, that's what I thought as well when I got a ticket in NY state, they arrested me 7 yrs later at the border crossing, had to put up bail money. It finally got settled a few months later. It basically ate up the bail money I put up $500. Best thing is to plead guilty and there is a set fine to pay.:2 cents:

Yeah? What happens if the person you are riding with gets pulled over and the cop decides to run wants and warrants on everyone in the car?

or you are at a border crossing as I was and that was the only thing they could find on me, so they used it? You sure, you want to take that chance ?

NJ will issue a fugitive warrant, means you are a fugitive from justice. The next time you try to enter the US you'll be allowed in, then arrested as a fugitive.

Happened to a friend coming down from Toronto.

No bail, you sit in jail until you go before a judge.

Seems like a silly risk to take over a fine.

They probably have those cheap 'ticket fighters'...
tixnix.com or something?

wow... I guess things have changed. There used to be statutes on misdemeanors and thought traffic violations were also in this category...

Back in the day you could get a dui in NJ and just not return for 3 years and the charge went away... statutes of limitation they call it. The only crime that didn't have it was murder...

Maybe things have changed but I would say FUCK NJ... if you can't pay the fine via mail or online then don't pay the fine. I am very surprised to hear that a traffic violation resulted in an arrest 7 years later when a dui will be negated after 3....

Guess you better show up for court then. Trust me, the legal system in NJ is nasty. I grew up there. You do not want to mess around with their law inforcement.

P.S. Don't be late. They call roll at the beginning of court and if you aren't there at 9am, you are fucked. :Oh crap

jay23 fought the law... and the law will win... :)

yeah man , they couldnt find a reason as to not let me in, except the unpaid ticket ...... so i was arrested and brought before a JP and was told prior , if I cant raise the bail, money I would be kept in jail till the court appearance.

yeah... maybe border control is different. Sounds pretty hardcore just surprised it was still in their records...

I did 30 days out in colorado for a 2nd dui and the guards told me what the fuck was I thinking... they said the charge would have been gone in 3 years if I just stayed out of the state...

Oh well... it was ok... got to meet some cool people including the guards

I grew up in Jersey, and i can tell you "Don't fucking speed in Jersey!"

they've been on a mission since the Sate Police was invented.

Rule #1. Just because they are guards [or cops] does not mean the know the intricacies of the law.

i understand that...

it's also in the law books and attorneys know as well... there are statutes of limitations for all crimes except murder. Maybe a couple other like capital kidnapping etc...

but a dui is gone in 3 years unless you are brought before a court and tried... that is a fact... tickets i would think would be gone in less time but may be wrong...

But statutes of limitation is real as it gets...

your right man... if the charge is brought to the table... it will stick...

shit... i didn't know that...

The statute of limitations would be suspended while you were out of the state.

Strange that you guys are talking about whether to pay it or go to court etc. I've had a few tickets in various states over the years (but not NJ), so has several people I know including friends, cousins, my dad, brothers etc. In every case because we were Canadian the cop writing the ticket wanted payment on the spot. No choices, no arguments. It was either pay it or they take you in. There was no option given for not paying it or paying later. Period.

Then again, I never got caught going 30 mph over the limit. More like 12-15.

I'm just surprised they let any Canadians go without paying on the spot.

hmmm....

I have only had that happen in Sturgis, SD during bike week. Oh, and in Mexico.

Bend over and spread your cheeks..they hate us

I remember Mexico:disgust

Statute of Limitations still exists, but it does not apply in your circumstances. Basically, it prevents them from prosecuting you for a crime after a certain period of time. So if you rob a bank, they can't charge you with the robbery four years later.

You have already been charged, so there is no time limit in which to hold you accountable. In some cases, if you do not appear, you will be convicted in your absence, which means that you have to pay the fine. But in your case, the appearance is MANDATORY. That means, that the Court cannot convict you in your absence. If you do not show up, a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest.

So you have a mandatory appearance either because you do not hold a US drivers license or you were driving WAY too fast, which is more serious. That is why there is no fine - the Court can impose a fine, suspension, etc., and this is hard to do since your drivers license is from Canada.

