$50,000 Speeding Ticket

[wxolue]

No joke. Massive venting incoming.

I am a high school student taking college classes at some nearby colleges. Last week I got a speeding ticket. Apparently, if you are a junior operator in Massachusetts and get a speeding ticket you have to pay a $500 fine, take some anger management class, and you get your license revoked for 30 days. Without a license I can't get to my college classes, and I will pretty much have to fail them since I can't attend them. At this point I have pretty much failed my first half of my senior year, so I will have to repeat it next year. Not only have I lost a whole year of college which amounts to about $50,000 (I was planning on going to some fairly reputable colleges), I will have to repeat my senior year of high school, and a stain like that on my college application pretty much ruins my chances of getting into anything but a state school. All for a speeding ticket. I am still in shock right now.

[Breakfast0fChampions]

How much were you over the limit? Can't you fight it in court?

[JFmtl]

How come you can't attend you college class without a driving licence? You need it to enter the classroom? Or you need to drive there? If it's cause you need to drive, can you ask someone to drive you, or take buses?

[Neptunus]

Wow, that stinks! Can you get someone to drive you, or ride your bike? Not that biking is that great this time of year...

[BTW]

Wow, are you sure there is nothing else you can do? It sounds like a situation for desperate measures, do whatever it takes to attend those classes.

[zomgz]

longboard time!! =] i'm sorry though that really sucks bad =(

[amarie]

I suggest public transportation if you have it where you live.

[shyvr6]

Your parents can't take you? What about the bus? At our college, we have a bus that comes to take and drop people off.

[pyramidsong]

That's so unfair! We should totally be able to break the law without consequences!

/sarcasm

While I admit that does seem an extreme consequence, why were you speeding in the first place? People *die* from that.

[nubly]

im going to assume the problem with transportation lies because he is in HS and attending college classes afterwards, which would give him limited time to catch the bus or difficulties finding someone thats free around that time.

youre fine youre just worried over nothing. show up to your court date. explain the circumstances. despite peoples irrational fear of the government, they are there to work with you.

Originally Posted by polythene

That's terrible, I'm sorry this happened to you.

However, $50,000 is a huge sum...

its not really $50,000. its $500. still, thats a lot . im glad i dont speed anymore.

[wxolue]

Originally Posted by nubly

im going to assume the problem with transportation lies because he is in HS and attending college classes afterwards, which would give him limited time to catch the bus or difficulties finding someone thats free around that time.

youre fine youre just worried over nothing. show up to your court date. explain the circumstances. despite peoples irrational fear of the government, they are there to work with you.


its not really $50,000. its $500. still, thats a lot . im glad i dont speed anymore.

Did you even read my story? A year of college (which is what I will be missing) is about 50k these days. I don't take high school classes. Im in high school, but opted out of taking classes there and take college ones instead. The college im going to is 40 minutes away and I am the only high school student taking classes there, so there's no one to catch a ride from. There are no busses that go from my town to the College.

Pyramidsong, I was speeding because I was on my way to play my violin at a Bar Mitzvha with a group of students. I was late and incredibly nervous and was not watching my speedometer.

Anyway, I found out that I have a chance of getting rid of all this if I win my appeal. Wish me luck .

Even if I was not in this situation, I still can't even begin to fathom why anyone would think of passing a law that requires you to spend close to $1000 (2 classes, retake of permit/drivers test, actual ticket, and $500 fine) and give your license up for three months just for a normal speeding ticket. It has nothing to do with keeping teens safe. This is government bureaucracy at its worst. Corrupt politicians think its a good idea to exploit kids for monetary gain. Anything to balance the budget. It makes me sick. The worst part is I didn't even know of these consequences until after the fact. You would think they would warn you about such a ridiculous and corrupt law before the fact, but I guess thats the point. Profit off of an ignorant public.

[HopeFloats]

Can you get an occupational license? I know Mass. law may be different, but in Wisconsin, some people can get a license that allows them to drive only to work/school and back home.

[millenniumman75]

Something doesn't sound right about this. Is this a speeding ticket or a road rage incident? $500 for a speeding ticket is ridiculous unless you did damage to another car. If you had your license suspended, they can still make arrangements so that you can get to school. They have the work-home deal where people can drive to work and home.

[Dempsey]

Take a taxi. Expensive but if you truly are down $50,000 otherwise...

[anomalous]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

Something doesn't sound right about this. Is this a speeding ticket or a road rage incident? $500 for a speeding ticket is ridiculous unless you did damage to another car.

I can believe it, especially in the northeast states. A lot of the more progressive states are going off the deep end in recent years with ridiculous measures to slam young drivers for anything and everything they do wrong. I'd know, because I had my own incident a few years ago (the one and only ticket I've received in six years of driving). Honestly, when it's carried to the point where one speeding ticket carries this huge a consequence simply because of age, they may as well just raise the driving age instead.

