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Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License

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  • 05-14-2012, 02:40 PM
    kbvigneshwar
    Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Kentucky
    I am a resident of Indiana state and i have a valid US VISA. I donot have a US driving license yet. I read somewhere and also heard friends saying that i am allowed to drive in US with a valid Indian license for 1 year. While i was driving in kentucky, a cop pulled me over for speeding. I was driving at 90 MPH in the zone of 70 MPH. I was overtaking a truck and so increased my speed and it reached 90 when the cop saw me. Anyways it was a mistake and i am not denying it.
    I got a speeding ticket and in the citation, the cop has also mentioned that i did not have a operators license. I showed him my indian license and for some reason he has still mentioned that i did not have a license. I am now asked to appear in court.
    Is there a way for me to avoid court appearance? I also called up the court to check if i can attend a state traffic school to avoid getting points/penalty but the court clerk said that its a mandatory court appearance since i didnot have a license.
    So what options do i have and if i appear in the court what is likely to happen.
  • 05-14-2012, 09:54 PM
    That Guy
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Quote:

    Quoting kbvigneshwar
    View Post
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Kentucky
    I am a resident of Indiana state and i have a valid US VISA. I donot have a US driving license yet. I read somewhere and also heard friends saying that i am allowed to drive in US with a valid Indian license for 1 year. While i was driving in kentucky, a cop pulled me over for speeding. I was driving at 90 MPH in the zone of 70 MPH. I was overtaking a truck and so increased my speed and it reached 90 when the cop saw me. Anyways it was a mistake and i am not denying it.
    I got a speeding ticket and in the citation, the cop has also mentioned that i did not have a operators license. I showed him my indian license and for some reason he has still mentioned that i did not have a license. I am now asked to appear in court.
    Is there a way for me to avoid court appearance? I also called up the court to check if i can attend a state traffic school to avoid getting points/penalty but the court clerk said that its a mandatory court appearance since i didnot have a license.
    So what options do i have and if i appear in the court what is likely to happen.

    It appears to me that there is indeed a licensing exemption for non-US citizens visiting Kentucky under KRS 186.430(3) which states:

    186.430 Exemption of nonresidents.

    (3) A person over the age of sixteen (16) who is not a United States citizen and who is legally visiting this country for less than one (1) year may drive in Kentucky on a valid domestic license issued by the person's country of domicile and shall not be required to obtain a Kentucky driver's license.

    You can see and print that entire statute here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/186-00/430.PDF

    I don't know how old you are but I presume you're over 16, you will have to validate your legal presence in the U.S., by way of a valid VISA, you will also have to show proof of residency in Indiana (proof of attendance in a school should be sufficient or if you are employed, a letter from your employer will suffice)at which time you should be able to see a dismissal of the driving while unlicensed violation.

    None of the above relieves you from having to appear in court. That is still required so that you can present proof of the above. You can also inquire as to what options you have regarding the speeding violation and whether they offer traffic school or not in Kentucky!

    I am not sure if you are staying
  • 05-14-2012, 10:05 PM
    pat2899
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Go to the net or the yellow pages in the town or county where you got the ticket and find an attorney that specializes in traffic offenses......fax him the tickets that you received and he will appear on your behalf (you don't have to personally appear) he may be able to resolve the speeding ticket by getting it reduced or made into a non moving violation......he can also explain the license business.......it may cost you as much as 500-1000 dollars if he has to make more than one appearance but considering the alternative its better than dealing one on one with the court in an alien environment - an attorney can personally appear in lieu of a defendant in a non felony arraignment......maybe he even plays golf with the judge and they'll work out an acceptable disposition.
  • 05-15-2012, 01:52 PM
    kbvigneshwar
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Thanks for your valuable reply.
    I am 23 years old. I am a IU student and will be staying for the next 2 years.
    The officer said that i should get a US license before appearing at the court. Is that a must??
    Also is it possible for me to get the case transfered to any court in Indiana, cos travelling again to Kentucky for this would be a little expensive.
    I was driving a rented car when the cop caught me and i would really like to avoid renting a car again and travelling such long distance.
  • 05-15-2012, 02:53 PM
    That Guy
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Quote:

    Quoting kbvigneshwar
    View Post
    I am 23 years old. I am a IU student and will be staying for the next 2 years.
    The officer said that i should get a US license before appearing at the court. Is that a must??
    Also is it possible for me to get the case transfered to any court in Indiana, cos travelling again to Kentucky for this would be a little expensive.
    I was driving a rented car when the cop caught me and i would really like to avoid renting a car again and travelling such long distance.

    Well, your exemption will surely expire at the end of year one of your being in the US. So you will eventually have to apply for a U.S. license either way. You will likely be able to forgo the road test by simply submitting your India license as an exchange. So the process is not as difficult as one might imagine, or at least it shouldn't be. That is how it would work in my state and you need to verify it is also valid concept in Indiana!

    So no, it is not a must, although it does show the judge that you've taken initiative to correct a perceived problem.

    Quote:

    Quoting kbvigneshwar
    View Post
    Also is it possible for me to get the case transfered to any court in Indiana, cos travelling again to Kentucky for this would be a little expensive.

    Not likely. Kentucky court have jurisdiction over the violation and they are not likely to allow it to be transferred even if such a transfer was viable by some process. You might want to explore the idea of hiring an attorney to appear on your behalf, though you would obviously incur some cost from that as well. And I have no idea how much a Kentucky attorney would charge!
  • 05-15-2012, 04:17 PM
    pat2899
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Can't be transferred to Indiana - you could try to swap your foreign license in for an Indiana license (you may have to take a written and drivers test) I would not go to Kentucky I would try to have a local attorney handle the case by appearing for me.....once you appear there if they set a bail amount you could wind up needing bail money or worse "held" pending bail.......if worse comes to worse call the court - tell them you have finals coming up whatever and you want to know if you can handle the matter by mail.....if there is a provision on the back of the paper work that the cop gave you......plead NOT Guilty by mail and send it to the court and they may notify you of a trial date IN june or July then get a lawyer before you go to the court.
  • 05-15-2012, 07:06 PM
    kbvigneshwar
    Re: Speeding Ticket with Indian Driving License
    Thanks again for your advice.
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