Responding to a traffic citation depends on whether you plead guilty or not guilty. Options for responding may include appearing in court or paying a fine, but serious offenses like drunk driving may limit options. Ignoring a citation can lead to further consequences.
How you respond to a traffic call depends on a number of factors. Once you know whether you want to plead not guilty or guilty to the misdemeanor, you can find out what options your area offers. Most often, these options could include appearing in court or paying a fine. However, the nature of the crime may significantly limit your options, which is typically the case with serious crimes such as drunk driving. Regardless of the method chosen, it is important to act within the allotted time to avoid further consequences.
Before you can decide how to respond to your traffic citation, you need to decide whether you want to plead not guilty or guilty. Pleading not guilty means believing that you did not commit the crime for which the officer cited you. Pleading guilty means accepting that you were committing that crime.
Many areas allow for a variety of options for responding to a traffic injunction, all of which depend on whether you want to plead not guilty or guilty. If you plan to plead not guilty, for example, you could appear before the judge and be given a date for a hearing. If you plan to plead guilty, you could simply pay the fine in one of the ways the court offers. Depending on where you live, you could pay for your ticket in person, by mail, or even online. Typically, your options for responding to a traffic injunction and possibly paying your fine will be printed on the ticket the officer issues you.
Depending on the severity of the traffic summons, you may not have many choices about how or when to respond. For example, a typical speeding ticket usually comes with options, like the ones listed above. A more serious offense, such as drunk driving or DUI, might only present one or two options. You could be arrested and taken to jail immediately if a law enforcement officer pulls you over and finds you are driving under the influence. Your area laws may allow you to post bail or be released after spending a night in jail, or they may require you to stay in jail until you appear in court.
Regardless of how you choose to respond to the traffic summons, be sure to respond. Ignoring a fine does not make it go away. Instead, you can run into further consequences. These consequences depend on where you received the ticket and sometimes on the nature of the offence. In general, however, if you fail to respond to a traffic injunction, you can expect consequences ranging from suspension or revocation of your driver’s license to a prison sentence.
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