So.

[madbaker]

I got a traffic ticket in the mail last week. I was caught on camera doing something illegal - the ticket doesn't seem to specify. I assume that it's failing to come to a complete stop, or turning right on a red light. But for all I know it's for possession of an Edward Gorey bat on my dashboard.

I'm kind of annoyed at this. My last ticket was for speeding when I was 20. But hey, whatever.
Then I got the ticket in the mail. It's... for a lot more money than I expected. If I want to waste a day going to traffic school to avoid a car insurance hike, I then have to pay a 15% surcharge, on top of whatever the traffic school charges.

Low-hanging fruit for cities that want money. But I doubt I did anything for which a cop would have pulled me over had one been stationed there.

Comments

[klwilliams.livejournal.com]

Did the ticket tell you what you supposedly did? This is what Teresa did in similar circumstances: She plead not guilty and went to court. She wore nice clothes and was her usual polite and humble self. The other people in the room were in shorts and T-shirts and were obnoxious. The judge called her up, didn't even look at the photo while saying "It's obviously not you" and dismissed the case.

Traffic court in Santa Clara County is required to be done online, so there's probably an online option where you are. You can play WoW or read a book while taking the class.

[zoccolaro.livejournal.com]

Agreed - how can you be guilty if it's unclear what you are being accused of?