Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Guilty as charged
I need to get this off my chest.
Sometime in 1991, I was traveling in a borrowed car (I think it may have had Maryland tags) between Buffalo and Rochester through some backroads sleepy little town at about 3 AM, with one passenger passed out in the front seat, and at least 2 or 3 in the back seat. I honestly don't remember whose car it was or who was with me. I also don't recall which driver's license I had at the time (it was probably issued in Virginia). The speed limit on the majority of the road was 45 MPH, but as we approached this one-intersection town, it was reduced to 25 MPH. I was probably doing close to 50 MPH outside the town, and probably only brought the speedometer down 10 or 15 MPH once within the limits, but sure enough, there came the bright flashing lights of the local police. Of course he gave me a ticket. And being as brilliant as I am, I made the decision not to pay it. I figured the odds were pretty good that the town's police department didn't even own a computer, much less have the capacity to track me down three states away. Plus, I reasoned, the ticket was totally undeserved.
Well, 15 years later, I'm starting to see the error in my ways. No one has sent me any certified letters demanding that I pay the debt. No one has come knocking on my door serving a warrant for my arrest. But in retrospect, I understand that regardless of how trivial the infraction was, I did indeed break that town's law, and the ticket issued was justified. My problem is that I don't know of a way to make it right. I can't seem to get through to anyone at the New York DMV to find out if they are still hoping for a check from me or waiting for me to appear in court somewhere. Maybe this post will trigger some investigation into the affair so I can get it all taken care of and get back on the straight and narrow.
Check out this article.
Links to this post
Sometime in 1991, I was traveling in a borrowed car (I think it may have had Maryland tags) between Buffalo and Rochester through some backroads sleepy little town at about 3 AM, with one passenger passed out in the front seat, and at least 2 or 3 in the back seat. I honestly don't remember whose car it was or who was with me. I also don't recall which driver's license I had at the time (it was probably issued in Virginia). The speed limit on the majority of the road was 45 MPH, but as we approached this one-intersection town, it was reduced to 25 MPH. I was probably doing close to 50 MPH outside the town, and probably only brought the speedometer down 10 or 15 MPH once within the limits, but sure enough, there came the bright flashing lights of the local police. Of course he gave me a ticket. And being as brilliant as I am, I made the decision not to pay it. I figured the odds were pretty good that the town's police department didn't even own a computer, much less have the capacity to track me down three states away. Plus, I reasoned, the ticket was totally undeserved.
Well, 15 years later, I'm starting to see the error in my ways. No one has sent me any certified letters demanding that I pay the debt. No one has come knocking on my door serving a warrant for my arrest. But in retrospect, I understand that regardless of how trivial the infraction was, I did indeed break that town's law, and the ticket issued was justified. My problem is that I don't know of a way to make it right. I can't seem to get through to anyone at the New York DMV to find out if they are still hoping for a check from me or waiting for me to appear in court somewhere. Maybe this post will trigger some investigation into the affair so I can get it all taken care of and get back on the straight and narrow.
Check out this article.
Links to this post
Comments:
You shouldnt worry about it. Its been 15 years, theres got to be some sort of statute of limitations. Did they ever send you even one collection notice? I vote for not paying it. If you do pay, you should account for interest.>
Did I ever tell you that I am a duly appointed collection official for the State of NY?
- t
bridge for sale, too ... cheap ...>
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- t
bridge for sale, too ... cheap ...>
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