Hey, I got a traffic ticket for careless driving after making a U-turn at midnight. No accident or anything, but the ticket says there could be jail time and points. If I just pay the ticket, does that mean I’ll avoid jail? The online portal says ‘two points’ and ‘up to 15 days jail time.’ Will I still get arrested after paying? Anyone else been through this?
From what I know, paying the ticket usually just means you’re admitting guilt, and you don’t have to go to court. Jail time isn’t super common unless there are other things going on, like if you have a record or caused an accident. The ‘up to 15 days’ is just the max penalty, not a guarantee you’ll go to jail. Pretty sure paying the fine is enough to close it out.
@Glenn
Same here. I paid a ticket once for reckless driving, and I didn’t get arrested after paying. The whole jail time thing is usually just a worst-case scenario.
I think you’re good if you pay it. If jail time was really gonna happen, they’d usually make you go to court first. As long as you pay it on time, there shouldn’t be any surprise arrests. But if you’re worried, you could always double-check with the court just to be sure.
@Peyton
Yeah, that makes sense. I’ll call the court just to confirm. Don’t want any surprises lol.
I’ve been through something similar. If you just pay the ticket without going to court, the case is usually over. The whole jail time thing is just there to cover all the possibilities, but paying it should close the case. Make sure to pay by the due date to avoid any problems though!
@Nyx
Wait, you mean I could still get arrested if I don’t pay it on time? That sounds kinda scary.
@Nyx
Yeah, that’s a possibility. If you don’t pay or show up to court, they might issue a bench warrant for your arrest. But if you pay on time, you should be good to go!
In my experience, once you pay the fine, that’s basically it. They might send you a confirmation or something, but there shouldn’t be any further issues unless you fail to meet deadlines or don’t follow other court orders. The ‘up to 15 days’ is just the legal max they can give, but that doesn’t mean you’ll get it.
@Gray
Ohh, okay, I feel a little better now. I was worried about that whole ‘up to 15 days’ part. Thanks!
I had a similar thing happen, and after paying, I didn’t hear from anyone again. They only give jail time if there are serious reasons like prior offenses or if you don’t show up for court. It’s pretty rare.
@Ari
Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Seems like they throw ‘up to 15 days’ on there just for formality’s sake.