Surcharge notification from dps

[Mike Javi Cooper]

It really is easy to avoid paying the surcharge... simply put... don't speed, don't violate traffic laws and keep your insurance current... You only get the surcharge IF you get ticketed... .

[Daniel75]

What a crock of ****!! This is another reason ALL LEO's need to get the "write the ticket and let the courts settle it" attitude out of their heads. There is no excuse for any LEO to have this attitude. It's getting to where no matter if you do anything wrong or not, if you have contact with LEO you're going to pay. As I said, what a crock of ****!!

Systemnt, I apologize, I quoted the wrong post.

This guy did.

[Ol Thumper]

That's with DPS, not the LEO. At some point you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Are you required to drive the speed limit? Yes. Are you required to have proof of insurance in your vehicle at all times? Yes. Are you required to have your license on your person if you're driving a vehicle? Yes. Don't get mad at anyone except yourself if you get a ticket for any of these offenses.

The surcharges are a scam, absolutely. Take it up with the DPS, not the LEO that's stroking you that ticket because you broke the law.

Open mouth insert foot, read the topic and the thread again!

[Blue Tick]

That's with DPS, not the LEO. At some point you have to take responsibility for your own actions. Are you required to drive the speed limit? Yes. Are you required to have proof of insurance in your vehicle at all times? Yes. Are you required to have your license on your person if you're driving a vehicle? Yes. Don't get mad at anyone except yourself if you get a ticket for any of these offenses.

The surcharges are a scam, absolutely. Take it up with the DPS, not the LEO that's stroking you that ticket because you broke the law.

I just hate it when I agree with ^^^^ this guy. I'll go a step further and say take it up with the state legislature, who wrote it up and enacted it to begin with.

[flyby]

So if this is/was the case, a ticket was written not because the law was broken but because the LEO was impatient/had better things to do/the driver wasn't as organized as the LEO thought they should be? Sorry, I can't stand behind that reasoning. Especially when talking about the BS like the original post citizens have to go through. You would be getting paid the whole 15 minutes you wait correct?

No, the law was broken because it wasn't presented when requested. Pretty simple concept. There's only two things you are required to present when stopped. Shouldn't take 15 minutes.

And to clarify- I would have voided the ticket. Have done so many times- AFTER waiting 15 minutes and being told they didn't have it- writing the ticket, and returning to have them tell me they found it.

And your reasoning on being paid the entire time, others would criticize for spending that much time on the taxpayer dollar when we could be doing other things instead of standing in the roadway and slowing down traffic.

Can't win these discussions- so just trying to provide some info for clarification from both sides. As usual it turns into a beat down of LE doing their job, so I'm done- you win.

[systemnt]

It really is easy to avoid paying the surcharge... simply put... don't speed, don't violate traffic laws and keep your insurance current... You only get the surcharge IF you get ticketed... .

True enough.
Doesn't really address the issue of having a scam in place in the traffic law system though.

[Daniel75]

I just hate it when I agree with ^^^^ this guy. I'll go a step further and say take it up with the state legislature, who wrote it up and enacted it to begin with.

Lol finally!

[Humper]

Check out Section 708 of the Texas Transportation Code:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u...htm/TN.708.htm

So if I'm reading this right...its takes six points in 36 months to start the surcharge....


from the above link:

Sec. 708.052. ASSIGNMENT OF POINTS FOR CERTAIN CONVICTIONS. (a) The driver's license of a person accumulates a point under this subchapter as of the date the department records a conviction of the person under Section 521.042 or other applicable law.(b) For each conviction arising out of a separate transaction, the department shall assign points to a person's license as follows1) two points for a moving violation of the traffic law of this state or another state that is not described by Subdivision (2); and(2) three points for a moving violation of the traffic law of this state, another state, or a political subdivision of this or another state that resulted in an accident.(c) The department by rule shall designate the offenses that constitute a moving violation of the traffic law under this section.(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the department may not assign points to a person's driver's license if the offense of which the person was convicted is the offense of speeding and the person was at the time of the offense driving less than 10 percent faster than the posted speed limit. This subsection does not apply to an offense committed in a school crossing zone as defined by Section 541.302.(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (b), the department may not assign points to a person's license if the offense committed by the person was adjudicated under Article 45.051 or 45.0511, Code of Criminal Procedure.(f) For the purposes of this section, an offense under Section 545.412 is a moving violation of a traffic law.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1325, Sec. 10.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.Amended by: Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 913, Sec. 5, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 708.053. ANNUAL SURCHARGE FOR POINTS. Each year, the department shall assess a surcharge on the license of a person who has accumulated six or more points under this subchapter during the preceding 36-month period.
Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1325, Sec. 10.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Sec. 708.054. AMOUNT OF POINTS SURCHARGE. The amount of a surcharge under this chapter is $100 for the first six points and $25 for each additional point.