As far as not getting into trouble unless you are pulled over, it doesn't work that way. 45 of the states share driving information with each other, and all of the states share warrant information.

What you don't know is that the police randomly run the license plates of vehicles that they see on the road. So if you go back to the USA, they will probably type in your plate. They won't see any information (because they don't have access to Canadian motor vehicle records), but they probably will see an outstanding warrant for failure to appear. Then you will get pulled over and arrested. And they will search your car to see if they can cause you more problems. So you will be hauled off to New Jersey to wait in a jail for a few days. Then you have to answer for this ticket and also for not appearing, which could result in a jail term.

Really, you are better off showing up.

Welll... For one, Sturgis is in your own country, and you aren't Canadian, so that lets that one out. I can see them doing that there I suppose since they get a lot of Canadian bikers for the big event, maybe they just do the on-the-spot charge for everyone carte blanche? I don't know, I'm just guessing. I do know that whenever I've gotten a ticket in *my* own country they've always just written it up and given it to me and I'm on my merry way and have to pay it by a certain date.

But your one in Mexico would be comparable.

I'd be interested to know what happens when an American (such as yourself) gets a speeding ticket whilst driving in Canada.

There was a time when a Canadian could get a ticket in the US, pay it on the spot of course, and then it would be forgotten because it would never show up on your driving record, and no demerits. But that all changed some time in the early 90's. Now, if we get a ticket in any of those information-sharing states you mentioned it actually does later show up on the person's driving record just as if it was a local ticket. 2 demerits!

Excellent advice, but I'm still kind of blown away they let him go off without paying in the first place. Admittedly though I haven't had a speeding ticket of any kind anywhere in many years. I have 4 MERITS on my license which means: A. it takes 2 years of clean driving for each merit to be accrued,
B. You get $5 off per merit on your driver's license fee every year :D

So it's been a little over 14 years for me, since the demerits I used to have needed to clear (at 2 years per 2 demerits). I'm saying some things may have changed in that time. Maybe now in some states their police force will let a Canadian go with just the ticket, trusting that he'll pay it later? I don't know.

What I do know is that whenever I go driving in the states I take a few hun in CASH (USD!) with me just in case.

You broke the law and were caught, so man up and go to court and pay your fine

take care of it if you ever plan on visiting the US 90% of the states share info with each other and if you ever get pulled over somehwere else in the US it has a big chance of comming back to you.

last time i got a ticket in Jersey, I was in my last teens (19 i think) .. we went from the highway to the court house then straight to jail cus we didn't have the money right there and then !

my dad got one in main last summer .. he was able ot use a lawyer to handle his court date.

I have the numbers of a few good lawyers if you need one. Where in Jersey was this?

It's out west in warren county. Right near PA.

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Knowlt...title&resnum=1

Ah I missed that. Maybe my lawyers can refer someone. Dunno, but contact info is in sig if he wants it.

Just to give an update, I found few lawyers. The best one is the local county lawyer and charges a flat fee of $500 + the fine which is $285, but key thing is he will go to court and take care of this.

Apparently he got a lot of Canadians as clients...so i am not the first one.

Wow, only $800? :) Gotta love how they treat us citizens.

Here in Toronto now, if you get caught going 50km/h over any speed limit, this is what happens:

- They confiscate your car on the spot for a minimum of 7 days. If it's your mom's car that she uses to get to work - sucks to be you.

- Fine of minimum $1,000, maximum $10,000.

- 6 Demerit points on your license, that stay on your record for 2 years.

At six points, you may have to go to an interview to discuss your record and give reasons why your licence should not be suspended. If you don't attend, your licence may be suspended.

if you have a "Full" license (3 stages of drivers licenses here, for fun) you get a written warning at 6 points, and an interview at 9 points. You might have got the other 3 points previously for minor speeding, or "crowding the drivers seat" for example.

- You must pay the towing company for towing and storing your car. It's about $100 a day, plus the towing and such, with tax about $1,000.

- You may have to rent a car for a week if you need one for work - another $300+

- Your car insurance will go up, might be as high as double now.

- You have to find a way home.

My father in law got pulled over in Mexico City doing 50km/h over.. guess what happened?

He got a $30 ticket, and since they paid within a week, it was cut in half to $15.

:)