REpeated speed violation.. any way to reduce the fine? (Chicago: car registration, insurance)

[Mirinjobra]

Long story short, I live in Chicago and drive a car which I make payments on, but whose license plate is registered to another state, and registered to my dad who lives in that state.

Recently he told me I needed to pay a ticket for a speeding camera (I was 11 over, so $100). However when i logged on it shows that I have two more tickets at the same location. I cant recall ever seeing a sign there and since I have been taking that route to work recently, there is a chance I may have 3 more of those tickets for a total of $600.

Is there any way I can get these reduced or something?

Any chance I could just not pay them since the car is registered in another state and they cant find it to boot it (since they dont know its my car)?

I think these tickets are a scam, as evidenced by the recent lawsuit forcing chicago to pay back about $40 million to people who paid these fines.

[MarianRavenwood]

Basically, no.

There's a time limit on how long you have to contest a ticket (usually 30 days)--and the registered owner has to do it. So you'd need your dad to do the work for you.

Occasionally the city offers ticket 'amnesty' periods, whereby you can pay the original fine but not pay any late fees or court fees that may have been tacked on. There's no telling when the next one might occur though.

In the meantime....what do you mean there's no way for them to find your car? Traffic enforcement vehicles drive all over the city capturing license plates with cameras and running them through the city's computers. If they come across your license plate, computers will alert them to your outstanding tickets, and they will boot your car or tow it. Although I think they only boot if you have more than three tickets, so maybe you could pay just one ticket, to keep your total record below the boot threshold.

There is an inter-state agreement that states share driving records with each other. All states except Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin participate in this agreement. It's not like they will issue a warrant for your dad and hunt him down. The agreement allows for 3 things: 1)your dad couldn't renew car registration without paying the tickets and any associated fees; 2)your dad wouldn't be able to renew his driver's license without paying them; 3)the speeding tickets would be added to your dad's driving record, and may affect his insurance. The 5 states that don't officially participate in this agreement still share information, they just aren't obligated to.

Welcome to the very, very long line of 20-somethings who figured they could save sooooo much money by keeping their car registered with their parents in Iowa or wherever. How much did you really save? Enough to cover the cost of these tickets? Maybe it's time to be a grown up and assume responsibility for your car along with everything else you do.

P.S....there is no requirement that a sign be posted where speed or red-light cameras are located. You are expected to obey the speed limit and intersection signals all the time.

[ToriaT]

Pay them immediately. It will only get worse.

[Vlajos]

No, pay up

[deeman7]

Originally Posted by MarianRavenwood

P.S....there is no requirement that a sign be posted where speed or red-light cameras are located. You are expected to obey the speed limit and intersection signals all the time.

True, those speed and red light cameras are awful, but either don't drive like an ******* or move.

[BOBNCHI]

"P.S....there is no requirement that a sign be posted where speed or red-light cameras are located........"

Read 9-12-075, signs are required.

http://library.amlegal.com/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates$fn=default.htm$3.0$vid=aml egal:chicago_il_m

and

https://www.cityofchicago.org/city/e...forcement.html

Select AUTOMATED SPEED ENFORCEMENT SIGNAGE

[nightlysparrow]

Don't act like you can't afford it:

Originally Posted by Mirinjobra

Hey guys, so a bit of a background on me - I'm a 29 year old single guy, make about $100k, have a car and commute daily for work out of the city towards Indiana

[Mirinjobra]

Originally Posted by nightlysparrow

Don't act like you can't afford it:

I would be making this thread even if I made $1 million a year. $100k isn't much.

Anyways, the rich don't get there by pissing away money. I have gotten out of many fines/loopholes by asking questions just like this.

Also, it's fairly petty of you to go through my post history, take the time to quote something, copy/paste it, and post in this thread for nothing more than to gain some obscure sense of self satisfaction by attempting to make an anonymous person feel bad on an internet forum.. You must live a sad life. Hope things get better for you.

[damba]

Originally Posted by Mirinjobra

I would be making this thread even if I made $1 million a year. $100k isn't much.

Anyways, the rich don't get there by pissing away money. I have gotten out of many fines/loopholes by asking questions just like this.

Also, it's fairly petty of you to go through my post history, take the time to quote something, copy/paste it, and post in this thread for nothing more than to gain some obscure sense of self satisfaction by attempting to make an anonymous person feel bad on an internet forum.. You must live a sad life. Hope things get better for you.

ROTFL

No, you are the person that just 'peed away their money' by fraudulently registering your car in another state to save a few dollars.

Time to start paying your bills, buddy.

[nightlysparrow]

Originally Posted by Mirinjobra

I would be making this thread even if I made $1 million a year. $100k isn't much.

Anyways, the rich don't get there by pissing away money. I have gotten out of many fines/loopholes by asking questions just like this.

Also, it's fairly petty of you to go through my post history, take the time to quote something, copy/paste it, and post in this thread for nothing more than to gain some obscure sense of self satisfaction by attempting to make an anonymous person feel bad on an internet forum.. You must live a sad life. Hope things get better for you.

Nah, I'm fine. It's just that greed offends me.