Originally Posted by
BanjoKazooie31
well i love america but dislike texas so i guess not going back there wont really bother me!
The full story is i was studying in Texas last year and went for a road trip one weekend and got a speeding fine, they sent me the fine at my college po box and i wrote a letter back, they then sent a card telling me to pay, not even aknowledging my questions about the process, i then left the country the following week as my semester abroad was up without paying the fine
To be fair, the Texas speeding tickets that I know do have lots of fine print in the front and back.
If you had read carefully the speeding ticket and the notice (not sure what kind of "card" you meant), you would have found certain things:
1. Timeframe to pay the tickets & how to pay it;
2, amount of your fine;
3. depending on how much speed you were driving, you could have had the option to take defensive driving classes to save some $$;
4. the procedures to follow, the number to call, the address to write to.
5. the court date;
6. time & location of your offense and the name of the officer who cited you the ticket;
7. other things I can't recall right now.
When the police officer handed you the ticket, you would have to sign and he'd told you the court date. The officer may not have the most pleasant manner but s/he would answer your questions on the spot, other than asking you to sign.
When you sign any official/legal/government documents, you should always ask proper questions before you put down your signature. And study them and read all the fine print if you have to.
If your dislike of Texas is because of your speeding ticket & failing to read all the fine print, I don't know what else to say.
If you were unable to understand the legal terms & procedures outlined in your copy of the speeding ticket, you could have searched the internet, visited the TX government's website, or even stopped by the student legal services center at your university. All the help and info is out there. It's you who have to take initiatives. You are a grownup now and don't need babysat.
I used to be an international student in the United States and I tried my best not to break any law or commit any crime. If I got a speeding ticket, I would pay the fine or take defensive driving classes if I was allowed. Being a foreign student, I didn't want to take any risk or chances. For all I know, I may visit the United States in the future and I want to make sure I have a clean record. As a matter of fact, I do.
The fact that you drove too fast and got caught is not the fault of the Proud State of Texas. You speed and there's consequences. Your leaving the country before taking any proper legal action shows no sign of accepting the consequences. Your short of time in taking proper care of your speeding ticket before departing the U.S. is no excuse either. Being an exchange student doesn't give your permission to not understand/respect local laws. Since you are old enough to have a driver license and drive on a foreign land, you should have known better.
When someone is a law-abiding citizen and a trouble-free guest to foreign countries, there's no need for this person to worry about any legal consequences/action when traveling globally.
That's the lesson for the day. Class dismissed!
