HELP!!!! We Got Pulled over Twice in Two Weeks and Received Two Tickets For...

Updated on October 28, 2009
K.R. asks from North Richland Hills, TX
18 answers

Ok, this is bad but with the slow economy and my sons medical bills that are not covered we have not gotten our registration, inspection and insurance (all expired at the end of August). Everything has sort of gone down hill in that area till late last week when we got some money to take care of all of this, which we have been planning to do tomorrow. So, two weeks ago my husband got pulled over by the cops, we dont speed and we dont have any prior things on our records...good drivers. Both times, (two weeks ago and then today), cops pull up behind us and then a few moments later the lights come on. We now have two tickets for no registration, inspection and insurance and they both total about $1,200. One is from NRH and the other is from Hurst. Any ideas on how to get these dismissed, lowered or what can we do? Any help is appreciated because we don't even make $1,200 in a month. Thanks in advance.

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So What Happened?

To all of those who had great helful advice, thank you. As stated, we did go get the insurance and all tags today and we will be going to court soon to take care of the tickets. As for those on thier high horse that decided to lecture, get real. Before you go off and judge someone you need to realize that people fall on hard times. From October 2008 till just August of this year we have been homeless since we lost our jobs. I had a management job making around $4000 per month and my husband has a Bachelors Degree from DBU and made great money till he lost his job! Imagine being homeless and I do mean homeless without a home to live in with three small children, one who has autism. Life is a struggle for everyone and in todays economy all of us is just a pink slip away from being homeless, etc. Companies are downsizing, think about that! I hope that those of you who decide to get on here and lecture others check yourselves first and realize that we are all trying to do our best as responsible adults and take care of things...sometimes things just don't work out and that is when you have to put your faith in God and swallow your pride and ask others for "help"! Also, for the ones who lectured take out your bible and read John 8:7 which states: But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

More Answers

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P.P.

answers from Dallas on

I agree with most people on here... you broke the law, so fix the things that are wrong. Drving with no insurance, in my book, is worse than speeding. If you have a wreck then you are costing someone else a whole lot more money, because of your carelessness. If you can't afford the insurance.... then stop driving the car until you can!!!!
The one thing that I would add, is that you are lucky to still have the car. We got pulled over and didn't have a current insurance card in the car (we have insurance, just didn't replace the old card) and the officer told me that he could technically tow the car and we would have to pay the fines along with the towing bill (and then we would also have to figure out a way to get home, because he would leave us on foot). Luckily he let us go with a warning to replace our card, but just know that if you keep knowingly breaking the law, it will catch up to you.

2 moms found this helpful
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B.W.

answers from Dallas on

Get your kids on Medicaid or Chips. It is easy to do in Texas for citizens and they pay back three months. As to the tickets? I also hope they don't reduce them - you should stop driving until you have the legal requirements to do so - my guess is you don't have a legal licence either as you have to have insurance to get one.. I was hit by a driver with no insurance, license etc and it cost dearly - ME! I do wish you luck and they probably will reducee it at least some if you get up to date in a timely fashion......

1 mom found this helpful
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N.O.

answers from Dallas on

Try not to take it personal what others judge you about. You are having hard times and nobody's perfect and getting pulled over in life doesn't qualify you as being an irresponsible parent. Jennifer T needs to take a chill pill and I highly doubt she's perfect in any way!!
You must remember this is the internet and you don't know any of these people so who knows how their living their life, I bet you the ones who are giving you the "harsh judgemental" messages are the ones who know they're doing wrong or breaking laws one way or another.

Find you a good ticket lawyer and have them take care of it for you. They're much cheaper than paying the tickets. I haven't been pulled over in many years but I know of a girl who used a ticket lawyer and it cut the costs in half.

