UGH! On base ticket help!

[Sarah C.]

Ok so i have no excuse other then being distracted by my one year old crying and fussing in the back seat and just thinking of a million things BUT i got a ticket today for going thru the stop sign at the entrance to the commissary gate. Does anyone know what will happen? The MP who stopped me seemed to not be totally sure but he mentioned suspending my license for 15 days...can this be true??? I am SO mad at myself and so totally freaked out at the idea of not being able to drive for 2 weeks!! Can anyone shed some light on this please?? All that is on the citation is to call the traffic court 7 days after the ticket (also weird it doesnt say WITHIN 7 days but actually 7 days after receiving the citation...ugh more to worry about).

[Heather N.]

Ohh No! What base was it on? As far as I know it is a 30 day supension but it may depend on the violation and base. I have had friends who got tickets (one for speeding and the other for using a cell phone on base) and it was a 30 day supension but those were both on Kadena.

[Sarah C.]

OMG!! Are you serious?? How can that merit a suspension?? I am really freaking out now...I thought I was misunderstanding what he said to me.

It was on Foster going into the commissary gate. I mean it wasnt like I was maliciously doing anything....I cant believe I wont be able to drive for 2 weeks. I really feel like there should be something lesser to penalize you for something like this. ARGH!!!

[Heather N.]

The rules for a Marine base may be different than the ones for an AF base - I don't really know. I will keep my fingers crossed for you!
I do know they are insanely strict about driving on base and following the rules.

[Sarah C.]

Yeah I mean I know that I did the wrong thing and I am not saying I should get away with no punishment I am just used to the States where you would pay a fine not lose your ability to drive. I will be pulling my hair out if that is the case. And I am SURE the Marines will be just as strict as the Air Force so I am not feeling like I have any chance at all in this situation. WAH! I am gonna go sulk and cry now.

[Heather N.]

Hold off sulking till you know for sure. Running a stop sign is not the same as speeding or talking on your cell phone. It may not be as big of a deal.

[Sarah C.]

Thanks for the support Danna - yeah that was what I said too...that if it is your first offense a fine or something to really get you where it hurts...THEN if you repeat it I can see losing your driving privileges. I am just so annoyed with myself since really I should have paid attention...I mean I go in that way ALL the time but my mind was really just elsewhere and also since there was no traffic coming the other way I just kept going...I think when there is more traffic I do tend to pay more attention to coming in the gate if you know what I mean.

Anyway I will let you all know what happens so that you can learn from me...I will call the traffic court tomorrow and see what they say. I am assuming I havent lost the driving privelege yet - probably have to go to the traffic court or something - UGH so not happy about this.

If it does happen I will for sure be having a play date at MY house otherwise I will go stir crazy!!!! LOL!!

[Renee]

I'm confused. One of your posts said you were ON Foster going through the commissary gate. Do you mean you were going onto Foster through the commissary gate? The reason why I ask is because I almost ran that stupid stop sign the other day, too. The yield and stop signs are the same shape except the white in the middle and I wasn't paying total attention. I slammed on my brakes, though and stopped. It just seems like it should be a yield there. LOL! IMO at least, but that doesn't count. hehehe!

[Tara H]

Take a deep breath. I also ran a stop sign on Foster. The MP said wierd things to me about court. ANYWAY, I called the number the next day and the guy said there is no court. AS long as I didn't get another ticket in six months it is fine.
So you will be good to go if you don't get another ticket. If they say anything else about it. Come tell us. Or you know WARN us!
Good luck

[Sarah C.]

Thanks so much Tara - yes I do need to take a deep breath and as the day went on I realized there is nothing I can do about it either way. I HOPE I get an answer like you did - I will definitely let you all know.

Renee - sorry i confused you, i was rambling...yes I was coming from Lester to Foster on 58 and was coming into the commissary gate and yes I agree that seems like it should be a yield sign too...it is an odd place for a stop sign in my opinion.

Thanks ladies...I do tend to go over the edge and then slowly crawl my way back to sanity!!! LOL!!

[Renee]

I hate that stop sign, but it's probably good during rush hour since people turn off the 58 there onto base. Yeah, I slammed my brakes on when I realized it was stop instead of yield. My hubby was cussing at me. I was like, "It's a stop sign and I had to stop." Now I have programmed myself. If you aren't paying total attention I can understand though, since it's the same shape as the yield.

[Jen Shue]

it seems like most of the time that no one ever even stops there anyway. Barely even pauses, usually. I've come to a complete stop there before and had people who were clearly in waaayyy to big of a hurry toot their horns at me. Sarah, I'm really sorry you were so unlucky in this. I agree with you though, it should only be a yield sign.

[Sarah C.]

OK so I said I would keep you all updated - I called first thing this morning and YEAH thankfully Tara was correct - nothing happens except I have the points on my license. I believe as long as you dont get more then 12 points nothing happens, although my hubby just sent something to me that says after 6 points they can suspend you...anyway it does at least seem like they give you a warning of sorts with your first offense and then if you do get more points then they might suspend you. When I called he said if I want to contest the ticket I would go to traffic court but if I dont contest it I dont have to do anything but BE CAREFUL!!!

It is just a big wake up call to me to be extra careful with everything...one day coming in the base my older daughter had just reached around to get her bag for her ID and had unbuckled to do it and the guard actually stopped as us as we were about to pull off to say something to her...thankfully he was just reminding us but it could have been an issue.

SO everyone be careful!! And thanks for all the support ladies.

Oh and Jen yes I have always felt like other people just breeze right thru that sign but other than this time I always do stop...i was just the unlucky one to have done it and had PMO right near me!!!