Students urged to pay tickets
There are two words most students hate to hear: Traffic ticket. Upon receiving one, it is added to the list of painful tasks to take care of. This is the kind of task that can become more painful if not taken care of.
Some students may not understand the importance of taking care of a traffic ticket. One such student is Jennifer Bailey, an undeclared freshman. When approached in the Taggart Student Center on Tuesday afternoon she pulled a ticket she recently received out of her backpack and read the print on the back of it, warning her that if the ticket wasn’t taken care of within 14 days there would be a warrant issued for her arrest.
“I’ll be mailing in the money soon,” Bailey said.
Detective Chris Kleven, Logan City Police Department, said, “Signing the citation is a written promise that you will find out your responsibility with the court.”
People have 14 days to find out that responsibility. It isn’t complex, typically the options are to pay for the ticket or set up a date to see a judge, Kleven said.
“If a student can’t afford to pay for their ticket they can try and work it out with a judge,” Kleven said.
Failing to take care of a traffic ticket will result in a C or B misdemeanor and a warrant for the offender’s arrest. The outcome of a B misdemeanor is a maximum fine of $1,000 and up to six months in jail. For a C misdemeanor it is a maximum fine of $750 and up to 90 days in jail.
At the present time there are more than 1,500 city warrants for C and B misdemeanors being sent to the statewide program.
“A lot of people have some wrong ideas and perceptions about tickets which results in warrants for their arrest,” Kleven said.
The names of the individuals with warrants are posted on the Internet at www.loganutah.org/police/active warrant. They are listed in alphabetical order by last name. Upon finding their name students can e-mail or call Kleven to take care of the warrant.
The city will not send notices in the mail about warrants. It is the responsibility of the individual to take care of their ticket and upon failure to do so it becomes their responsibility to take care of their warrant, Kleven said.