Everyone has hard times and when it rains it pours so noone should say harsh words or judge, yes you broke the law but that doesn't make you a monster and you are trying to get things fixed so good luck to you and I will pray your family gets the help you need!! : )

Take care and God Bless!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.P.

answers from Dallas on

My husband, who is a police officer, but not for one of the towns you mentioned said that most towns will lower the fines if you are able to everything up to date within a specified amount of time. He said to call the town and check on the time frames for each. Good luck

1 mom found this helpful

D.D.

answers from Dallas on

There really is nothing you can do but get your vehicle registered, inspected, and insured. What would you do if you had actually gotten into an accident and someone was injured? Do you realize you could loose everything if you were sued? I am sorry but you knowingly broke the law and the Judge will not look kindly on that no matter what the circumstance. Driving is a privilege and NOT a right. With that privilege comes certain responsibilities such as making sure your vehicle has insurance, and up to date registrations and inspection. You took a gamble and you lost that is all there is to it now you have to pay the consequence.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.B.

answers from Dallas on

My only recommendation is to find the money and go get registered and insured right away. Then go in person to the judge and explain what happened, what you've done to rectify the situation, and ask for leniency and ask if the ticket price could be reduced and if you could get a payment plan.

I would not recommend asking the tickets to be thrown out. First of all, you are aware that your registration expired. So a judge might not be very happy about asking to get off without a penalty. Second, with the crappy economy, even the states are feeling the pinch. I would think showing responsibility and also explaining what happened and how you're fixing it would go a long way to trying to get some help.

I would also recommend looking maybe for a part time job for a little while if you think you can swing it. Going into the Christmas season, I think shops typically hire some folks, and it could offset any seasonal decrease in your husband's handyman business. It might help you get ahead on some of your bills too.

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C.C.

answers from Dallas on

K.,

Take your receipts from your inspection, tags, etc., to court and show the judge .... they should be dismissed... especially when you tell him your story.

I know people who have had the same problem with inspection or tags and they just took them to court and showed them to the judge.

It doesn't work with speeding or traffic violations, but these stationary violations should be dismissed.

Don't know about the insurance - they're not as lenient on those.

Good luck.

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B.P.

answers from Abilene on

Unfortunately, no insurance tickets are not taken lightly. Your best bet is to go to the judge and beg for mercy. I doubt they will be dismissed but maybe you can pay them out.

If you get a 3rd one, your insurance rates will sky-rocket and you will be required to have an SR-22 filing (a state filing that ensures you have insurance in place or your DL is revoked). The SR-22 filing costs a couple hundred in state fees alone. I encourage you to go today to get insurance. Otherwise, you will NOT be able to afford it. Luckily no insurance tickets will not raise your rates otherwise.

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D.W.

answers from Tyler on

Sorry ya'll are having to go through this... it's a tough thing. Now police can run your license plate and check on your registration, inspection and insurance... it is all in the computer, so they know before pulling you over.

If you have since gotten this taken care of, you can probably go to the judge and show them that right away you got it all taken care of, you may be able to get the no registration and inspection dropped or dismissed... but I have heard that the no insurance is harder. The best thing is just be honest with them, and explain why it lapsed and that you were in the process of getting it done. They may let you pay it out.

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H.V.

answers from Dallas on

Most of the time, if you take care of the violation, like get your registration, insurance and inspection, they will drop the tickets. You just have to prove that you took care of it. Call the court and see what they say. I know that it seems like alot of money to take care of those three things but it is probably cheaper than paying the tickets. Good luck.

H. V.
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N.C.

answers from Dallas on

I know in both cities, if you get the reg and inspection done within 10 days i believe it is, they will dismiss those for 10 dollar fees. You must have insurance to get those 2 though. The insurance tickets are pretty muc himpossible to get fixed. The also requie a surcharge for each tickets ever year for 3 years. You will recieve letters from the state over it. When I was younger, I got two of the same tickets had to pay 35 dollars a month for each ticket for 3 years. They call it teaching driver responsibility. If yo uget rid of the 2, the insurance tickets are usually about 3-400 a piece. Good Luck

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S.M.

answers from Dallas on

First of all, I think Texas still has a 3 strikes you are out law on no registration. You have to get registration or you can lose your license. We use Esurance. It's an online insurance agency. Their rates are reasonable. As far as your tickets, you will need to show proof of insurance when you go to pay them or make payment arrangements. If you go to the courthouse, they will let you pay them out. Good luck!!!

