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Traffic Ticket - Delay's OCS Ship Date?

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Derm2544

Member
So I hope this has happened to someone else in the forum and can provide some advice. A received a traffic citation because I didn't have a current copy of my insurance in my glove box (yes I have insurance I just didn't have my card on me, my fault I know).

This is a super minor traffic violations, but the kicker is that the insurance citation requires an appearance in court to show that "yes" i did have insurance at that time. I received the ticket on October 10th, and I'm going to be pushing it to get a date before I leave for OCS on December 1st.

Question is how do i resolve this? I can get a lawyer and they'll show up in court and handle everything for me no problem (while I'm at OCS), and I don't mind paying the $100 fee to do that. But I'm worried that having a pending court appearance (even for a minor traffic ticket) will cause them to drop me or not allow me to ship until it gets cleared up.

Will this delay my OCS ship date? Do I need to tell my OCS recruiter? Hopefully this happened to someone else and a minor traffic citation won't undo this whole complicated process. I hope someone has some advice because I'm incredibly nervous.
 
A Day In The Life

A Day In The Life

Well-Known Member
pilot
Something similar happened to one of my buddies in college and depending on what state you got the ticket in it varies. He was able to show up to the court clerk's office and show them his insurance, pay a dismal fee, and he was good.

Why not call up the court and ask what are your options?
 
D

Derm2544

Member
Yea, that was the first thing I did, I called the day after the ticket. They said I can take care of it the day it gets entered (ie show up and just pay the clerk vs going to court). BUT*** I have to wait until the ticket gets entered into their system before I can do that. According to them that can take 30-45 days depending on when the cop turns in his tickets.... Very frustrating.

Do you guys think they'll still let you ship if you have lawyer handle the case for you while your gone (if need be)? I mean it is a very minor case.
 
E

exNavyOffRec

Well-Known Member
You can not leave of OCS or for the enlisted guys boot camp when you are under any type of court action, this includes traffic tickets, the matter has to be fulled resolved by the courts, and you will have to disclose this to the recruiter since it is on the pre ship checklist.

I would go back and see if it is entered just to see if you can get it resolved.
 
D

Derm2544

Member
Navyoffrec,

I'm exhausting all my possibilities. I'm even trying to track down the police officer to see if he can turn in the ticket earlier. I can't believe my luck. It's my fault, but it's so minor.

Worst case senerio, if I can't get this resolved before ship, what happens? Am I just delayed for a few weeks till the next class or am I rolled and force to re-apply? What exactly happens?
 
D

Derm2544

Member
So when I think "rolled" I think I'm dropped from the OCS program and forced to reapply and jump through all the hoops all over again to get selected, OCS date, etc? Can that really be the case, lose everything I've done for the past 6 months for a minor traffic citation?

Is that really what they'll do to me? I feel sick.
 
GroundPounder

GroundPounder

Well-Known Member
I have no doubt that given your circumstances that this could be taken care of in a mater of days. I would suggest getting a letter from your insurance agent / provider that says that the car you were driving was covered at the time of your traffic stop. Take this letter to the HQ of whatever agency gave you the ticket and ask to speak with a patrol supervisor, not the people in records. Explain to him/her the problem that you are facing, and explain to them that what you need is to be able to pay this fine ASAP.

There are as many ways to take care of this on their end as there are LE agencies, but best case scenario they can take your information and turn your ticket into a warning and you're done. Failing that they should be able to communicate with the court that the ticket goes to and expedite the process so that you can either pay the fine or get an earlier court date.

In the event that that the police are of no help, go to the court that will hear your case and speak with them. Call and make an appointment to speak with someone, and explain your situation and they should be able to help you.

Good luck.
 
D

Derm2544

Member
Thanks guys. Believe me I have not been sitting down on this one, I have phone calls and emails into just about everyone I can find (highway patrol, court clerk, prosecuting attorney) hoping anyone can help me.

I'm heading down to the court house now to see if speaking with someone in person helps. I'm just in disbelief that this could undo everything so easily. I'm holding off on telling my OSO until I exhaust all these resources. I do not want to get rolled.
 
HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

Well-Known Member
None
Contributor
Derm2544 said:
So when I think "rolled" I think I'm dropped from the OCS program and forced to reapply and jump through all the hoops all over again to get selected, OCS date, etc? Can that really be the case, lose everything I've done for the past 6 months for a minor traffic citation?

Is that really what they'll do to me? I feel sick.
Click to expand...
Rolled just means your OCS date is moved back until the problem is handled.
 
D

Derm2544

Member
Well 6 hours at the federal building and problem was solved. After about 5 weeks of phone calls and emails, it paid off to just show up.

After explaining my situation, the ladys in the office wadded through about 500 tickets until they found mine, they said the "usual" wait for a court date is usually 2-3 months, but again after explaining my situation the lady pulled some strings and got me in this afternoon. The prosecutuer dismissed the stupid charge and everything is back to being "ok" again. The ladies said I was extremely lucky because usually cops don't turn in their tickets that early.

Morale of the story, make sure your insurance card in your glove box is current. Yikes, this could have fouled up my plans big time.
 
Renegade One

Renegade One

Well-Known Member
None
Derm2544 said:
...it paid off to just show up...
Click to expand...
"Eighty percent of life is just showing up." ~Woody Allen

Good on you for taking all the extra effort to clear this up. "The Force is STRONG in this one."

You will do well...I can tell. Good luck and have fun.
 
J

jtmedli

Well-Known Member
pilot
Derm2544 said:
Well 6 hours at the federal building and problem was solved. After about 5 weeks of phone calls and emails, it paid off to just show up.

After explaining my situation, the ladys in the office wadded through about 500 tickets until they found mine, they said the "usual" wait for a court date is usually 2-3 months, but again after explaining my situation the lady pulled some strings and got me in this afternoon. The prosecutuer dismissed the stupid charge and everything is back to being "ok" again. The ladies said I was extremely lucky because usually cops don't turn in their tickets that early.

Morale of the story, make sure your insurance card in your glove box is current. Yikes, this could have fouled up my plans big time.
Click to expand...

The FORCE is strong...the grammar...not so much ;)
 
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