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WhiteDevil · 12-31-2006, 12:45 PM

I was hoping for some advice about a ticket I got last month. I got cited for being solo in the carpool lane. It was an innocent mistake; I was staying with my girlfriend on and off during that period and hadn't driven during commuter hours for a couple weeks. It was dark out and the time had changed a few weeks before, so I pulled into the commuter lane without thinking about it. I was only in it for one or two minutes before realizing the time and pulling back into the next lane over. That was long enough, apparently, as a few minutes later a CHP officer appeared in my rear view mirror.

The real pain about this is that carpool violations are specifically exempt from being taken off your record with traffic school (or at least that's the law in California). So in addition to the $371 fine, I'll have to pay more on my insurance for the next three years as well. It's a lot of punishment for an innocent mistake, especially so considering that had I been cited for speeding, which is actually dangerous, I could have taken it off my record.

What should I do? Go to court and talk to the judge? Just pay the fine and suck it up?

12-31-2006, 12:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
WhiteDevil Brave Corporate Logo Location: Undisclosed	Beating a Carpool Ticket I was hoping for some advice about a ticket I got last month. I got cited for being solo in the carpool lane. It was an innocent mistake; I was staying with my girlfriend on and off during that period and hadn't driven during commuter hours for a couple weeks. It was dark out and the time had changed a few weeks before, so I pulled into the commuter lane without thinking about it. I was only in it for one or two minutes before realizing the time and pulling back into the next lane over. That was long enough, apparently, as a few minutes later a CHP officer appeared in my rear view mirror. The real pain about this is that carpool violations are specifically exempt from being taken off your record with traffic school (or at least that's the law in California). So in addition to the $371 fine, I'll have to pay more on my insurance for the next three years as well. It's a lot of punishment for an innocent mistake, especially so considering that had I been cited for speeding, which is actually dangerous, I could have taken it off my record. What should I do? Go to court and talk to the judge? Just pay the fine and suck it up? __________________ Join me or die! Can you do any less?