IceDaJuevos

Hi everyone. Very depressed...I just got a ticket this morning for making an illegal u-turn ='/. It was early in the morning with not many cars around and I was in a rush to get to school. Having past my desired cross-street, I changed into the left turn lane and then made a u-turn. Unknown to me at the time, there was a cop in the distance and saw my turn--in actuality, I couldn't complete the turn and so I was forced to back up, rerotate direction, and finish the turn my second try. Then, his lights flashed me.

No tickets before, and no warning this time. He issued me a ticket.

I am wondering what happens when someone gets a ticket of this nature? How much do you think it might cost and does it show on the record as demerit points? Is it possible to somehow plead not guilty? I already told my parents about this happening. ...I am unsure if my insurance rates will go up, as I am only 20 years old, not exactely the lowest-cost age to insure, and if they do, I may not be able to drive until I can pay for my own insurance.

Another major question is basically "what happens next"? The cop didn't even tell me the next step after issuing the ticket and just left me as soon as he handed it to me.

Any help is greatly appreciated. If you have any questions of suggestions on what to do, I would love to answer/hear them. Thanks again.

bachviet

Under $200 in CA but if you don't want point, another $50 is added for traffic school.

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sizemic1

1) You will some paperwork in the mail stating your fine and court appearance date. You will most likely get the option to attend traffic school for an additional cost.

2) If you don't get your paperwork within a couple weeks prior to the court date printed on your ticket, go down to the court in person and request traffic school. You shouldn't even have to see a judge, just some person behind a glass window. Don't assume that since you didn't recieve anything you don't have to appear.

3) Traffic school will prevent that ticket from appearing on your driving record, and thus, potentially saving you some money on insurance. With one ticket on your record, you're "supposed" to still qualify for a good drivers discount. But, I would still say go to school, because your next ticket may be more severe, and traffic school may not be an option, then you'd have 2 tickets on your record. Some courts allow online school, which is very easy and quick, and not nearly as boring as an all day class.

4) I wouldn't bother fighting it. You obviously make an illegal U-turn. I'm not sure what there is to fight over.

5) Don't stress. It's really not that big of a deal. Moneywise, maybe. Everyone get's them...get on with your life

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BrewMaster

i got an illegal u-turn ticket in CA about 4 years ago. cost me $104 to pay the ticket. It was an additional $20-$30 (if I remember correctly) so they would LET me go to traffic school. Then online traffic school was under $50. The whole thing cost me under $200 and had no affect on my insurance or driving record. don't stress man, you're not in too bad of shape. DEFINATLY do traffic school.

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IceDaJuevos

Hrm...well that certainly helps a lot, as I didn't even know what the process of events was for such an incident. I guess I will wait in the mail for something to come, and if not, go to court myself and request traffic school. (I sure hope the Pomona court allows it)

Just to be sure, the "court date" on the ticket means that I have to see the judge (or at least appear in court) before that time? Also, is a date/time set up for me to appear in court somehow or do I just show up myself and tell them what happened and what i'm there for?

Thanks specifically to BachViet, sizemic1, and BrewMaster! =]

Mike_N_Ike

It just means you have to show up by that date. You can go earlier if you want. You probably want to wait at least 2 weeks though because sometimes the tickets don't get processed right away.

It should say on the back of the ticket, or on the bottom, what time to get to the court by. Make sure to get there on time.

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p3rsian

fight it !!!

HmpDeeHmp

Sign up for online traffic school and take the class. It's fairly painless, and I was able to finish mine in a couple of hours. I even got to take my online class for free since the site I went to awarded a free class to every 50th customer!

irwin

I did my online traffic school at www.anytimetrafficschool.com

Finished it in under 40 minutes.

http://www.ctsi-courtnetwork.org/home_study.html

kei2

Don't fight it. Take it like a man. I'm with sizemic.

BrewMaster

online traffic school is the way to go. better than 8 hours in a boring class on a saturday. just mkae sure the county you got the ticket in accepts their traffic school. they (the county) should send you a list of traffic schools. it is pretty simple overall. if you have specific questions there should be a number on the back of the ticket that you can call during regular business hours.

bachviet

If you got your ticket in Orange County, you can't take traffic school anywhere except at one of the 5 courts in OC.