Submitted by Remote_Debate_9846 t3_10pcgnp in ColumbiaMD
Today surprisingly i got a 250$ ticket for passing school bus the other day at the morning.I honestly don’t remember that at all ,but they attached some footages of me passing the bus. Do you think its good idea to elect going to the court option ? Any one has relevant experience please let me know.
Thanks
Ouch. Just pay the fine. It sucks, but going into court with “yeah, I could have potentially mowed down some kids, buuuuut” is not a great look.
If there's footage I don't think going to court would do much good unless you think someone was driving your stolen car.
Edit: You could avoid it if you think the stop lights were flicking on as your were passing the bus (no reaction time)
The lights are activated 100-300 feet before stopping. If OP didn't have the reaction time to stop, they were going way too fast and will incriminate themselves with this argument.
I'm likely to agree with you, but there's a similar post I found in r/Maryland where the video was overturned
[deleted]
Suck it up and pay it.
This was posted in the Montgomery County sub a couple of months ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/MontgomeryCountyMD/comments/yam7yb/so_you_got_a_school_bus_photo_ticket/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3
There may be some county-based nuances that this doesn't take into account, but it gives you an idea of what to expect with the court process. As noted, the Judge can lower the fine, but they can also increase the fine up to $500, so there is a risk in going to court. The OP of that post recommended pleading guilty, and I agree that unless there is a very valid reason for you not being at fault, taking responsibility will probably be the best approach.
Properly I’m gonna go to the court with admitting guilty it
Would be careful. This is a $250 fine with no points, correct? You were caught by a camera actually on the school bus. The alternative if you were caught by a police officer is $570 with 3 points on your license. Unless you totally do not have the ability to pay this fine, I would just recommend paying it. Judges may not feel like excusing passing school buses with red lights flashing.
I hope it goes smoothly for you.
If its your car in the video - just pay it and drive more carefully in the future. As I understand it the photo fines are just fines and don't give you points.
Do you have a flawless driving record?
Like 2 speeding ticket on the past
I'd just pay it.
dashinny t1_j6jnswb wrote
Just be lucky you didn’t accidentally hit a kid like what happened in the Bethesda/Potomac area last fall