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E.M.

answers from Dallas on

Well, as for the registration and the inspection citations, you can usually get those reduced to just a ten or twenty dollar administration fee if you will just take care of them within about ten days. As for the no insurance, Sorry to tell you that the only way to get that dismissed is to prove that you did actually have insurance when the citation was issued. They will not accept your having gotten it later. You are going to have to pay for that one and prove that you have insurance. I know it does not seem like it but you were lucky. Had you been pulled over in Dallas county, your vehicle would have been impounded and you would have had all your fines and the price of removing your vehicle from the impound lot.

T.F.

answers from Dallas on

We have experience here, unfortunately.... Hubby is in sales and travels a LOT. He has a lot of rental car experience with tickets as well.

Therefore, he is on the road a LOT. Being on the road is his job and tickets come with that....especially when there are "traps" which we learn where they are located.

#1 call the court and get your options. Go from the instruction of the court on what to do. Plead your case to see if they give you any slack and be nice no matter what they say to you....try to fix it....these people CAN fix it for you if you show respect.

There is NO excuse to not have insurance, inspection or registration. I don't know rules regarding those violations. If you don't have a properly registered, insured, inspected car then DON'T DRIVE until you do. Hopefully a judge will understand your circumstances.

You can take defensive driving 1 time in 12 months and that will cover you as far as being reported to your insurance, as long as you pass the course and get the required certificate.

Also...deferred adjudication is when you ask the judge to let you go (you pay the fees) BUT IF YOU FOLLOW RULES and have NO TICKETS in 90+ days you are dismissed, therefore no reporting to your insurance company.

We also have a lawyer in the Dallas area...Conrad Summers is his namem he is in Dallas off 75 (Central) in Richardson area.

In no way are you out NO $$. Fees are involved in all cases BUT if you pay the other fees... you can keep the issues off your insurance and therefore save you $$ in the long run.

Call a legal advisor to get professional help.

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K.D.

answers from Dallas on

Just an FYI - more and more cities are adopting a policy of impounding your car on the spot if you do not have insurance. You are lucky you were not in one of those cities or else you would also have hundreds of dollars in impoundment fees on top of your tickets. You've got several options. First, I would call of those ticket fixing lawyers - one in Arlington is named Lollar I think - and just speak to the staff there to find out your options. They will give you a lot of info for free. Then I would go the court and ask to get on the "walk-in docket" to speak to the judge face to face about your case. Most judges, especially in these hard times, will honestly inform you of any options you might have to lower your fine. Many cities also offer the option to pay out over time, although usually just two or three months. Your final options - ask relatives for money or consider time served. Awful I know, but it's a hard way to learn that driving without these things is more expensive than being legal.

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P.M.

answers from Dallas on

In my experience, I am famous for not taking care of the registration on cars, I have taken care of the issue and gone up to the court house and the tickets have been dismissed. Since the tickets are from two different cities, you might be able to do this twice. Take your receipts up to the courthouse in each city and see what happens. It can't hurt to try at this point.

Take Care and God Bless!

G.R.

answers from Dallas on

call the court and make payment plans also if you show proof of insurance they will take away your insurance ticket also go to amax insurance they have low rates

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C.S.

answers from Tyler on

Hi K.!
I'm not sure about the insurance and inspection, but for the registration, it's possible that once you get it taken care of, you can call the court (if it's before your hearing date) and have those charges dismissed. You'll still have to pay the $10 (or so) court fees, but that's better than $1200. If you have all three taken care of, it can't hurt to ask them to dismiss the tickets... If they don't dismiss, I wonder if you can't ask about a payment plan, or if they can lower the cost... It can't hurt to call and ask.
Good luck!
-Christina

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