Got a Bicycle Fix-It Ticket 4 Years Ago and They Want $675 for It

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California (Los Angeles)

Hi All,

In 2006, I got a Bicycle Fix It ticket for a beach cruiser I had in college in LA not having a light on the front. Fair enough, but the problem is I received on the day of my last final, and I left the state a couple of days afterward to move back in with my folks--without the bike (never had a CA ID so I guess the violation went on my out-of-state one)

Being young and stupid, I figured I would never live in LA again, didn't have a CA license, and had technically corrected the problem by never riding the bike again. I ignored it, and never heard anything else about the ticket, until now.

I decided to go to graduate school, again in LA (having completely forgotten about this ticket), and when I moved back here I also decided to finally get a CA driver's license. Two weeks later, a bill from a collection agency arrived asking me for $675 for unpaid fees to the Superior Court of California--for my fix-it bike light ticket! When I called the collection agency, they told me that a hold had probably been put on my license and that there was nothing I could do but pay the fine.

My question is: do I have any chance of appealing this now or getting the fine reduced at all? And if so, how do I go about it? I tried to call the LA traffic violations phone # so I could speak to someone, only to get an automated recording that told me that due to severe budget cuts, LA could no longer afford to pay any operators. HELP!!

I highly doubt you'll be able to speak to anyone over the phone at the courthouse. Your best bet would be to go to the traffic clerk's window to get more information about the outstanding citation.

Your other option would be to contact the DMV to inquire about the same. Just keep in mind that due to the fact that you did not have a CA driver's license at the time, the record for the citation was filed under what is more commonly referred to as an "X-number"... So you may need to provide them with a name + date of birth instead of a name and a DL#.

The collection agency (I'm assuming it is GC Services) should also have a small office/window (next to the traffic clerk window at the courthouse). So if the court clerk is unable to cross reference your name with an outstanding citation, they should be able to get more info about it through the collection agency's system there at the courthouse.

As for appealing the citation, the $675 fine that is currently due consists of 2 components. One, being the underlying correctable violation (no front light on a bicycle)... And two, a failure to appear/pay in a timely manner. As far as the correctable violation, you typically have a certain period of time to make the correction (install a front light on the bicycle), get the citation signed by law enforcement, present the correction certificate to the court in a timely manner, and the matter is usually dismissed after paying a $25 (used to be $10) administrative fee to the court. Failing to do so in a timely manner (and especially since you are now unable to present a certificate of correction) would imply that the court can deem the matter closed, they can enforce the full fine (rather than the $25 correction fee). You may be able to convince a sympathetic judge to reduce the fine but only the judge can make that determination. That leaves the failure to appear... And frankly, an "I was young and stupid" excuse is not gonna sit well with the judge although some judges may reduce that additional fine as well. Although you should keep in mind that you signed the citation at the time it was issued thereby making a promise to appear/correct/pay in a timely manner and yet you failed to do so.

With all that being said, you should contact the court to see whether you can get more information about the citation but more importantly to see if you can get an arraignment scheduled in court so you can plead your case before a judge. Also, you must contact the DMV to ascertain as to whether your newly issued CA license was suspended or not. If it has been suspended, then I wouldn't drive until you can get the matter scheduled or paid with the court and until you can get confirmation from the DMV that the license hold was lifted.

Good luck.

thank you for the advice. it seems like even figuring out if your license is suspended is a chore here (they won't just tell you over the phone or online...you have to drive down the the dmv--with your possibly suspended license--and pay for a driving record report), so i may just pay the fine and learn my lesson about taking even the smallest tickets seriously. thanks again!

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Quoting Nora44

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and pay for a driving record report

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You don't have to "pay" for a copy of your driving record to find out if the license is on hold/suspended. You can simply ask about "the status of your license" and they will let you know if its good or not.