Tickets for Out of State Drivers in Bucks County

Any ticket for out of state drivers in Bucks County will likely be treated the same as a ticket for an in-state driver. Those who receive traffic infractions in Bucks County are subject to pleading guilty or not guilty for most offenses by mail. However, should an out-of-state driver, as well as the in-state driver, plead guilty by mail, whatever they are pleading guilty to may lead to points and/or large fines and costs associated with their license or particular citation.

Out-of-state drivers should be aware that they still should dispute all traffic infractions locally by hiring a skilled traffic lawyer to appear in court for them.

Often more serious charges can be negotiated to charges in traffic citation offenses that carry no points to be transferable to their current state, thereby reducing a point hearing suspension to a non-point hearing offense, merely by having an attorney on their behalf work out the case locally so it will not be transferred to their own jurisdiction out-of-state.

Treatment of Traffic Offenses in Other Jurisdictions

Bucks County treats traffic offenses consistent with how traffic offenses are handled throughout the entire Commonwealth and/or State of Pennsylvania. Bucks County merely enforces traffic offenses on a local jurisdictional level by the local Magisterial District Court in the location and/or police district where the incident occurred. In larger municipalities, there is a centralized location.

However, if the offense occurred in Bucks County, the hearing will be at the court location where the offense occurred. Bucks County will often work to reduce an individual’s liability on a traffic offense in advance of certain Magisterial District Court hearings. However, understanding the local courts and knowing how local police deal with certain infractions is essential. Bucks County has more than 15 jurisdictions that handle traffic violations locally.

What Happens If Someone Does Not Pay a Traffic Citation?

Out-of-state drivers who fail to respond to a traffic citation in Bucks County or fail to pay the fines and costs of such a violation often will have a warrant of arrest issued against them which ultimately will be carried out in their current state. When individuals do get traffic infractions and they are not from Bucks County, they should understand that not appearing in court or responding to the citation and not paying any required fines and costs can cause a Bench Warrant and/or a Scofflaw Warrant to be issued against them. What this means is that the next time they travel, whether it be by car, bus, plane, or train, they may be subject to arrest.

Appeal Options for Traffic Cases

If someone is arrested, they will be able to post bail in their current state so that they can get out and then travel back to Bucks County to dispute the charges against them. A simple payment for the costs and fines at this point is no longer acceptable.

With the help of a Bucks County traffic attorney, even in most extreme cases where individuals have failed to appear from out-of-state, a nunc pro tunc appeal can be filed with the Court of Common Pleas.

A nunc pro tunc appeal signifies that a court ruling at this level applies retroactively to a ruling made at an earlier date. An appeal for a ticket for out of state drivers in Bucks County can be heard and negotiated in a way to even fix the most extreme traffic infractions by out-of-state drivers.

How Information is Sent Regarding a Ticket for Out of State Drivers in Bucks County

Bucks County will often send traffic citations that are not given on location by registered mail to the address that was provided on the license. When the individual from out-of-state is stopped, whatever address is associated with the out-of-state license is what is required of Bucks County in order to give the individual service for their traffic hearing and/or offense in Bucks County. Should the individual fail to respond to such, then that individual faces Scofflaw Bench Warrants and can be picked up in their local state and carried over to Bucks County to answer for their traffic infraction.