What If I Get A Ticket?

Sign it.  A ticket has nothing to do with your guilt or innocence.  When you sign, you are only promising to appear in court to contest the ticket, or to pay it later if you wish.  If you do not sign the ticket, the police officer can arrest you.

While it is okay to sign the ticket, you may want to talk with your lawyer before you pay a fine or plead guilty to the charges.  Find out if you can attend traffic school instead.  If you plead guilty, you may hurt your chances of collecting damages from the other driver later.  Or, you may help the other driver to collect damages from you.

• Drunk driving.  Driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or higher (or any percent if you are under 21) is illegal, and the penalties for drunk driving in California are severe.

• Seat belts/child passenger restraints. You can be pulled over and ticketed by the police if you or your passengers are not wearing seat belts.  In addition, children must be protected by a special safety seat until they turn 6 or weigh at least 60 pounds.  Children who are required to be in safety seats also must sit in a back seat under most circumstances.  (There are exceptions for, among other circumstances, when a vehicle does not have a back seat or when all rear seats are already occupied by children under 12.)  And youngsters are not permitted to ride in the front seat of a vehicle with an active air bag if they are under a year old, weigh less than 20 pounds or are restrained in a rear-facing car seat.