My Day in Court

OK, so if you live in Georgia, you are probably under the impression that a new state law was passed last year that sets up an electronic database of insured drivers. This helps to ensure that those people who have been driving around with insurance cards that seem current but aren't (i.e. they got the card with their bill, then didn't pay the bill) will now be found out. Ostensibly, it also means that you shouldn't need to carry your insurance card because the police can just run your license number into the computer and it will give all your insurance info. Or at least that is what the evening news would have you believe.

Here's what happened to me. I had a car crash, as you know if you're reading this. After the crash, I gave the police officer the card I found, which was the card for our Volkswagen, not the Subaru which crashed. I looked for the Subaru card, but I didn't find it immediately, and thinking of this new law, I figured the VW card would work. Plus, I was trying to keep my toddler (and myself) calm while we stood on the side of the road looking at our damaged car.

So we waited while he dealt with the accident report. At the end, he hands both me and the other driver a ticket. He had already told me the crash was not my fault, but since I didn't have proof of insurance, he had to write me a ticket. I asked about the new law, and he said that normally I wouldn't need my card, but his system was down so he could not look us up (both of us got the no proof of insurance ticket). I asked if I could go tomorrow to the courthouse to show them my card (I remembered seeing it on the kitchen counter that morning, but I thought I forgot to put it in my purse). No, I would HAVE to go to court. A later reading of the (nearly illegible) back of the ticket showed this to be true. In a normal traffic stop with no crash, I could just go down to the courthouse any time before my court date and show my insurance. But, because this ticket was for an incident involving a crash (even one in which I was NOT cited in the crash), I would have to go to court.

Of course, I get home from the whole scene, and find, right there in my wallet, the Subaru insurance card. It was there the whole time, but in my frazzled condition, I didn't see it.

Are you still with me? As an aside to the Atlanta City Court System, printing tickets in light grey type on yellow paper does not make it easy for me to follow your guidelines. Also, your website sucks. Also, why does your telephone recording system not include directions to your stupid location!?!?!?! Where am I supposed to park???

OK, I'm back. So apparently the law is to be understood as "you do not have to carry proof of insurance, unless our system screws up, and if it does, we will punish YOU." Of course, the police officer assures me that all I have to do is bring my insurance card to court and all will be dismissed, spit spot.

So I have to go to court. It's at 3 pm on the 15th of March (beware the Ides...). So I Mapquest the directions, and luckily find a parking spot in the parallel spaces on the street right in front of the courthouse. So far so good. Naturally, I have Margaret with me. It's no big deal, right? I just have to show my card and off I go. Alas...

I check at the front desk and have to go to the 6th floor. Of course, for no apparent reason, the elevator I have chosen refuses to bring us to the 6th floor, so after 2 trips to the 5th floor, I carry Margaret, Elmo, 2 blankets, diaper bag stuffed with drink and snack, and myself up the extra flight. No big deal really.

Then I get to the courtroom, and check in at the clerk's desk, where they tell me that I should plead guilty or nolo because it will go faster, since it's likely to be dismissed anyway. HuH? I'm NOT GUILTY!! Especially since I had my card with me, but I didn't know I was getting a ticket until it was written out (I should have looked again...hindsight, blah, blah, blah). So after I hem and haw, they say I should plead not guilty since it will obviously make me feel more comfortable, although I'm more likely to be there longer. *sigh*

So we wait. First we wait in line while every person in court that afternoon meets with the solicitor. This takes about 20 minutes. Then we sit, and people's names are called, in I think alphabetical order. Great. Meanwhile, Margaret is first charming, flirting with other people in the court, "talking" on my cell phone, but mostly using her whisper voice.

Time goes on. Several cases are heard, the judge scolds several people for running red lights or speeding, and I wonder why people are here to plead nolo contendre if they are going to end up paying a fine anyway. Maybe it has to do with getting points on their license? I guess since I've never racked up anything very point-worthy, I have no idea about this system.

Time goes on. Margaret is getting antsy. She starts stomping on the pews (they are pews, I swear), and her whisper voice is gone. Her shoes come off, her snack comes out of my bag, Elmo's quiet music, which is VERY loud in a silent courtroom, is activated (why oh why is there
no off button on him?). There are about 6 people in line to go in front of the judge, and we are none of them. Still waiting.

Then, just as the chaos is starting to become embarrassing, the solicitor calls my name. My guess is that the judge summoned him over to say "get that toddler out of here!" and so we got bumped up. He explained to the judge that I had a ticket for no proof of insurance but I had insurance on the day of the crash and she dismissed it. The solicitor turned to me and said, "you can go home now." I get no paperwork proving my case was dismissed, but out we go. So if it was that easy, WHY did I have to show up here??? Having Margaret was simultaneously a blessing and and embarrassment, since I felt more and more guilty for bringing her as she acted out. But why should I go out of my way to get a babysitter (at expense or inconvenience to us all) for THEIR mistake???

For the record, since my insurance never had to pay any claim or really be contacted at all, they've still never proved that I actually had insurance. I brought the bills with me that proved that I'd paid for February, but he didn't look at them. For all he knows, I showed him a card that I got and never paid the bill. But, whatever.

So the moral of the story is that even if your insurance company doesn't send you a card anymore, you had better carry something in your car proving you have insurance or else you'll be in the same boat as me. GRRRRR.....