archive of legends & netlore How to Avoid Speeding Ticket Penalties
1998 version: Email text contributed by Kaz Mori, 10/03/98:
If you find that you have got a speeding ticket or you have
gone through a red light or what ever you do to lose demerit
points from your license, I have heard of a method to ensure
that you DON'T lose any points.
It is this:
When you get your fine, send a check to pay it, and if the
fine is, say $79 then make the cheque out for $82 or some
small amount above the fine. The system will then have to
send you a cheque back for the difference so eventually you
get a cheque for $3 .
Now, here is the trick -
DON'T cash the check -
Throw it away. Demerit points are not removed from your license
until all of the financial transactions are complete. If you don't
cash the cheque then the transactions are not complete, however,
the system has got its money so it is happy and doesn't bother
you anymore.
Source:
Rick Thoonen
Production Administrator
RACV Touring Publications
1999 version: Email text contributed by Jason Kendall, 03/02/99:
Subject: FW: Speeding ticket loophole..
A police officer confirmed this for me.
THIS IS FOR USA ONLY
I tried to pass this on to anyone I could think of. This
procedure
works in any state. Read it and try it, you have nothing to
loose
but
the points in your license.
If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or
whatever
the case may be, and you are going to get points on your
license,
then
there is a method to ensure that you DO NOT get any points.
When
you
get your fine, send in the check to pay for it and if the fine
is
say
$79, then make the check out for $82 or some small amount
above
the
fine.
The system will then have to send you back a check for the
difference,
but
here is the trick! ---DO NOT CASH THE CHECK!! Throw it away!
Points
are not assessed to your license until all the financial
transactions
are complete. If you do not cash the check, then the
transactions
are
not complete. However the system has gotten its money so it is
happy
and will not bother you any more.
2000 version: Email text contributed by Vicki Anderson, 07/29/00:
Just thought I would share this with you, as you know I work
in the ticket enforcement division and in the course of my
investigation into "fines, their payment methods, and how points
are assessed against drivers licenses" we discovered something
very interesting.
If You Get A Traffic Ticket,
This has been tried and it works.....
I tried to send this to everyone I know. I know that for a fact this
works so if you ever get in this situation, you have an out.
We discovered that this procedure works in every state. Read it
and try it, you have nothing to lose but the points on your license.
This is how it works:
If you get a speeding ticket or went through a red light or whatever
the case may be, and you are going to get points on your license,
then there is a method to ensure that you DO NOT get any points.
When you get your fine, send in the check to pay for it and if the
fine is say, $79, then make the check out for $82 or some small
amount over the fine. The system will then have to send you back
a check for the difference, but here is the trick!
***DO NOT CASH THE REFUND CHECK!!!***
Throw it away!! Points are not assessed to your license until all
financial transactions are complete. If you do not cash the check,
then the transactions are NOT complete. However, the system
has gotten its money and is happy and will not bother you any
more. This information came to our attention from a very reliable
computer company that sets up the standard database used by
each states' DMV.
Good luck and share this with all your friends and other family
members, as well!!!
Comments: The words "Too good to be true" ought to be on everyone's lips as they read the above. Consider the following:
The scheme is based on this supposed loophole: "Points are not assessed to your license until all financial transactions are complete." Don't bet on it. Most DMVs probably operate like California's, which assesses points against your driving record upon conviction of safety violations. (Source: California NOPS Guidelines.)
Furthermore, states don't necessarily issue refund checks automatically when there's a small overpayment. For example, California simply keeps any excess amount under $10 unless the payer submits a written request for a refund within six months. (Source: California State Code.) Some other states do automatically issue refunds but simply cancel the checks if they haven't been cashed in a given period of time – and keep the money.
Versions of the scheme have been circulating by email for at least two years (I've got over 150 copies on file). If any states were vulnerable to it, surely they've caught wind of the loophole by now and amended their laws to fix it.
The scheme, despite being prefaced in one version with the blurb "THIS IS FOR USA ONLY," did not even originate in the U.S. Note the Anglicized spelling of the word "cheque" in the earliest specimen. Note also the name of the organization from which it originated: "RACV Touring Publications." In case you were wondering, "RACV" is the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria – in Australia, where we have no good reason to suppose the scheme works any better than it would in the U.S.
Needless to say, we don't recommend trying it. It ought to be seen and appreciated, rather, for what it is – an example of the time-honored folklore of "Beating the System."
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