Traffic Tickets - Why Should I Pay?
 

Almost daily it seems someone posts a complaint about some parking ticket they get weeks after their trip in the mail - for something they did wrong but did not even realize - thanks to the use now of many cameras in Europe at stoplights, speeding, etc.

And after the usual indignation of even getting the ticket the poster asks if it is OK just to ignore the ticket.

NO it is not OK - do the crime - pay the fine. Educate yourself about European travel rules in countries you are going to - like in Italy many towns have no go zones for private vehicles and cameras record plates and those in violation will later get tickets.

Many posts seem to think they were unfairly targeted, etc. No I do not believe any European country tries to do that - get a ticket pay the fine and quit carping about it.

Own up to your mistakes. quit being cfry babaies.

Well that's my take.

I don't cry about it. I just don't pay.

I thought Leona Helmsley ("only the little people pay") had passed away; Vincenzo32951 is a testament to her legacy.

I don't cry about it. I just don't pay.>

I don't mind as much those who know they did something and don't pay as much as those who claim they are being taken advantage of... out of ignorance. Well I don't condone vincenzo and his ilk's take either but at least they realize they are not being the victim.

I personally hate this is just a government scheme to make money type of post.
Surly all countries in the world have various driving regulations one must stick too There are various ways these must be enforced.
Personally I am fed up with the NSA spying on me ;-)

Moralising from North Michigan.

God, we'll have Texans lecturing us next!

Paying or not paying is up to you. Where and how to pay is the question.

The difficultly in Spain, and a few other countries, is that you need a national identification number in order to pay online (the ticket goes against your driving record). There is also the issue that the ticket arrives months after the incident and you end up having to pay a hefty penalty on top of the original fine. A speeding ticket can suddenly cost you €200 or more. A parking ticket? Who knows.

Ribeira - If the NSA is spying on you, you can rest assured that all goes well in the rest of the world !! I'd worry more about the Spanish tax authorities which are getting very organized.

When one renst a car in europe one is responsible for understanding the traffic and parking laws. If you break one and are caught - you should just pay the fine.

No country is trying to target tourists (unlike some small towns in the US). And they only send a notice if they have proof (usually camera) that the person driving the car committed the infraction. The only reason to challenge if it was a day you did not have the car.

I don;t understand the big deal. It;s a traffic ticket - and it's not even points on your license or an increase in your insurance rate. A bargain if you look at it that way.

Robert what you have posted is not quite true.
Here are details for Spain: http://www.mamunahmed.com/08/speed-c...#comment-41992
For France: http://www.europe-consommateurs.eu/e...traffic-fines/
Interesting reading about Italian fines: http://italychronicles.com/speeding-fines-in-italy/
http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/italian-traffic-fines/

Oh if you hire a car in one country and break the law in another in Europe you may well still get a fine. This article dates back to 2010, and refers to a law that all EU countries must abide by by the 7th Nov 2013.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/04/wo...nion.html?_r=0
The only countries that have not signed up to this is the UK, Ireland and Denmark. However I dont think one can hire a car in the UK and cross the channel in a ferry.
So from now on no braking the law anywhere, well except for parking fines!

I guess we've been fortunate enough not to get a ticket while traveling in Europe with a rental car but we did get a speeding ticket once in a rental car within Canada. Hertz automatically paid it and billed our credit card (and tacked a fee on top). Is that not standard practice for rental car companies everywhere?

The above isn't clear - the speeding ticket was via photo radar so we were unaware of it at the time.

Elizabeth, all fixed cameras have a flash on them you would certainly notice them. Maybe it was just a mobile one.

>>>Hertz automatically paid it and billed our credit card (and tacked a fee on top). Is that not standard practice for rental car companies everywhere?<<<

No and it's not standard practice for Hertz. Hertz contracts state how much they will charge you if they have to provide your info to the police (even in the US), but most people don't bother to read their contracts. This is the first time I've heard of them paying your fine and I'm surprised they did. What if you wanted to contest it? I wouldn't think they would get into deciding whether to pay personal fines for people and risk lawsuits. How much did they pay?

Kybourbon -- it was over 10 years ago so maybe it's changed or was a hertz canada thing. The fine was around $100 with no points. I googled this and found other instances of people being charged for the infraction and some successfully disputed it with their CC companies so it looks like its not standard practice as I assumed it was. The amazing thing is how we've managed to avoid any other tickets in rental cars!

Ten years ago in the Netherlands I got a ticket for speeding (50kph in 35kph zone). It was a robot camera and I was not aware that I was going faster than the traffic at the time (no excuse, I know!)

The rental company 3 months later sent me a letter with a copy of the ticket (in Dutch). I think it was Europcar said they would be charging my credit card the ticket, plus tax, plus their paperwork charge--a little over $100. I didn't think I had a leg to stand on as I was in the place where the violation occurred at the time and date cited. Fortunately no points on insurance.

My siblings thought the whole thing was a hoot as they think I am on the poky side as a driver.

nytraveler, is the place to which you refer, a certain small town right over the NY-MA line on rte 23?

I've never heard of any insurance company raising rates or for that matter, licensing entities adding points because someone's VEHICLE was photographed "breaking" the law. This is simply because nobody can be absolutely certain who was driving.

I got a ticket from Siena in Italy last year. It arrived months after the supposed infraction which was driving in some sort of non-driving zone or something akin to that.

And no I didn't see any flashbulbs going off; I guess I had had too much ravioli that day. I do know I was trying to be very careful in observing all the posted signs, etc., and I was able to pay the ticket on line and I did so.

This happened after about a jillion supposed "Italy experts" here told me that I should not drive into and out of Florence which I did three different times and without difficulty.

It almost makes you want to stop renting cars abroad but for whatever reasons I keep doing it.

Durkey you would not see any flash as it was not a speed camera. They caught you on a video.
Didi you read the link in one of my posts? http://italychronicles.com/speeding-fines-in-italy/

"While chatting with a tourism business operator in Tuscany today May 25, 2013, I was told that car rental companies now have a database which shows if you have not paid fines received for driving offences in Italy or in other parts of Europe. If you do not pay the fine at the time you attempt to rent a car, you will not be allowed to rent it."

Digital speed cameras don't flash. Cameras on motorways in the Netherlands and probably elsewhere, photograph the rear number plate, so you are not blinded by the flash.
Irishface, it is just as well the fine was paid, since you could have been prevented from reentering the Netherlands until you paid it. At Schiphol they check for such things when they scan your passport.