Go Back  FlyerTalk Forums > Destinations > America - USA > USA
Reload this Page >

travelling back to the us with an unpaid speeding ticket

travelling back to the us with an unpaid speeding ticket

Old Jan 7, 2010, 8:38 pm
  #16  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9
so it looks like i should be ok aslong as i dont drive in tejas or fly there direct...
BanjoKazooie31 is offline  
Old Jan 7, 2010, 8:49 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Wherever I can find miles and points.
Posts: 93
The Feds don't care, this is a state 'revenue enhancement' issue - you'd be Ok even landing in TX.
1apreferably is offline  
Old Jan 7, 2010, 9:59 pm
  #18  
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: CO Gold; SPG Gold***; AvisFirst;
Posts: 3,970
The only issue I know of would be if a Judge in Tx issued a bench warrant for your arrest. AFAIK - and I'm not a lawyer - that could be a problem if you're stopped anywhere in Texas and the officer finds the warrant. Outside of Texas, it's not likely that the warrant for a traffic infraction would show up. It's also unlikely that any other state would do much of anything in regards to an out of state warrant for a traffic infraction.

All things considered, it might be worth contacting the local prosecutor by mail, explaining you'd like to negotiate a solution and see if you can get down to the original fine or less. I'd expect they'd be willing to take just about anything vs. nothing.
mbreuer is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 1:18 am
  #19  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: lax
Posts: 3,874
I would just pay the ticket and have peace of mind.
skylady is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 2:03 am
  #20  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 11,377
Originally Posted by darthbimmer
A speeding ticket is an administrative infraction, not a crime.
No. Speeding is a crime, generally a misdemeanor. It is not a serious crime, but it is a crime.

Originally Posted by darthbimmer
It will not be in the immigration service's computers.
That is probably true.
soitgoes is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 3:15 am
  #21  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 9
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

I detoured to Mexico on the way home and re-transited through america a week later, i had no issues @ immigration.
BanjoKazooie31 is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 4:28 am
  #22  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Home
Programs: AA, Delta, UA & thanks to FTers for my PC Gold!
Posts: 7,676
Can you handle the truth? You Sped & You Got Caught!

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!

Last edited by lin821; Jan 8, 2010 at 3:07 pm Reason: fixing typo & adding clarification
lin821 is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 4:49 am
  #23  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: SAN
Programs: PR Premier Elite
Posts: 1,950
Texas (and most states) will instantly throw your butt in jail until you post bail on a bench warrant. Immigration is not problem but if ANY Texas LEO runs you ID for ANY reason you will be instantly arrested, hauled down to the local jail and held until you post bail.

Funny story about my father. He once was stopped in his boat by lake patrol in Arizona for towing a water skier without an observer. The law says you must have a second adult in the boat when towing a water skier and he was towing a friend by himself. The lake patrol wrote him a ticket. It got wet later when he hauled out his boat and was illegible. The lake was far from his home and he never figured on going back to that lake again anyway. He just forgot about the whole thing.

Fully 5 years later he was pulled over for a brake light out in Phoenix. A bench warrant came up. He was arrested and hauled down town. The rural county judge that issued the bench warrant had failed to set a bail amount. Phoenix could not allow him to pay bail when it was the rural county judge issued the warrant, it was Friday, the judge would not be back until Monday to set bail......... so that is how dad spent the weekend in jail for towing a water skier without an observer. Monday morning it turned out bail was like $20-$30 and the fine was eventually waived entirely in lieu of time served.
Mabuk dan gila is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 7:19 am
  #24  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: DL FO
Posts: 11
A speeding ticket is actually a violation (less then a misdemeanor, but higher then something like a parking ticket). If you get pulled over anywhere in the country or even parts of Canada (I know NY for example shares their information with Quebec and Ontario) you might be arrested for not paying it. On the other hand if you don't drive and don't plan to do anything illegal, you are perfectly fine. Also since they don't have a specific plate there is very little chance of you getting pulled over unless you speed, run a red light etc...
yev11223 is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 7:57 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: New York & London
Posts: 290
Slightly off-topic: I had spent some time in Australia and three months after I left I recieved a ticket in the mail back in the States. Apparently I was caught speeding by some automated speed trap. I was going 106 in a 100. A bit nitpicky in my opinion, but I paid the ticket nonetheless. For the $100 I know I won't have any problems in OZ.
liquid is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 8:29 am
  #26  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: ORD
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 16,900
Originally Posted by yev11223
A speeding ticket is actually a violation (less then a misdemeanor, but higher then something like a parking ticket). If you get pulled over anywhere in the country or even parts of Canada (I know NY for example shares their information with Quebec and Ontario) you might be arrested for not paying it. On the other hand if you don't drive and don't plan to do anything illegal, you are perfectly fine. Also since they don't have a specific plate there is very little chance of you getting pulled over unless you speed, run a red light etc...
I am neither a police officer or an attorney, but isn't a traffic ticket essentially a summons to appear in court? You can get around the trip to court by paying the fine - which in turn is technically pleading guilty and waiving your right to a trial. But, to my understanding, by not paying the ticket and not appearing in court you are in violation of a summons, which is not something I'd want to play with lightly.
milepig is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 11:25 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: CO Gold; SPG Gold***; AvisFirst;
Posts: 3,970
Originally Posted by soitgoes
No. Speeding is a crime, generally a misdemeanor. It is not a serious crime, but it is a crime.


