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Old 08-15-2008, 02:08 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 9,062,085 times
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Can I scream now? My son is not too far away from his 18th birthday and has never had an issue/offense driving. Yesterday, he got a speeding ticket (he was out of state but that doesn't matter). Besides the fine, I looked up the penalty and speeding carries one of the tougher penalities for junior operators. Mandatory 90 day suspension, driver retraining course, re-take written AND road test and after you're done paying for all that (and don't forget the fine for the ticket itself), it's $500 to reinstate the license.

ARGH! Of course, he's going to have to come up with the $$$ but that should be interesting since he won't be able to drive to work.
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Old 08-15-2008, 02:26 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,909 posts, read 15,470,751 times
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Ouch! Did you see today's Globe? Ticketed teens hit roof, the RMV - The Boston Globe

He could probably apply for a hardship license, but that costs even more money.
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Old 08-15-2008, 02:56 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 9,062,085 times
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Thanks for the article link. His ticket was in Maine but as I said, that's not going to matter. After reading the article, it seems as though his best bet is to appeal the citation in Maine. I don't know what, if anything they'd do to "reduce" a speeding ticket? Make it a warning? I don't even know what the appeal process is. My son has the ticket with him and he's not coming home for another week.

After the window to file an appeal passes, then the RMV gets wind of it and issues the mandatory suspension. And it looks as though after that, there's nothing the judge or magistrate can do about the 90 day suspension. What's not clear is whether they have any leeway in mitigating the associated penalties and fees; retraining courses, reinstatement fee, etc. Maybe they'd take his one year clean driving record into account?
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Old 08-15-2008, 03:34 PM
 
Location: Massachusetts & Hilton Head, SC
9,909 posts, read 15,470,751 times
Reputation: 8524
Maybe the RMV won't find out? It seems some states are more efficient at sharing data than others. One of my kids got a speeding ticket in NY and her sister got one in VA, and we never heard anything from the registry or the insurance co. And my husband was stopped for speeding a year ago in SC, same thing.

But, yes, I'd see if it could be appealed somehow in Maine.

Last edited by CaseyB; 08-15-2008 at 03:36 PM.. Reason: more
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Old 08-15-2008, 03:41 PM
 
Location: Boston
142 posts, read 658,317 times
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Your best bet is to throw yourself at the mercy of the court in Maine. File an appeal, and plead for mercy. On top of the extortion rates the state will charge your son for this offense, your insurance carrier will slap a hefty surcharge on your policy for a few years. For those of us who've gotten traffic tickets in the past, this is where the real cost comes in. The $500 will be a pittance in comparison.
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Old 08-15-2008, 04:15 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 9,062,085 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pjscdn View Post
Your best bet is to throw yourself at the mercy of the court in Maine. File an appeal, and plead for mercy. On top of the extortion rates the state will charge your son for this offense, your insurance carrier will slap a hefty surcharge on your policy for a few years. For those of us who've gotten traffic tickets in the past, this is where the real cost comes in. The $500 will be a pittance in comparison.
Yup, I'm in agreement with you and Casey. I don't want to leave it to chance that the RMV won't find out. Especially because it was another New England state. Hopefully, Maine doesn't have such tough laws. They were two counselors out for a night off. My son was trying to do what he thought was the responsible thing and get them back to camp in time (yes, we all know speeding is NOT a responsible thing!). And he's had his license for a year and has never had any ticket or violation.

The other thing that happened to this poor kid last night was not his fault but I wonder if we could bring it into play as an example of how mature and responsible he can be. They were a few miles from camp when they saw a car coming towards them and then weaving all over the road. My son pulled as far OFF the road as possible. The driver of the other car tried to make a turn and missed it, hit a tree and rolled the car. My son called 911. Then the other driver got out of the BACK seat (the impact had thrown him back there) and into the front seat and tried to drive away. That's when he hit my son's car. Luckily, no one was hurt and the damage to the car was minimal. But the police had arrived by this time; turns out it was this guy's third DUI offense. When they arrived, my son wanted to leave. They wanted to take him to the hospital to make sure he was ok. But he didn't want to go. So they had to call us since he isn't old enough to make the decision on his own to refuse medical treatment. The captain told my husband on the phone that he was very impressed with how mature and responsible our son was and how he had handled himself.

Of course by the time they finally let him go, he had now not only missed camp curfew, but he was out past driving curfew! He told the officer and the officer said it was ok and followed him back in the police car.

Now it looks as though he and this other counselor will have to come back up to NH when this guy goes to court since they're being subpoened as witnesses. Maybe we can have traffic court in ME and this court in NH on the same day?

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Old 08-15-2008, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Metrowest, MA
1,810 posts, read 10,459,767 times
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Btw... to get to the appeal... you'll need to take a day off... drive a couple hundred miles.... Easily add another $200-500.

Also... Driver's ed cost went from ~$375 to $650 in Sep2007.

The training requirements for a Massachusetts Junior Operator License include the following:
• 30 hrs of class
• 12 hrs of driving
• 6 hrs of observation
• 2 hr Parent Class: Required two-hour parent/guardian class on the driving skills and rules their children should be learning and practicing throughout the driver education experience.

I think I'll have my kid ride a bike instead... cannot afford to even get the license.
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Old 08-15-2008, 04:24 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 9,062,085 times
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Yup, I know about the new rules. My son was in one of the last groups to slide through under the 6 hours of driving. At $50/hr that's $300. It's now 12 hours and $600.

All things considered, I'd still rather go to Maine.
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