Traffic ticket out of state?

I received a traffic citation for speeding (14 miles, minor misdemeanor) in a national park. What is the difference between a federal and state traffic citation? What if I do not pay the ticket?

• My license is from: FLORIDA. Ticket received in: COLORADO. What if I DO NOT PAY the ticket?

• Answer:

  I agree with . Pay the ticket, or go to court and contest it. I have no idea whether traffic violations issued in a national park are reported back to the state where your drivers license is issued. This probably varies from one park to another. If they are, and you blow off the ticket, your home state can suspend your drivers license and possibly the registration on your car. If you're stopped, you can be cited or arrested for driving while suspended, and your car can be impounded. There is an even better reason for not ignoring that ticket, but it requires telling a war story. I had a job teaching educational classes on traffic safety and substance abuse to people convicted of DUI. They were required to complete one of these courses as part of their state-mandated sentence. One student, a girl of about 23, had been arrested in Yosemite National Park by a park ranger. She was convicted and sentenced by the federal magistrate dedicated to that national park. She was supposed to complete the DUI course, but the magistrate didn't put a time limit on her completion. She showed up for one session, then left during a break and didn't come back. She completed another session (of three), then disappeared for weeks. One of her comments in class was something like, "I think it's stupid for cops to arrest people who drink and drive. They ought to just drive them home." I got tired of carrying her on my class roll and wrote a letter to the magistrate, asking him to assign her to another course provider or waive that requirement entirely. About two months later, she showed up in class, quite contrite. On receiving my letter, the magistrate got quite exercised that the conditions of his sentence were not being honored. He sent two deputy U.S. Marshals from Yosemite (or wherever they were stationed) to Reno to arrest the girl, stuff her in the back of their car, drive her back to Yosemite (150 miles), and hold her in jail for two days until the next court session. She was told to complete my DUI course (not just any DUI course) within one month and to bring proof of completion back to the court, in person, or risk being arrested again for contempt of court. Because this was a violation of federal law, extradition restrictions did not apply. In theory, she could be arrested anywhere on the planet. She completed the course, and was extraordinarily polite while doing it. Don't shine on a traffic ticket, or any charge, made by a federal officer. Bad things can happen.