Good luck, wxolue. You made a simple mistake that 95% of us make on a daily basis and it's an utter disgrace that you have to deal with anything more a $100 fine.

[wxolue]

Originally Posted by anomalous

I can believe it, especially in the northeast states. A lot of the more progressive states are going off the deep end in recent years with ridiculous measures to slam young drivers for anything and everything they do wrong. I'd know, because I had my own incident a few years ago (the one and only ticket I've received in six years of driving). Honestly, when it's carried to the point where one speeding ticket carries this huge a consequence simply because of age, they may as well just raise the driving age instead.

Good luck, wxolue. You made a simple mistake that 95% of us make on a daily basis and it's an utter disgrace that you have to deal with anything more a $100 fine.

Thank you, and you pretty much hit the nail on the head. I may have jumped the gun too soon with this whole thread since I have the opportunity to appeal it. I really have no idea what my chances are of escaping any part of this whole ordeal, but something tells me arguing to opt out of a set in stone law probably won't end in my favor. Nevertheless, I will try my hardest in front of the judge. Even if that doesn't work, I can still apply for a hardship license (sort of like what HopeFloats mentioned). Although I can't be sure of anything, with any luck I might, at the very least, be able to use my license to get to and from school. Although that still leaves close to $900 in fees (160 for the ticket, 150 for the classes, 500 for the reinstatement fee, another hundred or so for the permit/road test), 12 hours of useless classes, and having to retake my driving test, I still would count this as dodging a bullet.

[millenniumman75]

That still sounds a bit harsh for a speeding ticket. Were you going 35+ over the limit? That, I could understand as that would be a mandatory court appearance.

[Neptunus]

Originally Posted by millenniumman75

That still sounds a bit harsh for a speeding ticket. Were you going 35+ over the limit? That, I could understand as that would be a mandatory court appearance.

ETA- Maybe you're right.

Because I'm really bored, I did a search and found this useful site: http://www.dmv.org/ma-massachusetts/point-system.php

Junior Operator Violations and Penalties






Violate any of the specific restrictions of the Junior Operator License, or get convicted of a motor vehicle violation with drugs or alcohol involved, and you will face major penalties:

• Anyone violating the restriction about carrying passengers younger than 18 gets an automatic license suspension of up to 60 days and a reinstatement fee of $100.

• A speeding violation entails a 90-day license suspension and a serious loss of allowance money: there is a $50 minimum fine, a $50 surcharge, plus the states charges $10 for every mph you clocked over the speed limit. Talk about a hefty deterrent.

If you do not manage to learn from this punishment and push the pedal to the metal again, you just might be begging your parents to taxi you to the mall for the next year while all your friends are driving. The suspension turns to a year, with the same monetary fines. Plus, you have to reapply for the initial learner’s permit.
Drag racing with the buddies is even worse. Keep the Daytona dreams restricted to the arcade because getting caught racing in the streets is a loss of the permit for a year, a $250 fine, and a $500 reinstatement fee.

[blueblizzard]

Originally Posted by wxolue

I will have to repeat my senior year of high school, and a stain like that on my college application pretty much ruins my chances of getting into anything but a state school.

Oh gawd, a state school?! Yuck those are for poor people.


Look that sucks pretty bad, but where there's a will, there's a way. But honestly people have to stop speeding because like someone said people DO die from that. Especially in a state full of M*******s. Driving here is like a ****in nut house.Also, if memory serves me correctly, the $500 first time fine was a compromise. People were trying to push the driving age to 18, so instead of that, we have this lovely fine going on.

And I still don't understand how you're out 50K. You say that you're planning on going to some reputable schools, so I'm guessing this is not the college that you are attending for your senior year.


And don't worry about what school you go to. You probably won't be able to get a job when you graduate anyway. I say, become a plumber.

peace

[letitrock]

Originally Posted by wxolue

No joke. Massive venting incoming.

I am a high school student taking college classes at some nearby colleges. Last week I got a speeding ticket. Apparently, if you are a junior operator in Massachusetts and get a speeding ticket you have to pay a $500 fine, take some anger management class, and you get your license revoked for 30 days. Without a license I can't get to my college classes, and I will pretty much have to fail them since I can't attend them. At this point I have pretty much failed my first half of my senior year, so I will have to repeat it next year. Not only have I lost a whole year of college which amounts to about $50,000 (I was planning on going to some fairly reputable colleges), I will have to repeat my senior year of high school, and a stain like that on my college application pretty much ruins my chances of getting into anything but a state school. All for a speeding ticket. I am still in shock right now.

Yeah not being able to drive sucks but don't give up that easily!-just take the ****ing bus, it's not that bad-and make sure there's adequate public transportaion at the college you're planning on going to....