| The 10 Year Old Speeding Ticket August 8, 1997 Chris Maus [RAMBLE INDEX] |
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OK.... Here is my latest adventure into the abyss of State Governments...
Yesterday morning I decided to stop at the License Bureau to register my car in
Illinois and get an Illinois Driver's License... Getting the car registered and
getting my plates was painless and now all I have to do is put them on my car...
The MN stickers have a JUNE expiration... Good thing I don't drive much...
After I got my plates I got in line for my drivers license. The wait was over
1/2 an hour. Once I got to the counter and handed my "stuff" to the clerk there
was a rather lengthy time spent while he click away at his terminal. He looked
up at me and asked if I ever lived in Massachusetts. I said, "Yes, ... over 10
years ago..." I immediately recalled the speeding ticket I never paid and was
shocked and amazed it would come back to haunt me 11 years later...
He then went on to tell me that I needed to get a "Clearance Letter" from
Massachusetts before I could get an Illinois License. He gave me the phone
number to call and I left.
After lunch I made the call to the Massachusetts Department of Motor Vehicles... The first phone call went sort of like this: "Hi, my name is Chris Maus and I tried to get an Illinois Driver's License this morning and was told I needed to get a clearance letter from Massachusetts before they would issue one for me." The woman who was SUPPOSE to be helping me responded with her nasal New England accent, "You can't get a clearance letter without.... " ( I forget what she said exactly... ) I do remember being quite perturbed with the whole situation and when she asked, " What is your Massachusetts Driver's License number?" I was curt and said, "I DON'T HAVE A MASSACHUSETTS DRIVER'S LICENSE!" ... "What is your Social Security number then?" I gave it to her and she said my Massachusetts Drivers license was suspended. And I repeated, "I DON'T HAVE A MASSACHUSETTS DRIVER'S LICENSE!" Her snotty reply was, "Well you'll have to clear this up first..." I of course responded in a matching belligerence, "HOW DO I CLEAR THIS UP?" She answered my question with, "By not being rude." and hung up on me. I took a deep breath, lowered my voice and asked, "How do I clear this up?" to a dead connection. I reflected on my options at that point. My Minnesota license does not expire until 1999 and I have rarely been ask for an ID, let alone one with a current address. Well, I decided to try again... This time I wanted to get the person's name who answered the phone before I did anything. Unfortunately, the same nasty woman answered the phone... It took a major effort on my part to remain calm as I tried to get her name and all she responded with was, "How can I help you?" After several attempts at asking her name I gave up and re-explained my situation. (Even though she had just hung up on me I was going to make her listen to it again.) She informed me that I needed to get some letter from the Framingham District Court and pay a "$60 re-issue fee" and they would send me a "Clearance Letter". She rudely provided the information I needed to give the Framingham District Court and I wrote it all down. The date of the violation: 9/15/1986, the tag number: 86NC1564 ... I didn't have to ask for it and am glad she volunteered it. She also said I'd have to call information to get the number to call... I asked if she knew the area code and she said I could get it when I called information. I don't think I thanked her and hung up... After a moment of letting my anger subside I called information. My first call to Framingham got bounced around until it was determined that I needed to speak with Mrs. Stone. I again explained my situation and she asked for the information I got from the nasty one... Mrs. Stone then told me she would have to go down to the vault to find it and asked if I could call her back in 15 minutes... I got her direct number so I would get lost in their phone system again and went back to my desk. BTW: My desk is in the computer room and it is very difficult to have a phone conversation with all the noise from air conditioners and computers.... I make my personal phone calls from the "phone rooms" at the site where I work. They are pretty much closets with a little window, a light, a chair and counter with a phone. When I called back Mrs. Stone gave me all the details I needed and the bottom line is it is going to cost me an extra $125 to get an Illinois license above the Illinois fees that I don't know the cost of yet... So now I have the letter to Framingham to write and money orders to get.... (-> East Coast -> NO PERSONAL CHECKS! <-) Until the next adventure... |
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