That is probably true.
Originally Posted by yev11223
A speeding ticket is actually a violation (less then a misdemeanor, but higher then something like a parking ticket). If you get pulled over anywhere in the country or even parts of Canada (I know NY for example shares their information with Quebec and Ontario) you might be arrested for not paying it. On the other hand if you don't drive and don't plan to do anything illegal, you are perfectly fine. Also since they don't have a specific plate there is very little chance of you getting pulled over unless you speed, run a red light etc...
Originally Posted by milepig
I am neither a police officer or an attorney, but isn't a traffic ticket essentially a summons to appear in court? You can get around the trip to court by paying the fine - which in turn is technically pleading guilty and waiving your right to a trial. But, to my understanding, by not paying the ticket and not appearing in court you are in violation of a summons, which is not something I'd want to play with lightly.
Right - pretty much as I understand it, the ticket isn't the problem, the problem is failure to appear in court (or plead guilty and pay as per instructions on the ticket).

From a quick search: http://law.onecle.com/texas/penal/38.10.00.html

As I read this (and I am not a lawyer), failure to appear for a traffic violation is a class 3 misdemeanor.

If I read the rest of the search results correctly, after you'd deal with begin arrested, the penalty would be a fine of $500 in addition to the original ticket and penalties. Basically, the whole thing would suck and is best avoided.
mbreuer is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 1:15 pm
  #28  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: PHX
Posts: 3,796
Another issue to consider is if you're renting a car. Rental agencies commonly check a database of violations to see if you're on it. You might have your rental refused if you have an outstanding ticket.
alanh is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 2:03 pm
  #29  
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: OOL Australia
Programs: QFF (Gold), Skywards, Rapid Rewards,United, Velocity, Hilton Silver
Posts: 2,440
Originally Posted by wolfie_cr
and to balance the story I will give two of mine

a) I know of one guy who CLAIMS that his visa renewal application was denied specifically because of a ticket he didnt pay

b) a friend of mine got one in NY.....when he told me I told him to pay it before leaving the country.........he told me that the next time he flew to the US (a few weeks later) they asked him......AT CHECK IN here in SJO...if he paid the ticket....this is one of my best friends but realistically I would have to see it to believe it This is what we would call excrement of the Bull

YMMV
Lonely Flyer is offline  
Old Jan 8, 2010, 2:30 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Houston, TX, USA
Programs: UA 1K, AA Lifetime Platinum, DL Platinum, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium, Hertz Platinum
Posts: 7,954
Whether a speeding ticket is a crime, infraction, or something else varies dramatically by state. Here in Texas, I don't think we have such a notion of an "infraction." What would be called an infraction in California (most moving violations) are Class C misdemeanors. So, although officially a "crime," most of the time when asked about criminal history, a form will say "except traffic violations" anyway.

Whether a misdemeanor, infraction, or something else, an unpaid speeding ticket is not felony. Only felony warrants are enforceable across state borders. So, there's no worries about running into trouble with state or local authorities in any state except Texas. In Texas, however, my expectation is that if you have any interaction with law enforcement that causes them to run your record, that you'll quickly find you have an outstanding warrant and you'll be arrested and taken to jail, where you'll stay until you pay the outstanding fine.

As to whether US Immigration will know or care about an unpaid speeding ticket, I have no idea. In my opinion, they certainly should. I find it offensive that you'd come here as a guest to our country, violate the law, ignore the ticket, then expect to be let back in in the future. Visiting any country other than your own is a privilege, not a right. I think US immigration authorities should deny entry to non-citizens that have outstanding tickets.
Steve M is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.