kmkurdone

Okay, so I'm sure this question has been asked before but I was having issues with the search function.

Last month I was riding towards Palos Verdes and ran through a red light in Redondo Beach (T intersection, I was going straight). I got pulled over and was given a ticket.

I am guilty - I'm not interested in how to get out of this as I'd like to take responsibility for what I did. I'm not one to blow through lights, but I did this time. Anyways, my ticket is $436.00 - I had no idea the penalty was so steep.

At this point, I honestly can't afford to pay the ticket. Can I do a payment plan, community service, ask for a lighter fine, etc.? Does anybody have any advice on how I should go about this? Again, sorry if this is something that has been asked a million times.

Thanks in advance. Take care.

UmneyDurak

I believe you can setup a payment plan, but you will need to appear before the judge in person. Try calling the court to verify.

UD

urbanknight

Yes, if you appear in court you can ask for a reduced fine and/or a payment plan. It may or may not be granted, though, so be on the judge's good side.

prathmann

Fortunately I have no experience with the Calif. traffic courts since moving here 15 years ago.

But in NJ there was an option to plead 'guilty but with an explanation' and there may be something similar here. In your case I'd think the explanation would be to emphasize that you were on a bicycle and therefore mainly endangering yourself and that since it is a 'T' intersection your path was not directly conflicting with any other traffic entering the intersection on the green (I'd have a map of the street available in case the judge asks for one). Based on those mitigating factors you hope the size of the fine might be reduced.

Appearing in court instead of just mailing in a payment also has the advantage that you can verify that this is being recorded as a cycling offense and should therefore not impact insurance rates.

kmkurdone

Thanks for all of the responses so far. Very helpful. Does anyone have any experience in CA with prathmann's advice?

LCI_Brian

It's not supposed to go on your record per CVC 1803 - but more often than not it needs to be followed up on to make sure it doesn't accidentally put on the record.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d02/vc1803.htm

merckx_rider

Try a web search for that info, there are some great sources for what options you have.

Cleave

Hello,

My wife is a criminal defense attorney. She believes that you can ask for community service.

BTW, I applaud your sense of personal responsibility.

efficiency

Trial by written declaration. I got out of a speeding ticket that way. Read the back of your ticket for instructions.

53x11

Make sure you schedule a court hearing.

1. The cop may not show up
2. fight the ticket - buy a book on amazon "how to fight a traffic ticket in court" and do as they say.
3. ask for community service.

1 month a go I got a 98mph speeding ticket with a fine of $560 and 2 days later a seatbelt ticket for $60.

the cop for 98mph did not show up in court, but the seatbelt cop did.

bikeride

1) Try to push your court date to a later date if you can.
2) As the court date gets near do a trial by deceleration. This is the first opportunity for the cop to respond. If he doesn't respond then you're off the hook. If he does respond then you go to step 3.
3) Go to court. If the cop doesn't show up then you're off the hook. If he does show up then be nice to the judge and give him your sob story.

I've had to pay a lawyer to take care of my speeding tickets twice and this is the way he did it. Both times the case was dismissed.

olsmurphy

Holy crap, you are fast! I can get my SS up to about 45 mph going down hill with the wind at my back. What are you riding to get up to nearly 100 mph? I bet your quads are built like a pair of oak trees.

pmc

2 friends and I ran a stop sign at 4-8 mph, that was on the ticket, traveling south on the Esplanade through a "T" intersection. No cars parked near by or stopped at the intersection, no one in the crosswalks. We were the only ones around. All 3 got tickets. 2 paid on line. 1 asked for extension about 2-3 times. Went to court cop showed up. It's redondo beach what else are they going to do. The judge just asked one question, "Did you come to a complete stop, yes or no". After that pay the clerk, $159.00.

So what ever you do, good luck.

JTGraphics

You may also be eligible to do traffic school.

LCI_Brian

There's no point here, since you still have to pay the full fine anyway. At least for a violation in a car, it keeps the ticket off the record. But on a bike, the ticket isn't supposed to go on your record.

JTGraphics

I didn't know that Well I guess it's just time to Pay The Piper
I need to start making that full foot down stop also we don't blow thru them but do slow look and go which is still not good enough not to get a ticket by the law.

gunslinger14647

Hi there!

Another way to approach this is to ask the judge for "deferred adjudication". This means you admit guilt, but essentially places you on probation for a given period of time. No violations in that given time period and the violation is dropped. However, another moving violation during that period and the first will come back to be answered for. It's the court's discretion, but may be worth trying if you're not predisposed to moving violations.

Courts will very often allow you to make payments, but will generally add an administrative fee. Traffic school is not likely going to be your route. The citation occurred while you were riding a bicycle, not a motor vehicle, and I do not believe it counts as a point against your license. (I'll check on this for confirmation). Traffic school also requires you pay the fine; It simply expunges the charge from your driver history and saves you the increase in insurance rates. Hope this helps.

gunslinger14647

This is a terrible, tongue-in-cheek joke, but here goes;

A police officer stops a guy for rolling through a stop sign. The guy becomes indignant and complains that he "slowed down". What more could the cop want? So, the officer tells the guy to exit his vehicle and walk back to the patrol car. Once there, the cop draws his baton, and starts to whack the guy as fast as he can. The guy falls to the ground, screaming for the cop to stop. The cop looks down at him and asks him, "Do you want me to STOP, or do you just want me to slow down?"

Sorry! Just a little cop humor there!

pacificaslim

FYI, there are places in California that offer bike traffic school and if you go to it, the amount of your fine is greatly reduced. I don't know if Redondo is one of those places though.