What happens if you don't pay a traffic ticket?

[Narmar]

It will also depend on (assuming you are going to go to the courthouse and negotiate) whether you really can't afford the $155 and if that will affect your ability to survive, or if you want to keep the 155 so you can continue hanging out with friends and what not. No one "wants" to pay their ticket but saying you can't afford it and really seriously not being able to survive in your current conditions if you do have to pay it are in fact different things.

I'm not trying to sound like a richard, but they will look for that kind of thing.

[Orlong]

I would like to say that very few people actually take proper care of their vehicles. It is nothing to take 5 min out of your week, to check the proper fluid levels and operation of lights and wipers. You can do everything yourself except brake lights which would require help from a friend or spouse.



If you dont pay they will issue a warrant. Depending on how "Busy" they are they can send a constable out to arrest you(weeks or months down the road). If that doesnt happen and you are pulled over in the future or happen to have your plates run while out and about you will be arrested. I suggest you go to court explain your situtation and see what happens. They will work with you.

You can also check the brake lights yourself. You can put a brick on the brake pedal and then go look at the lights

[Fainth]

155 dollars for something stupid like that? Where are you from? I usually just get a warning and they tell me to repair the problem with in so many days.

[MuskiER]

Something similar to this happen to my coworker last summer. Only difference was he got 30 day warning to get the light bulb itself fixed and replace. Then stop by local police station to show proof that it was fixed and they just call the other station who pulled my buddy over that it was fixed and the ticket was closed. Wish something like this happen more often because we cant really see taillight being broken.

[petej0]

You can also check the brake lights yourself. You can put a brick on the brake pedal and then go look at the lights

True, but not everyone has a brick laying around. It isnt hard to ask your passenger to check your brake lights before they get in. Plus not many will notice if lights actually got brighter. I have seen people driving around with their brake stuck on.

[theWocky]

This will literally never happen. Show me any evidence that this has happened anywhere recently.

Actually, it almost happened to me a few weeks ago. South Africa is quite harsh on their traffic laws if you miss a court date. I threw a summons away while clearing up some paperwork.

[Revik]

I got a ticket a week ago for having the light above my back license plate out on my car.... I don't know how I was supposed to know that the light was out cuz I mean really how often do you look at the back of your car??? Anyways... They want $155 for the ticket and I can't afford that.. If I don't pay the ticket what will happen?

The worst thing you can do is wait or forget about. Waiting till it is past due will only make things worse. I sat on some parking tickets once and that shit TRIPLED. It sounds like you are already short of cash so do not wait on this.

As long as you are sincere in paying but can't at the moment you should be able to negotiate your fine to something more manageable. If it is a fix-it ticket like someone mentioned above you might be able to get it fixed and have the ticket expunged.

[babalou1]

Go to the store and buy a replacement bulb. Replace it, go to the courthouse WITH the receipt. Show them both the ticket and the receipt and tell them you have it fixed. They will take the ticket, say thank you, and off you go.

[frequency]

I've already paid a ticket $5 a week for 37 weeks, most places are understanding and as long as you keep payments regular and on plan no harm no foul

[Ave07]

I got a ticket once and had to go to court, the lawyer there gave me a choice of either pay the fine, take it to a court, or do community service which will exempt me from the fine and remove it from my records.

[Kegler]

Typically the will give you a court date to resolve a ticket. If you don't meet the court date, and don't pay the ticket or handle it through driver's ed or something like that... they will issue a warrant for your arrest and then next time you get pulled over you will be arrested and your car will be impounded.

[cherb]

You'll eventually get a letter telling you that your drivers license is being revoked due to not paying a ticket.

Go to the courthouse and set up a payment plan. They just want their money, they dont want to suspend your license. You can usually set up a 3 or 6 month plan so you dont pay it all right away, but you will either pay it eventually or you will not have a valid drivers license. While they probably wouldnt put out a warrant for the nonpayment of the ticket, if you get pulled over driving on suspended, you will probably get arrested then, and have another whole set of fines to deal with.

---------- Post added 2013-01-10 at 06:19 PM ----------

Typically the will give you a court date to resolve a ticket. If you don't meet the court date, and don't pay the ticket or handle it through driver's ed or something like that... they will issue a warrant for your arrest and then next time you get pulled over you will be arrested and your car will be impounded.

They don't issue an arrest warrant for not paying traffic tickets, they just suspend your license and then arrest you for driving on suspended. More fines that they can make you pay.

[Dasffion]

This will literally never happen. Show me any evidence that this has happened anywhere recently.

They do warrant round-ups every year or two in Austin going to the last known address of anyone who has a warrant for their arrest and taking them to jail. On top of that if you have an active warrant you can and will get arrested if you get pulled over.

EDIT: Ah it is every year. Here is your "evidence"

http://www.kxan.com/dpp/news/local/a...arrant-roundup

[cherb]

It will happen because if you fail to pay a ticket, you license gets revoked/suspended. If you are pulled over with a revoked/suspended license, you can be arrested for operating a vehicle without a license. Then at that point, not only are you responsible for the original ticket, you will be responsible for paying the suspension fee to get your license back, towing/impound fees for your car, and then any new tickets you might get. It happens every day.

They will suspend your license, but that isn't anywhere close to an arrest warrant. They are not the same, and they don't issue warrants for traffic violations.

[Somebodyelse]

I got a ticket a week ago for having the light above my back license plate out on my car.... I don't know how I was supposed to know that the light was out cuz I mean really how often do you look at the back of your car??? Anyways... They want $155 for the ticket and I can't afford that.. If I don't pay the ticket what will happen?

Depends on the country/state/city you live in...so if you don,t give more details it's impossible to have a better answer for you then:"Eventually bad shit will happen"

---------- Post added 2013-01-10 at 01:23 PM ----------

Do you think I'd just be able to do jail time or community service instead of paying it? I mean that's a lot of money.

You can always do community service instead of paying the ticket...at least in Canada.

[Dasffion]

They don't issue an arrest warrant for not paying traffic tickets, they just suspend your license and then arrest you for driving on suspended. More fines that they can make you pay.

You can indeed be arrested for not paying traffic tickets. See above link

[skrump]

Do you think I'd just be able to do jail time or community service instead of paying it? I mean that's a lot of money.

Must of been an asshole cop as I've been pulled over for that same thing several times and the cops essentially just inform me it's not working, though i've always gotten it fixed immediately (don't wanna risk getting pulled over by the same cop later on down and getting slapped with a fixit citation.

[shadofall]

this will of course vary for where you stay.

but a maintence ticket like that where i live. you have 30 days to get it fixed and they will drop the ticket. just drop by the police station for them to inspect and confirm the repaid.

i've been pulled for a tag light before.

basicly since none of us know where you are you need to figure out what your options are in your area.

this is one of those things that asking people online from around the world is kinda pointless. you need to talk to local people

[Somebodyelse]

This will literally never happen. Show me any evidence that this has happened anywhere recently.

it happened to me last year. no I won't show you proof of that I don,t care if you believe it or not.

[skrump]

You can indeed be arrested for not paying traffic tickets. See above link

Yeah you can but I think what he was trying to say is sometimes the county suspends your license instead thus giving them the opportunity to hit you with another fine before hitting you with a bench warrant just so they can squeeze every last penny out of you they can.