I have a friend. She has a golf cart. She was driving downhill on a diamond lane and got clocked at 29mph. Stopped by the sheriff and issued a citation. There was no amount on the citation. I now think that was because it wasn't actually a speeding ticket so much as it was a violation, having an unregistered golf cart that was exceeding 20 mph, or whatever that limit is.
Since there was no fine amount stipulated, she had to go to court. I posted that here, and some asked to hear the results. I have received her permission to report the results of her court appearance.
I do not remember where the court was.
1. She was wearing shorts. There was a sign on the door that the wearing of shorts was not allowed in the court. Of course, nowhere was that written on the citation, and no way anyone would have known of this. This is Florida, after all, so people were wearing shorts. After much hullabalu, the shorts group was told they would be seen but had to wait till the end of the docket (a few hours).
2. My friend had a certificate from her cart maintenance company that she had, after the citation, had a governor installed that would not allow her cart to exceed the legal limit. The sheriff who issued the citation had told her that if she did this, the fine would probably be limited to court costs.
3. In the end, the fine was limited to court costs. A little under $250. She went to write a check; they don't take checks. Cash, money order, or credit card. Having not enough cash nor money order, she offered her Visa. There was a 2.37% surcharge for paying by credit card. Of course, that upped the price.
4. After you pay the court costs, you are considered "on probation." Want to get off probation? Go to another building a block down the street and pony up an additional $50. And oh, they will only accept money orders. However, you can go across the street to the pharmacy, and for $1, they will issue you a money order, which you then take back across the street and get yourself off of probation. $300+ total.
I am not offering an opinion here! Just relating the story.
5. An anecdote: There was a handicapped man who was cited for going 23mph in his cart. He missed his court date by one day. When he showed up the day my friend was there, but earlier in the day, they handcuffed him, arrested him, and put him in jail for 7 hours until his wife could get down there to bail him out. Then he was in court in an orange prison suit. (but at least it wasn't shorts...) He related this story to my friend.
I am only posting this from an informational standpoint, because someone earlier had asked a question about my friend's ticket. This is ONLY an iteration of what transpired when she went to court. You all can draw your own conclusions and offer opinions, but I am just the messenger. Please don't shoot me.
