Are there payment plans for paying traffic tickets?

Hi, and welcome to Fluther.

I don’t know of any place that allows “payment plans” for traffic tickets, but I wouldn’t rule it out, I suppose. If you can get the court to hear your plea for hardship and why you should be allowed this privilege, then they might let you set something up. For example, if you need your car to work and need to keep working in order to pay the ticket, then they might see the logic in that and approve it.

But I wouldn’t count on it. A $500 ticket is for something pretty serious, at least in the court’s eyes, and in most cases I think your license will be suspended for the duration of the non-payment period. If you do manage to set up some sort of payment plan option, then I would expect that you’d have a restricted license for the term of the payment period. Say, “you can drive to and from work, and to and from the grocery store and doctor” for example, and no more. And if you’re ticketed during that period without being able to prove that you were driving in one of those missions, then it’s another (and bigger) ticket, and likely suspension.

I’d make plans to fight the offense vigorously if you think it’s uncalled-for, or to pay it on the spot otherwise. Better to owe your brother the money instead of the court.

Well $500 was a bit of an exaggeration, though not much for LA. It was a minor ticket, failing to yeild to a pedestrian at a crosswalk (seriously, right?) but from those I’ve spoken to who have been in the same situation out here and some lawyers, the fine can total over $200, $100 or more to take traffic school, then anopther $50 or so after completing the school course. So $350–400 at least. But no suspended license, just a hefty price that I can’t pay all at once. So still the same answer? Just ask the court before the trial date?

Call the Clerk of the Court ahead of time and they might be able to give you some guidance. Failing to yield to a pedestrian at a crosswalk might seem minor to you as a driver, but it’s a big deal to the guy in the crosswalk. I have no sympathy for that offense.

I disagree. Burbank police are notorious for finding ways to make money. She could have been going 2 miles an hour and turned while someone was taking one step into the intersection and they would have ticketed her. Cops tend to exaggerate tickets like that.

Are you going to trial? Because failing to yield to a pedestrian is potentially deadly. I don’t understand you comment ”(seriously, right?)”.
I recently got a speeding ticket and I called the clerk and they gave me 60 days to pay it, but I did not try to fight it. Be honest with yourself and think back. Did you really fail to yield to a person on foot? If you did, then why bother with a trial? Would it not be better to just pay the ticket? As far as I know, you can ask for time to pay if you can’t afford it all at once with no loss of your driving priveleges.
Your best bet really is to call the clerk, the number is on the citation.
Good luck.

The ticket is ridiculous. If she was burning through a stop sign or a stop light, it’s one thing., but making a turn slowly while people are starting to walk across the street shouldn’t be a 300 dollar ticket nor a scolding from the online community.

Pay the ticket. do the school. And ask the court to pay over time. They should oblige.

good luck!

When my daughter was taking her driving test, there were pedestrians standing on the curb at a crosswalk. She pulled up to the stop sign, then went ahead through the intersection. They flunked her immediately for failure to yield to pedestrians. This is not in Burbank or California.

@BarnacleBill So what does the booklet say? Because I believe the rule/law is that one allows pedestrians to go, then proceeds through the light/sign/intersection.
Do you contend that she should not have been flunked for this or do you agree with the decision?

Sometimes tickets like yours are deserved (like if you saw the pedestrian waiting and he was standing at attention, ready and waiting to walk), but oftentimes tickets like yours are undeserved. What if you were being followed too closely and didn’t wanna suddenly brake where you weren’t planning on braking? What if you couldn’t see the pedestrians till it was too late? What if the pedestrian is staring at her feet, looking in the sky, texting on the phone?? That’s not a pedestrian ready to walk, and no one should ever yield to such pedestrians. And no driver should get a ticket for that.

If you cannot afford your ticket, most courts will allow you to do roadside trash pickup, or other similar service, for a whole lot of hours.

Yes, at least in my city, IF you qualify for it. the vast majority of people resolve their traffic fines in this manner. all cities are different, some allow it, some do not. best to call your local traffic court office and ask this question. generally, payments are made on every thirty days for three months. i believe there is a fee for this arrangemnt. you knew there would be, right?