License suspension in Mass for an unpaid citation in Cali 5 years ago

[Party Cat]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Massachusetts

Hey all! Looking for some help/previous experience advice. I actually have been traveling for the past 3 years mostly in Australia but am originally from the Boston Area. Just today my mom got a letter from the Mass Dot saying that I will be having my license suspended due to an unpaid citation in California. Here's the deal:

Firstly, the citation that I assume the State of California has communicated to Massachusetts, is from nearly 5 years ago. While visiting California, I was driving my uncles car to the beach to surf and was stopped down the street from the beach by a police car. They said I has failed to yield to an oncoming car while turning left at a traffic light 10 minutes before in a different area from where they stopped me. They then made me exit the car, sit on the curb, subjected me to a pat down and a complete car search. Upon finding nothing problematic or suspicious they gave me a fine and refused to reason or explain further why I had been stopped or searched or fined. I also found out that in order to contest the ticket, I would first need to pay it then schedule a court date. If I went to court and had the ticket dismissed, then I would receive reimbursement for my initial payment within several months. Furthermore, I refused to sign the issued fine as I disagreed with it from the beginning.

I have never received any follow up mail or calls about the initial citation. Now I have not yet spoken with the Mass Dot or Los Angeles DMV so I will have to find out more tomorrow. At this point I am wondering if anyone knows if I would be able to resolve this within my state or if I'll have to deal with Cali. I'm again assuming that this ticket has been put forward t the GC (collection agency used in Cali) and it's taken them 5 years to come around and get the Mass government to come after me.

This is such BS I'm furious. I know I'm being violated and will do my best to make it right. Any ideas or help would be most appreciated! Don't want to go home and have no more license I use my US issue license to drive in most other countries I visit. Thanks!

 

[racer72]

Your chance to fight this ticket is long gone. Your only option now is to pay the fine and any associated fees.

 

[FlyingRon]

You have to resolve it in California. You need to settle with the collection agency of the court. Massachusetts will NOT renew you until you clear the records in California.

 

[HighwayMan]

"Cali" is a city in Colombia. If you're talking about the state of California then you will have to deal with them to get your issue resolved. Massachusetts will not help you until you resolve the problem at it's source where you received the traffic ticket.

 

[Party Cat]

Great Gravy :/ Looks like my options are to waste a lot of money and time or to get an Australian drivers license. Anyone happen to know if I would run into trouble if I was found driving on a foreign license in Massachusetts if my local license was suspended there? This question sounds ridiculous as I write it so that must mean yes, to stay out of trouble I have to submit to Los Angeles injustice and pay up la la bla. It's my own fault for not dealing with it then etc...

I'm hoping that without a copy of the ticket showing I signed it to accept the requirement to attend court that maybe there is no evidence of an existing debt or some other reason that a suspension should not have legally been issued.

 

[FlyingRon]

If you reside in Massachusetts you must have a license there, it doesn't matter what other licenses you may have.

You were the one who brought this on by blowing off facing the music on your traffic citation when it was issued. I'm not shedding any tears that it caught up with you.

 

[Party Cat]

It looks like I'll be residing in Sydney for the near future (next 5 years or more) but I will still visit home and on't want to end up with an impounded car or something of that nature.

I'm not looking for tears just other's experiences or advised opinions. Realistically, to have "faced the music" would have been to pay for something I didn't do or to have to fly back to Los Angeles 1 or more times at my expense to prove I did not do what I was cited for. It's not a matter of irresponsibility but rather a in-existance of viable options. I also have never received any notice to pay or any call for debt collection so at this point I'm only assuming this is based on the citation I'm thinking of and really am not sure how to find out what caused this.

Anyone know how to find a record for a citation in California without having a citation # or even knowing the city/county it's in? I can't look it up by license number as there's no way to search their online records with a out of state license #. Thanks for the help!

 

[Silverplum]

It looks like I'll be residing in Sydney for the near future (next 5 years or more) but I will still visit home and on't want to end up with an impounded car or something of that nature.

I'm not looking for tears just other's experiences or advised opinions. Realistically, to have "faced the music" would have been to pay for something I didn't do or to have to fly back to Los Angeles 1 or more times at my expense to prove I did not do what I was cited for. It's not a matter of irresponsibility but rather a in-existance of viable options. I also have never received any notice to pay or any call for debt collection so at this point I'm only assuming this is based on the citation I'm thinking of and really am not sure how to find out what caused this.

Anyone know how to find a record for a citation in California without having a citation # or even knowing the city/county it's in? I can't look it up by license number as there's no way to search their online records with a out of state license #. Thanks for the help!

That's not a word.

The smart option was to dispute it then or pay it then. Consequences occur. Bummer 'bout that.

 

[Party Cat]

What I should have doe is less useful than made up words :/

 

[single317dad]

What I should have doe is less useful than made up words :/

While you were instructed as to what you should have done then, you were also advised on what you should do now.

I'll only add that if you are currently driving in Australia on your foreign license, that is now invalid, so this issue will affect you long before you return to the states.

 

[HighwayMan]

I'm hoping that without a copy of the ticket showing I signed it to accept the requirement to attend court that maybe there is no evidence of an existing debt or some other reason that a suspension should not have legally been issued.

As far as I know, failing to sign should have led to your arrest on the spot.

 

[HighwayMan]

It's my own fault for not dealing with it then etc...

Well, that's EXACTLY what it is.

You evaded responsibility and now you're paying the price. You could have dealt with this without having to fly back to Los Angeles but you felt you were above the law and ignored the ticket. Oh well.

Better luck in Australia.

 

[PaulMass]

It seems that California suspended your right to drive in California (Cali works for me) and either notified Mass or the National Driver Registry (NDR). After you pay off California, you'll have to pay Mass their reinstatement fee. The last one I saw for an out of state suspension was a $500 reinstatement fee.

As far as I know, no state (In the USA) will give you a license, because you're in the NDR.

You can go to the Mass RMV website and pay for your driving record. I think the cost is $6. That may give you enough information to track the California ticket information.

 

[Zigner]

Furthermore, I refused to sign the issued fine as I disagreed with it from the beginning.

The fines aren't listed on the tickets here.

 

[FlyingRon]

As pointed out, all the signature was is the promise to appear, not any acknowledgement of guilt. As pointed out, failing to make that promise normally results in arrest. It certainly DOES NOTHING to invalidate the charges against you.

Even a FTA could have been dealt with if you had done it in a timely fashion. Since you blew it off for so long, you've got little choice but to bend over and do whatever California wants of you to clear your license.