Is it legal to mail a traffic citation without stopping/notifying the motorist at the time?

Question

I received a ticket (traffic citation) in the mail for allegedly failing to stop at stop sign. I was very surprised because I was never stopped by a police officer and our town does not use traffic cameras. I did have an incident with an aggressive driver that morning though. We were both at opposite stop signs (it's a 2 way stop) and since I was there first, I went first. The driver acted as if I had cut him off. He tailgated me, following me until I turned into a busy shopping center. I suspect that driver either took down my license plate and reported it to a policeman or was in fact an off duty policeman who wrote up the ticket the next day. I say this because the ticket lists Tuesday morning as the date of the "infraction" and the ticket issued date is listed as the following day (Wed). I've never known anyone to receive a traffic citation in the mail, especially without a policeman being at the scene. Has anyone experienced this? I live in MA and this doesn't seem right to me.

Answer 1

With moving infractions the driver himself usually has to be identified as the violator. Appear in court, as the owner of the car, with your toupee, big beard and eye patch on.
When the witness for the defense testifies, ask him to identify and point out the driver in court. :)

Some jurisdictions though, the fines for such offenses can be issued to the owner without applying driver fault. That usually explains mailed summonses.

If that the case, be sure to question the witness (the other motorist) and make sure he identifies all aspects of the situation including the timing of his and your cars stop and the exact location of his vehicle when he stopped and what HE considers a legal stop. It's possible to get a dismissal if the witness shows any indication he does not know exactly what constitutes a legal stop.

Since you have not mentioned the locations of each of your cars, I'll dare mentioning. Being first at a corner doesn't necessarily give you the right of way. The traffic law usually says something like, "when 2 vehicles arrive at an intersection at approximately the same time the vehicle on the right has the right of way." Notice "APPROXIMATELY!" It means reagardless which side of the other vehicle you are on, you cannot rush your stop, just to be the first to go. you must still yield if a vehicle is to your right. I'm suspecting you either rushed your stop and were the driver on the left, or both.

Answer 2

I don't know about MA, but I used to serve in Canada. Up there if we received a report of an erratic driver, and the offense seemed serious enough, we could technically mail a ticket to the registered owner of the vehicle. There would be a fine but no points on the driver's license because the ticket goes to the RO and not necessarily the driver. However, the person making the complainant must be willing to go to court to testify if the ticket is disputed. In reality we know that many people will say they will go to court when they are angry and first call us, but two months later they can't be bothered. Therefore, it is extremely rare to mail someone a ticket, although it is technically possible.

Answer 3

This is America and for the most part the police departments on are autopilot.
You can't do anything that won't cost you more than to give up and just pay it.
I live in California.
I had my "sticker" stolen from my 10 month old car. This stickers are the three cents worth of tape our state sells us for a couple of hundred bucks.
My officer wrote me a "fix it ticket". I complied with the government rules and restrictions. (Gave them more money for more tape) and was sent to the local den of chp to get it "signed off".
To my dissappointment, the cop at the CHP office said the writing officer didn't fill out the ticket correctly (the obviously don't train these jokers too well) and although the car was well documented as being legal, I was informed I had to go to court anyway.

I had two choices. Miss a days work and lose fifty bucks ,to go to court. Or just give them the fifty bucks and not risk losing my job (we have no functional labor board out here).

I paid the fifty. Kept my job till I was ready to leave and lost all respect I had for our so called Hero's.

Answer 4

I do not know the laws that govern this particular infraction in your state but in the state in which I live, Missouri, It is in fact very legal and quite often done. The mailing of tickets is not uncommon here at all. Most of the time, it is because of the subject promising to bring in proof of insurance or to follow another guideline set forth by the officer and if the subject does not follow though, a ticket is issued.

Answer 5

All states have different ways of handling 2nd party reporting of traffic infractions. There are several things that "could have happened". If you call a local precinct/station and ask to speak to the on-duty police supervisor, they should be able to explain the applicable law to you, and the reason for the officer's actions. Of course, you always have the right (in most states) to have your "day in court" to answer the summons: just follow the instructions on the citation.

Answer 6

I'm betting it was an off-duty police officer. They would never take the word of someone who just called in.

I'd challenge it and see what happens. Did you actually come to a full stop at the stop sign before you went, or did you roll through it? Seems hard to argue that you could be cited for failing to stop if in fact you did, although you could be cited for failing to yield.

I do not know what the rules are about off-duty police officers giving tickets.

In any case you only have two choices: pay it or challenge it in court. So you may as well challenge it.

Answer 7

It must be in California, as it happened to me a couple of years ago. I stopped into a store, to pick up an item quickly. I was in the store less than five minutes. I hadn't seen a sign, stating, illegal parking between these hours.
So I was totally surprised, to get a summons in the mail. I suppose I could have fought it, but that would have taken more time and effort than the fine.
So I just swore and paid the fine. That was just a parking ticket, running a red light, is a lot more serious. You may wish to fight it, if you think you have a chance.
It could be one of those many stop light cameras that nailed you, if so, you don't have much chance argueing your case.
Best to check with an attorney.

Answer 8

Two cars arriving at a 2way stop intersection and both stop at same time. Cars going straight or turning right have right of way. Cars turning left must yield right of way. If you go to court and explain it to the judge, the way you explained it on here, how would he rule. Are you guilty or not guilty? Is this a smaller town where you live and received the ticket? Or a neighboring town. Do you really want to start trouble with the police department where you live? Will you be considered a trouble maker on all subsequent calls? Smaller towns actually enter that kind of opinion in their computers for the town. Your tax dollars at work.

Answer 9

I speak for Texas on this one.......Any person can file charges on a person. In this instance in Texas, a person could tell the police officer what had happened. The police officer could send/give you the citation ( which is a promise to appear ) based on what the reported person said and the person who reported it to the police officer would be the one charging you and would have to testify if need be. In most cases on traffic tickets the police officcer sees you do the act and he/she is the one charging you.
In lieu of the citation being sent to you, a summons could of been made or an arrest warrant. This would just be an uncommon way of charging you, still legal.

Answer 10

You need to contact an attorney. This doesn't seem lawful because if you could call in someone for running a stop sign and they get a ticket, you could sit at home and call in all of the people that you don't like. Plus if he were off duty, then he was off duty. I'll bet you can get an attorney to represent you for free, and maybe even sue the issueing police dept.