[cehorn]

I try to do as much as I can to AVOID writing tickets

And that's really all a citizen can ask for. As I said if there is no way to avoid writing a ticket then write away. However if a warning or another way to avoid writing the ticket (looking up person's information in the system, etc) is doable it should be done.

[Blue Tick]

So if I'm reading this right...its takes six points in 36 months to start the surcharge....

Correct, points fall off your record every 36 months.

[Daniel75]

No, the law was broken because it wasn't presented when requested. Pretty simple concept. There's only two things you are required to present when stopped. Shouldn't take 15 minutes.

And to clarify- I would have voided the ticket. Have done so many times- AFTER waiting 15 minutes and being told they didn't have it- writing the ticket, and returning to have them tell me they found it.

And your reasoning on being paid the entire time, others would criticize for spending that much time on the taxpayer dollar when we could be doing other things instead of standing in the roadway and slowing down traffic.

Can't win these discussions- so just trying to provide some info for clarification from both sides. As usual it turns into a beat down of LE doing their job, so I'm done- you win.

Depends on the department too, as far as voiding the citation. I have friends in 2 other depts that their city will not allow them to void one after it is written. It doesn't mean it'll stand, the violator can go to the court and get it dismissed, but the LEO isn't allowed to void it.

[systemnt]

And that's really all a citizen can ask for. As I said if there is no way to avoid writing a ticket then write away. However if a warning or another way to avoid writing the ticket (looking up person's information in the system, etc) is doable it should be done.

This has nothing to do with the thread... bu ti'll interject that the law states you have to carry PAPER proof of your insurance (as well as your DL). Yes it says PAPER.
The SURE system is not a replacement for those requirements.

Now let the thread go back to talking about the surcharges.

[flyby]

So your jail is over flowing with illegals driving without a TDL and insurance, right. ?????????.

One more to address this. Answer is no. Most illegals now carry insurance to prevent the vehicles being impounded. They also carry Consular cards for identification. They get tickets for no DL- and usually pay the fine, which keeps them out of jail.

Not my choice, but I don't make the law and cannot enforce immigration law.

[cehorn]

No, the law was broken because it wasn't presented when requested. Pretty simple concept. There's only two things you are required to present when stopped. Shouldn't take 15 minutes.

And to clarify- I would have voided the ticket. Have done so many times- AFTER waiting 15 minutes and being told they didn't have it- writing the ticket, and returning to have them tell me they found it.

And your reasoning on being paid the entire time, others would criticize for spending that much time on the taxpayer dollar when we could be doing other things instead of standing in the roadway and slowing down traffic.

Can't win these discussions- so just trying to provide some info for clarification from both sides. As usual it turns into a beat down of LE doing their job, so I'm done- you win.

Not trying to win or bash you as a LEO. Sorry if you take it that way. As with any profession there are good apples and bad apples. There is no need for the good apples to defend the bad apples no matter what the profession.

I'm glad you would have voided the ticket as it should have been voided. Just for clarification, is there a time constraint in the law? If there is than I apologize for anything I have said about the situation. While I agree it shouldn't take 15 minutes, the fact that it did doesn't violate the law unless the law is written with a time frame. The facts are the LEO requested the information and the driver provided the information within the traffic stop.
Whether it took 1 minute or 15 minutes shouldn't matter as the information was provided.

[Mike Javi Cooper]

True enough.
Doesn't really address the issue of having a scam in place in the traffic law system though.

Guess that's because I don't look on it as a scam, rather I see it as an additional charge that habitual violators pay into the system to offset the added burden on resources already overburdened... Seems fair to me... just don't get 6 points in 36 consecutive months and you avoid paying the surcharge..