Some traffic tickets can now be handled online

A new San Diego Superior Court program launched this month will allow eligible county residents to request a reduced payment or payment schedule for traffic tickets without having to step foot back inside a courthouse, officials said.

The MyCitations program — part of a statewide rollout — was implemented to help the court quickly work through more than 175,000 citations it adjudicates in an average year, while also saving defendants time and money, according to Michael Roddy, executive officer for the San Diego Superior Court.

Roddy said the court has thousands of people each year who are ordered to pay a ticket outright or through a payment plan. But when something in their lives changes their financial situation, they’re no longer able to pay off their ticket.

People then oftentimes go into default, and additional penalties are incurred. The new online program is designed to help prevent that, Roddy said.

“For example, if they can’t make the payments or maybe they need the payment reduced, any of those things typically used to require coming to court and asking the judge to do that,” Roddy said. “Now they can go online, fill out the forms, and those can be submitted to us.”

In order to be eligible for the program, a defendant for most traffic tickets must have already submitted a plea before a judge or decided to pay the fine by forfeiting their bail.

Serious cases such as DUIs, reckless driving and fix-it tickets are not eligible for the program, Roddy said.

The program requires applicants to look up their citations online and answer a series of questions about their monthly income, expenses, and any public benefits received. The forms will then be reviewed by a traffic judge, and a decision will be returned.

San Diego is the latest of the 58 counties statewide required by Assembly Bill 143 to implement the program by June 30. The program will also allow eligible applicants to apply for changes to tickets issued in other counties already enrolled in the program.

Visit the program’s website at MyCitations.courts.ca.gov for more information.