Live stop

[darthsinatra]

Ouch. Septa is cheap by comparison.

It sounds like you screwed up by allowing your registration to expire then screwed up again by improperly renewing said registration. Caveat emptor. I'd plead for mercy. Your heart was in the right place.

In cases like this generally speaking the administrators on the bench are more understanding than the stormtroopers on the ground. Billy Ross' backhand to the mouth notwithstanding (for shame, good sir!), the lion's share of these fines will probably be reversed. But say goodbye to at least one day of your life dealing with the Camus-like Byzantium that is traffic court.

[O.H. Lee]

I once had a female renew her expired registration on the side of the road on her iPhone.
She showed me the temporary reg on her phone (obviously couldn't print it out) and on she went. I don't remember if the reg was updated that quick when I ran it again on the mdt.

Point is if you registered it correctly I am not sure if it would show up within 24 hours in the BMV system. That is why you have to print out the temporary registration paper.

The officer could only go by your lack of proper documentation and the BMV inquiry on the mdt.

Keep all of your documentation and follow the instructions for a court date and present it along with your explanation to the judge. He may understand your situation and find you not guilty of the second ticket and you would be refunded the fines.

However I am not sure about the towing and impoundment fees. While the PPA did what was proper at the time of the car stop, I am not sure how they would go about refunding their fees. Again make sure you keep all of your documentation, including hopefully a not guilty verdict from traffic court and take it to the PPA.

You will probably have to put out all of the cash first and then hope for a refund.

Like Billy says, I am sure you won't let your reg expire again in the future. You can register 60-90 days before expiration so take advantage of it.

Good luck.

[Jthomps]

Thanks for the wise words everyone. I am keeping all my documents ready and in order.

From what the courts are telling me, even if I can prove 100% that I was in the right (which I wasn't - but hypothetically), they can only reimburse me for the fines (not the towing or storage).

But, after they reimburse me the fines, I still have to pay administrative and court fees which cost almost as much as the fines! Seems like a loose loose even if I win. Hope something turns out for the better. I don't have that much money to throw around these days