Got caught speeding for 15 over and the officer came to my window, i handed him my license, registration, and insurance etc. Upon his return with the ticket in hand, i noticed it was on a large white sheet of paper folded up which i found odd because i never seen a ticket like that before. I glanced at the ticket since i was focusing on talking to the officer but once i got home and looked closer i noticed that the name on the ticket was not mine. The entire ticket is for somebody else. Name, address, drivers license number, plate number, time stamp is incorrect but location and offense is the same as it would have been for me.

First of all has anyone ever experienced these large printed white tickets before? My main concern is that the officer entered my information and applied the offense for me but somehow printed a previous ticket and handed it to me. So essentially i still have a ticket registered to my name but do not have a physical copy of my infraction. Im also worried that the next person that he catches speeding receives a ticket but with my name on it instead of there's. Is it something that i can just forget about? Has anyone ever encountered a situation like this before? Any advice on how to approach this situation?

Thanks,

I would not do anything, and if you receive a conviction notice in the mail, just appeal it saying you never received the ticket. When you go to court show the prosecutor the ticket you received. That's just what I would do, I physically never received the ticket, so how do I fight something I never got?

I'm guessing he was pulling over multiple people at the same time?

I would ignore the ticket and appeal any default conviction based on the ticket you were given was not yours. I wouldn't be surprised if you have the officer come serve you with the correct ticket (they have 6 months to do this). If this happens I would still exploit the fact that he gave you someone else's ticket at trial as will give you reasonable doubt if you play it well.

34ric wrote:

First of all has anyone ever experienced these large printed white tickets before?

They're the new "e-tickets", which print out from a large spool. They're ridiculously large and it looks like you're being handed a scroll when you get one. I wonder if the officer eventually noticed the mistake, or if everyone was receiving a ticket from the previous person he pulled over that day.

I agree with what the others have said---I too would disregard the ticket. A lot of errors are currently being worked out of the system on the new 'e-ticket' roll out. Your ticket will therefore likely be dismissed or withdrawn if it is so flagrantly wrong. Such is to be expected when implementing any new system. However, in due time, the system of e-tickets should significantly curb errors and reduce court delays since officer notes will already be typed. In other words, enjoy it while these errors exist!