What Happens if You Don’t Pay a Red Light or Speeding Tickets in California?

What Happens if You Don’t Pay a Red Light or Speeding Tickets in California?

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Attorney Christopher J McCannUnderstanding the rules of traffic in a certain location can save you from running into trouble with the police officer or the judicial court. There are tons of laws that you should consider learning.

Getting caught driving in red light or going against the speed rules of California can be a worrisome situation especially when a person does not actually know the rules of traffic of that place.

So, what happens if you don’t pay a red light or speeding tickets in California?

A few things can happen if you are caught speeding on red light and the number one thing is that you will surely be stopped by a police officer who will issue you a ticket. Understanding what happens if you don’t pay a red light or speeding tickets in California can save you lots of troubles when you are stopped by a police officer.

Sometimes, you do not have to be stopped by a police officer to get caught in violating traffic rules. There are so-called photo or railroad-grade crossing tickets that can just be sent to you through the mail with instructions and information on the date and place of trial as well as the amount that you will have to pay. You do not have to feel bitter about such situations though. The Orange County and Los Angeles California police departments, especially the police traffic departments, are responsible in maintaining the flow of vehicles in and out of the cities to prevent accidents and too much hassle for everyone.

Before giving  you an answer to what happens if you don’t pay a red light or speeding tickets in California, Orange County DUI attorney and Criminal Defense lawyer Christopher J. McCann advises that you bring with you your proof of car insurance at all times. He also mentioned that when a police officer stops you, have your driver’s-license and car registration ready aside from your proof of car insurance to save you time.

In cases where you do not want to go to the court-or-pay the fine because you believe you have not violated traffic rules, you can go to the court either on the exact date or before the date mentioned in the letter or ticket and appear to the judge. The-judge will then-ask you if you are guilty of traffic infraction or not. If you say you are not-guilty, you will be given a trial date and you may still be asked to pay-a-fine. The fine can start at $300 up to $400 per ticket.

In cases where you are proven guilty but still do not want to pay the fine set by the court you can have your driver’s license suspended and will not be-able to renew-your car registration. Aside from those two consequences, the court can-charge you for contempt and can either issue-a-warrant for your-arrest or add an additional-fee called the civil assessment fee on top of the fine. This fee can be up to 250 US dollars.

Guest Post Author: 

Christopher J. McCann writes about traffic violations CaliforniaCalifornia Traffic Ticket laws and is a practicing criminal defense lawyers Santa Ana at the law offices of Christopher J. McCann who was recently awarded his 6thSuperLawyers Magazine “Rising Star” award. You can follow Chris tweets at @cjm_law_firm 

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