OK, here's the setup. i got a speeding ticket last year in march and decided to go the defensive driving route. i used most of my 90 days (i think i used 89) and ended up finishing the online class on July 20 last year. i know this b/c they sent me an email saying it had been a year and i could now take the course again. i got a speeding ticket on july 15 this year and my appearance/mail in your plea date was august 3. so on the form, it asks if you've taken defensive driving in the last year. i mailed it in on august 2, so of course i said no, b/c it had been more than a year and it didn't specify when i had to count from. i figure it was almost 16 months b/t the tickets and will probably be close to 16 months b/t taking the online course. but i just got the letter back from the court and the language now read as asking you to sign the affidavit asking if i've taken a defensive driving course in the year proceeding the offense. well, technically, i did take the course within a year (360 days) of receiving the actual ticket, but does it count as the "offense" before i officially mail in my plea and the court processes it? basically, what i'm asking is is that's it been way more than a year since the first ticket and more than a year since completing the course but the overlap has caused some problems. so can i sign the affidavit saying it's been a year or was it technically 360 days. my thought is i might be screwed but it also seems like the point of the rule (the spirit of the law if you will) is that you can't get 2 tickets within a year dismissed and that's not what i'm doing. i'm dismissing tickets 16 months apart. so does anyone have any experience with this problem? i feel like calling up the court to make sure but i feel like they'll end up saying it really has been 360 days whereas if i don't call and just sign it they probably won't notice nor should there be any record of it since it will have been a year and thus will let it slide. so does anyone know the answer to this convoluted question?
ok i'm gonna bump this b/c a) i need to know, b) the bbs has never failed to answer a question and can't start now, and c) i know we have some lawyer types on here who should be able to answer this and would love to show off that lawyerly knowledge.
I was told it's okay...I think that's happened to me before too and I just took it again. It was also borderline a year-more than a year since the ticket but not quite a yr for defensive driving. I was told that especially if they are in different counties, they never cross-reference to check. But you sound like you have a conscience so you might want to call and they can clear it up for you.
