Cost to drive again?
Thread started by
goosegoose at 09.21.10 - 1:57 pm
So, I'm trying to get my life back in order paying off my debts. My license was suspended about a year ago and I am now ready to get my Drivers License back.
This is how much I have to pay to get it back? --->
Reminding you all of these tickets were on my bike.
One for being on the cross walk (only my front wheel was on the cross walk), one for failure to make a hand signal when turning, one for running a red (my fault). and the other was on a K-Town ride when they randomly pick someone (me) from the pack for running a red (Which I didn't run).
I went to court and tried to fight them and all of them I lost.
but,
40,509.50?!?!?
This has to be a typo right?
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pretty sure they'll settle for a lot less
66609.21.10 - 2:00 pm
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If I were you, I'd call the L.A. Superior Court, and talk to the clerk of the court to make sure that that amount is correct.
If that's what's on their records, I would ask when you could talk to a judge, and then go in and explain what's going in, and how you're trying to get things straightened out, and you're willing to pay a fine, but that you'd face serious economic hardship at that amount, and ask him/her to reduce them.
JB09.21.10 - 2:00 pm
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Actually dude, that's not a dollar amount, that's a type of hold on your driver's license.
See below:
http://trafficcourtpros.com/blog/?p=24
What is a 40509.5 Hold? It is a Failure to Appear Hold on a Drivers License.
Posted on May 1st, 2009 Christopher Dort 69 comments
If your Drivers License is suspended and the Department of Motor Vehicles has told you it was due to a VC 40509.5 hold, here is what is going on.
Vehicle Code section 40509.5 is a law that allows DMV to suspend a driver’s license when a court notifies DMV of a missed court date. “VC” is an abbreviation for Vehicle Code, which is the set of laws in California relating to Motor Vehicles (and bicycles).
When you miss a court date on a ticket or citation, or the court thinks you missed one, they can do a number of things.
Some courts, such as Riverside County Superior, always issue arrest warrants known as Vehicle Code section 40508(a) bench warrants. Some courts add failure to appear charges and issue a warrant. Some courts suspend your drivers license and some courts do all three at once.
When a court suspends a drivers license following a failure to appear in California, the court lists the case as having a “VC40509.5 Hold” as the status.
Visit Traffic Court Pros.com. Free Self Help. Free Attorney Case Reviews.
A Vehicle Code section 40509.5 hold refers to the drivers license hold that the court places on a license when they think a person missed a court date. Techincally, it is a notice they send the the DMV.
To get a little more detailed - California Vehicle Code section 40508(a) gives the court or prosecutor the power to add a failure to appear charge to a case when a defendant does not show up in court.
Then, Vehicle Code section 40509.5 is the law the instructs the court on how to notify DMV that the court date was missed, and authorizes DMV to suspend the drivers license of the defendant.
So if the DMV tells you that you have a “40509.5 hold”, it means that your drivers license is suspended for a failure to appear at a court date.
There are 3 ways to clear a VC 40509.5 hold, and how it works differs greatly from courthouse to courthouse (and some times from court clerk to court clerk).
Actually, from an Attorneys point of view, I have cleared hundreds of VC 40509.5 holds in at least 15 different courthouses, and I am shocked at how inconsistent the rules are applied form court to court. Don’t assume it is going to work the same way on two different days.
Anyway, the 3 main ways to clear a VC40509.5 hold are:
1) pay the “bail” on the citation in full;
2) set a court date and ask the court clerk to release the hold at the same time the court date is set;
3) make a court appearance and ask the judge to release the hold prior to payment of the fine or before the trial (if you plead not guilty and demand a trial).
Some courts, such as the LA Superior Court, will release a VC 40509.5 hold once an Attorney appears at the court clerks office and sets a court date for the defendant. The setting of the court date is considered a substantial step towards taking care of the problem, and the court gives you credit for doing that work. But it has to be done in person.
These courts understand that people need to drive to work to feed their families. And they understand that when people get arrested for driving on a suspended drivers license because of a 40509.5 hold, it really does not help anyone, and clogs the court up with pointless cases that result in more pointless cases.
Some courts, such as Solano are just totally unreasonable and in a way cruel to people with VC40509.5 holds. They will not allow court dates once the hold is set, and force extortion style demands for full pay on people even when they did not have legal or proper notice of the court date the court claims they missed (Solano is famous for changing court dates on people without giving any notice of the changed date).
Oh yea, that reminds me - if someone in Solano County Clerks office tells you that they have no record of your citations, make sure you get proof you were there, and don’t trust them. Check back with them over and over again to make sure you are not another victim of the change your court date scam.
If you are unlucky enough to have a VC 40509.5 hold, do not drive at all. If you are caught, you will be arrested and your car impounded (not to mention you’ll be facing a criminal misdemeanor charge of VC 14601.1 after you get home). That’s how many people make the problem worse.
On VC40508a and VC 40509.5 cases, an Attorney can go into court for the defendant and do the work.
Once a court releases a VC40509.5 hold, DMV is notified immediately electronically, and a drivers can visit DMV the next day to get a drivers license reinstated. Be careful! You must visit DMV to verify the status of your driving license after releasing a hold from the court. DMV will NOT AUTOMATICALLY REINSTATE a suspended drivers license until the driver pays a re-issuance fee (to get their cut).
