Helpful info from Kansas

Briefly, my son was cited for "unsafe left turn" (he turned left and had left turn signal on when struck from behind by a passing vehicle.) After going to traffic court, we could either have had a trial date set, or get a continuance (had to get info from other party's ins. co, ie: policy in effect at time of accident and what was being done to fix their vehicle), and then go back to Traffic Court at another date to apply for Diversion. What information I learned and found out: I don't know about other states or even other counties in Kansas, but in SEDGWICK COUNTY Ks, you DO NOT have to wait until your appointed court date. You can go at any time BEFORE your appointed date (you still HAVE to sign in and will have to wait until assigned dockets for that date are done). Or, this is what i did, get all information needed (i needed info from other ins. co., the citation, the Sheriff's report and the drivers report) and went to the Traffic Division of the DA's office and talked to one of their attorney's. I honestly explained the entire situation and showed all the paperwork. The next Traffic Court date was cancelled and my son was placed on Diversion. For diversion, you fill out an application for diversion which costs $40 and either take it back in or mail it. In about 2 wks, you will get a Diversion Contract that has to be filled out and signed, and at which time you still have to pay the citation and court costs (in this case, $114). Diversion is for a period of 7 months, and it is strict, but after this time, the citation will be erased from my son's record (this was his first citation as this was his first time driving by himself). Hope this info will help someone else. Also, this experience and info is only if the citation was written in the county. I don't know if it applies if the citation was written in the city.

clearification on my thread!!!!

You still have to show up for the initial Traffic Court date. Other situations may be resovled then and there (unfortunetly, mine couldn't be). The info i stated was after the initial court date and then calls to the Traffic Division where you sign in and calls to the DA"S office at the Sedgwick County Courthouse. Again, this is only info for Sedgwick County Ks.

That's interesting. What was unsafe about his turn? Not that it matters but why was he ticketed? Can you get the diversion thing for normal speeding tickets? Do I understand this correctly? Basically you pay the fine, pay them another $40 plus court costs then they do the diversion thing? It's funny. Long ago, I did this in Arkansas for free. Times have certainly changed, haven't they?