Washtenaw County program offers onetime forgiveness for speeding, other minor infractions

Neither the Ann Arbor Police Department nor the Saline Police Department is participating, officials said.

The program generally works like this:

Chelsea Police Officer Rick Cornell said that when he stops someone for speeding, or another minor traffic infraction, he asks if the driver has a good record.

If that’s the case, he tells them about a program called a pre-hearing conference through which good drivers can qualify to have the violation reduced to one that doesn't carry points against their driver's license.

The driver must call the court and sign up for a pre-trial conference with a police officer that most times results in a driver having the ticket amended to a charge of “impeding traffic,” which does not carry any points.

So, for example, instead of a $130 ticket for 5 miles an hour over the speed limit, a driver would appear at court, discuss the ticket with a police officer, and fill out a form, which is given to Magistrate Thomas Trusdell for review. If approved by the magistrate, the driver must be able to pay the $155 on the spot and walks out without any driver's license points.

Gene DeRossett, court administrator for the 14-A District Court in Chelsea, said the program began in 2010 and there were 618 cases that generated $15,455 across the county's courts.

"It's been very well-received," he said.

The extra fee is sometimes a deterrent, Cornell said, but most people who qualify take advantage of it. The $25 added to a ticket under the program goes to the courts as an administrative fee.

For the driver, it’s a form of one-time speeding forgiveness, and a way to keep car insurance rates down. For the police departments, it’s a way to cut down on overtime costs for officers' court appearances.

“It’s also a way to minimize court time,” said Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Deputy Paul Mobbs, reducing the number of police officers and residents waiting at the court.

Each court has a specific day a month assigned to these hearings and the officer working that day attends court, said Lt. Timothy Greene of the Northfield Police Department.

Northfield has been part of the program for about nine months.

“The policy in Northfield is one break per speeder,” he said. Any more than that and it would defeat the purpose of the program, he said, adding that anyone can make a mistake “or make a bad decision that day.”

Mobbs agreed. He said the sheriff’s department got on board in late summer or early fall, and keeps records of drivers who get a break.

He estimated that about 10 to 20 pre-trial conferences are held in each of the courts per month. Only once has he seen a repeat offender, and that person did not get a break for the second violation. “This is not permission to speed, but we recognize that good people do stupid things sometimes,” said Deputy Doug McMullen of the county’s traffic bureau.

Some drivers don’t want to spend the time to go to court, however, and opt to pay the ticket and be done with it.

“I think it says a lot that someone would take the time and effort to care enough about their driving record to go to court,” McMullen said.

Speeding violations range from 2 points (for 10 miles or less over the legal speed limit) to 4 points (for offenses like drag racing) to 6 points (for reckless driving or fleeing or eluding a police officer.)

However, a pre-hearing conference would primarily apply only to moving violations such as speeding.

“What doesn’t qualify is crashes, careless driving, seat belt violations, passing a school bus, that sort of thing,” Mobbs said.

He said if an agreement can be made, the driver pays fines and court costs but does not get hit with the points on the driving record. It takes 12 points in two years to lose a Michigan driver’s license.

This month, for instance, there were 20 pre-hearing conferences scheduled in 14A District Court in Chelsea.

All traffic tickets include information on a driver's rights and instructions on how to address a ticket, so it's important to read both sides, according to Michigan courts.

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com.