JB09.21.10 - 2:02 pm
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I think that is the VC sitation:
V C Section 40509.5 Notice to Department Failure to Appear
Notice to Department: Failure to Appear
Foldie responding to a
comment by goosegoose
09.21.10 - 2:03 pm
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Wait a sec.. I DID appear in court. I have the citation reports and everything. I went to the clerk to see how much I had to pay at the time.. I just never paid them.
goosegoose responding to a
comment by JB
09.21.10 - 2:05 pm
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Failure to pay = Failure to appear
Foldie responding to a
comment by goosegoose
09.21.10 - 2:07 pm
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Makes so much more sense now. Crisis diverted.
Thank you all.
I thought I would never drive again.
goosegoose responding to a
comment by Foldie
09.21.10 - 2:12 pm
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Are they requiring you to get an SR-22? Because if they are, the only way to get your license back is to sign up for that particular insurance and begin paying, and if memory serves me right from my days at State Farm, those points would more than likely push your rates somewhere between $300-$450, A MONTH!
I know because I went something similar so much as a year ago.
Oh, and take traffic school. Get rid of one point. Then take night traffic school and get rid of another. People usually think that they can only get rid of 1 point every 18 months or so... but that's not true. If you need help let me know and I'll get you all the information you'll need on how to get rid of at least 2 points.
July responding to a
comment by goosegoose
09.21.10 - 2:12 pm
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I had one failure to appear on a red light(Bicycle) ticket and when I finally got it taken care of it cost me $900 in late fees and collection fees.
You could be looking at a very hefty bill for 4 FTA's
stillline09.21.10 - 2:18 pm
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UPDATE: Called and to get my license back I owe,
$2,960
I asked about that SR-22 and they said it wasn't needed.
It's also too late to ask to get it reduced.
Whatever. Looks like I have to start working the corner again.
goosegoose09.21.10 - 2:25 pm
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I'll be your first customer. Do you do dishes?
TacoBella responding to a
comment by goosegoose
09.21.10 - 2:31 pm
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Indeed I do. Must provide a Tutu and some spandex. Also a dishwasher must be available as well.
goosegoose responding to a
comment by TacoBella
09.21.10 - 3:07 pm
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Citations received while on a bicycle don't earn points. Once he pays the fines, he should have a nice clean driving record.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by July
09.21.10 - 3:15 pm
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oh wow!
dude, go hit up the corner of santa monica and highland.
you're bound to make some serious headway out there.
and if the regulars there give you shit just have some of the riders go out there and show some muscle. no, not that muscle...
:P
July responding to a
comment by goosegoose
09.21.10 - 3:18 pm
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Actually, they do!
Sadly I was under the same impression.
But I got a red light ticket... and sure enough, I called my agent, she said it wouldn't... but the DMV said something completely different.
Believe me, it DOES affect your driving record.
July responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
09.21.10 - 3:19 pm
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And this is how you can check up on it so you don't just have to take my word for it: call up any insurance company (I recommend state farm) and ask them to give you a quote and to let you know what shows up on your record. If you've gotten a redlight ticket on a bike... I'm 99% sure it'll pop up (considering it's been at least a month and its been processed) on their screen.
July responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
09.21.10 - 3:21 pm
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BUI's most definately affect your record.
I lost my DL for a year (Suspended: was allowed to drive to, from work)
nolikedrive responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
09.21.10 - 3:29 pm
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Oh man I hope you're wrong. I am currently in the process of fighting a VC. 21453(A) i.e., a $465 red light ticket, on a bicycle. I don't expect to win the case, but I'm trying. If that shit shows up on my driving record, I will let you know.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by July
09.21.10 - 3:44 pm
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Oh, you're right. I wasn't thinking about BUI's.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by nolikedrive
09.21.10 - 3:44 pm
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I fought a redlight earlier this year and when I went to court and the judge lowered it to $200 I paid, and essentially, also pleaded guilty. 2 months later... called the agent I used to work for and sure enough... there it was, on my record, clear as day.
July responding to a
comment by petr0lb0mb
09.21.10 - 4:34 pm
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i remember reading on a site saying that BUI's shouldn't affect your driving record. it was on some law firm's website
666 responding to a
comment by nolikedrive
09.21.10 - 4:52 pm
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That's really frustrating. I hope I win this case. I'm starting out with a trial by declaration.
PS. I wonder if it added a point to your license. Do you happen to know? Maybe it is the case that it shows on your record but doesn't affect your license. I mean, a jaywalking ticket will probably show on one's record. I would hope that it wouldn't affect one's insurance rates, though. Who knows?
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by July
09.21.10 - 4:57 pm
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I don't believe that is an accurate statement. For one thing, the consequences vary depending on the age of the cyclist. Under 21 will certainly lose their license for a year.
Perhaps the site you were reading was referring to a Boating Under the Influence.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by 666
09.21.10 - 5:03 pm
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A suggestion:
See how much jail time you would have to do. It is usually a 1/3rd or now I would say a 1/4th (with the amount of penalty assessments added on) of what the fine is. It was $25 a day in jail to offset the fine. It might have been raised. Then you will only do a fraction of that because of jail over crowding. It would probably be cheaper to be a ward of the county for a month, then try to pay all that off. Of course you'll be the one doing the time, so it all up to you.
sexy09.21.10 - 8:45 pm
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Seriously?! I'm gonna be pissed if that happens to me.
petr0lb0mb responding to a
comment by GodLovesUgly
09.21.10 - 9:20 pm
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If you can make $2900 without a car then what the fuck do you need the car for?
stillline09.22.10 - 1:05 am
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