Irresponsibility (One day late speeding ticket payment)

RainyjayD3

Okay, so, through procrastinating and not double checking, I've ran into a problem:

A month ago I got a speeding ticket (Indiana, for reference), 14 miles over the limit. Today (the 28th), the payment was due, except that...when I started to drive to the court to begin the payment process, the court was already closed, as I found out they closed early at 1pm on Tuesdays.

Immediately wondering what awful things could happen, I turned to google, and reading vague ideas about warrants and suspensions of licenses, got more than a little freaked out.

If I pay this immediately tomorrow morning, what would be the ramifications? I'm quite unfamiliar with the law and procedure, as this is my first experience with any kind of ticket/law issue. Needless to say, I don't want to be put in jail over being an hour late.

Any information would be helpful.

Figgy

You'll be fine.

neth

are you unable to pay it online? I know here you can just pay your speeding ticket online, it appears Indianapolis has that available also not sure exactly where you got your ticket though.

RainyjayD3

Correct- this was out in the middle of nowhere, but they allow by paying by credit card over the phone, which would have been an option, except they closed early today.

Any idea on if warrants/suspension of licenses immediately happen if a speeding ticket isn't paid immediately?

bowen

Call them tomorrow first thing. Stop worrying.

Bedlam

The legal system really dosent work that quickly. If you pay it as soon as you possibly can then I doubt they will even say anything to you. Just dont procrastinate anymore.

RainyjayD3

Thanks-

Yeah, methinks this is the final straw for procrastination.

RainyjayD3

Any ideas on what any possible things to expect, i.e. a late fee, etc?

bowen

Probably nothing. Maybe like a $5 late fee with $50 filing fee.

Thanatos

They may charge you a late fee, but this is really something that's entirely dependent upon jurisdiction. And most places have some sort of grace period before they do that.

RhalloTonny

They probably won't if you contact them tomorrow

Feral

RainyjayD3 wrote:

A month ago I got a speeding ticket (Indiana, for reference), 14 miles over the limit. Today (the 28th), the payment was due

First off, call them or go back tomorrow. Do your payment by phone if you can, at least talk to a clerk. Court clerks fix things like this all the time, you just need to talk to them.

Also, did you get the due date from the actual yellow slip the police officer gave you on the scene, or did you get the due date off of a courtesy notice you got in the mail?

The due dates on the police-written tickets themselves are estimates and usually you have more time than they indicate.

The due dates on the by-mail courtesy notices, however, are much more rigid. If you missed a courtesy notice due date, then you will probably to ask the court clerk nicely to reverse any late charges. (But, again, this is something they do a lot.)

XArchangelX

First, stop worrying, they're not going to do anything drastic. It's a speeding ticket, not a criminal matter, this is all handled via paperwork.

In IL, the fine goes up a bit if you miss the deadline, then goes up again if you miss the next one, then gets treated like an unpaid bill, ie goes to collections,dings your credit in addition to suspending the license. But that's really eventual, the first penalty is usually an increase in the fine, and you can probably avoid that if you pay it off a day or two after if you get a forgiving civil servant when you go in, which I've had happen before so stop laughing.

ElJeffe

I once paid a speeding ticket several months late. Like, seven or eight. I had to pay a extra fee, that was all. It varies from area to area, but they won't be arresting you or anything.

cabsy

The thing about tickets is it does depend on the town. I've had tickets in Bloomington where they tried to suspend my license when it was paid 60 days late - they sent me a notice saying I had 30 days to pay or they would file for KY to suspend my license. So that should give you sort of an idea of what kind of grace period you're dealing with. Freaking out over a day is hasty.

Malkor

ElJeffe wrote: »

I once paid a speeding ticket several months late. Like, seven or eight. I had to pay a extra fee, that was all. It varies from area to area, but they won't be arresting you or anything.

Sane here, except I didn't have a late fee. I'll second looking for info/paying online. It's the quickest way, and you'll might be able to have the confirmation sent to your e-mail for extra security.

RainyjayD3

Okay, just got off the phone with the court clerk. No worries, no late fee, I was able to get it paid without any problem-

However, for google/posterity, they did say that they would have begun the process to suspend the license at noon today.

Thanks for the help, everyone.