Just a quick question...
 

Lets jus say a friend of mine didnt pay their speeding ticket on time?

Any of you guys know what will happen?

I'm jus curious and couldn't find the info on the net so could use some help...

Don't know about the states, but in Canada it would depend on your Province (maybe even municipality?), as it is not a Federal affair.

Isn't it usually the same in most places in North America? You get a court date, you don't show, you get a warrant out for your arrest. The fine is greatly increased as well.

The thing is he did go to court and all the papars and all he had left do to was pay the ticket...

He didn't pay it yet and it's past the deadline

All I'm wondering if anything bad is gonna happen

He'll be sentenced to death penalty.

"So I have this friend right, it's not me honest, but my friend...". Me thinks the lady does protest too much.

Anyways, this really depends on where you are, which according to your profile is Hawaii. I would have thought the best place to ask this is some sort of local authority as they're likely to know what the consequences are. If your 'friend' just goes along and explains that they were forgetful, missed the deadline and want to know how to proceed I'm sure they'll be fine. In all likelihood you'll have to just pay slightly more as a penalty for not paying in time.

Thats a little odd. Normally they make you pay ON THE SPOT. Seriously. I was hauled in once for driving on a suspended license (I didn't know it was suspended) and they made me pay $100 cash right there and then after my court hearing. I was hard-pressed to make $100 appear out of thin air. They had me call my fucking MOTHER to ask for the money. They weren't too happy about letting me off easy, you see.

I don't know how strict or lienient Hawaii is, but I know around here, you have a fair chance of getting a warrant out for your arrest.

Exactly how late is this payment? If it's, like, a few days, just back-date the check you write and blame it on the USPS. I've done it before and all went well.

You can pay the fine and "accidentally" pay one pound/dollar/euro/whatever too much. Then you demand your extra money back. You get a cheque for your 1 dollar, but you don't ever cash it. This puts your case in limbo and you don't get any points on your license.

So I heard, at least.

Yeah I doubt that works in the real world roph.

Tell your friend to carry his lazy ass down to the county courthouse {or whatever} and pay the damn fine. Then he won't have a warrant out for his arrest and he won't get ass raped in prison. Problem solved.

Just so you know? I tried this once. It doesn't work in the state of Massachusetts.

You could try other states, perhaps - but they will totally take your money AND whack it on your insurance record.

I think that in general, when you don't pay off a ticket, a warrant is put out for your arrest, but it's nowhere near the top of the police's priority list to actually come arrest you. But if you get caught for anything else, i.e. jaywalking, speeding again, driving on bald tires... then you'll be arrested on the spot. It's like an opportunistic arrest. :tpg:

I've heard a lot of stories on People's Court of people who racked up thousands of dollars in parking tickets and never paid them off... and then got caught on something else.