I am being fined the wrong amount on a seat belt violation. How do i get it fixed?
Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at
11:12 pm
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The statute you cited above is correct however Section 316.614(9) used to read in part;
"as a secondary action when a driver of a motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation of another section of this chapter, chapter 320, or chapter 322."
As of June 30, 2009, that section was removed and the seat belt law is now a primary offense, meaning a law enforcement officer can stop and cite you for not wearing a seat belt without having to witness another traffic violation.
The $30 dollars is the state fine however, counties and municipalities can add their own fines and court costs to the total.
Call the magistrate for the area which the ticket was issued (or should say right on the ticket – or maybe where the officer was from) and tell them you want to pleed not guilty and have a court date. You’ll have to pay a fee, which is like $7 (here in PA at least, I wouldn’t think it differs much in other states). They’ll give you a court date, take all your information with you to the hearing (the stuff saying they can only give you seat belt fine if you are pulled over for something else, and also the information about the fine only being $30 just in case they decide they want to fine you anyway even though there were no other violations) and hopefully it will all turn out in your favor. Sounds like that cop was just being a jerk. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.
All ya gotta do is call the appropriate court clerk, and ask him/her what the fine should be, and how you should respond. Easy as pie…