You may want to ignore it and pretend it didn’t happen. Bad idea.
I recently took a late spring break up in northern Wisconsin. The tiny, sweet city of Bayfield was the perfect homebase, with its historic downtown adjacent to Lake Superior. First up was a visit to Frog Bay Tribal National Park. It’s the United States’ first tribal national park and a stunner: full of mature, beautiful trees set along the lakeshore. I got an early start and had the place to myself. After an hour-long hike, I returned to my car to continue the day.
As I drove back toward town, I glimpsed police cruiser lights in the rearview mirror. My stomach dropped. As I handed over the car rental agreement and my driver’s license to the officer, he informed me that I was on the Red Cliff Reservation, there was a lower speed limit in effect, and I was exceeding it.
Embarrassed, I apologized profusely. As the officer returned to his patrol car, my mind raced. “If I get a ticket here,” I thought to myself, “how do I handle it? Am I subject to tribal law? Do I need a special lawyer?”
Crap.
Many travelers likely had similar moments this summer, during the great 2025 Road Trip Renaissance. A whopping 60% of Americans planned to pack up their vehicles and hit the open road. And if you picked up the pace a bit too much during those long cross-country miles, you might have also picked up an out-of-state ticket. So, what’s your next move? Here’s what you need to know.
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Don’t Blow it Off
While you might be tempted to trash that ticket or stash it in your glovebox and forget about it, don’t. Just because you want it to go away doesn’t mean it will.
“Once a ticket’s issued, it initiates a legal proceeding,” said Jobin Joseph, managing attorney at Rosenblum Law, a firm specializing in defending traffic violations. “That’s a summons to appear in court. If you choose to ignore it, the judge in any jurisdiction usually will escalate the matter in some shape or form, whether that be a bench warrant or issuing a suspension.”
What’s more, the vast majority of states are members of the Driver’s License Compact and/or the Nonresident Violator Compact. These agreements allow states to share information about traffic offenses committed by out-of-state drivers. If you receive a ticket on federal lands, including a reservation or military base, your case will be referred to a corresponding court, which will also pass your ticket along to your home state. Bottom line: the old adage “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” doesn’t apply to your lead foot. Burying your head in the sand or blowing off your legal woes isn’t going to help, only hurt.
Understand Your Options and Responsibilities
Often, at the time of the issuance, a law enforcement officer will explain your next steps to resolve the ticket he or she just wrote you. Depending on the alleged violation, you might decide to simply pay the fine by mail or online before your court date.
However, if your charge is more severe, such as driving on a suspended license or going 26 miles per hour (or more) above the speed limit, you could be required to attend your court hearing in person.
Before deciding how to proceed, you’ll want to make sure you understand the court’s expectations of you and the consequences involved with your particular charge should you plead or be found guilty.
“Take the time to figure out what your options are and take it from there,” said Joseph. “As far as being charged with any moving infraction, everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so you have a legal right to defend yourself.”
Should I Fight It?
Perhaps you were parked in a permissible zone and received what you think is an invalid ticket. Maybe that speed limit sign was obscured by a tree, and you weren’t aware you were driving too fast.
Spoiling for a fight to get those fines waived or your charges dismissed? You’ve got a couple of options. Depending on how far it is from where you live, you can attend your court date to respond in person. If the charging officer doesn’t show, or you’ve got a strong, evidence-backed case, you might just beat the charge. Some states also allow you to contest a ticket in writing, so you can submit a written appeal explaining your side of the story.
Keep in mind, contesting your ticket doesn’t guarantee success. You risk the court not ruling in your favor, which means you’re on the hook for fees, possible points against your license, and increased insurance rates.
The Case for Lawyering Up
That leads us to what some might consider their last recourse: hiring an attorney. Sure, the cost might seem prohibitive, but it’s important to run your own return-on-investment analysis before immediately dismissing the option.
Often, a local traffic attorney can represent you in a hearing if your presence is required, saving time and expensive travel costs. He or she will know the specific court handling your case and have a strong strategy for the best possible outcomes, from outright dismissal to pleading down to a non-moving violation.
“I can’t tell you how often people take it upon themselves to go about their case a certain way, maybe even plead guilty,” said Joseph. “‘Let me just pay the fine and get this over with, or just get it behind me,’ and then it unravels a whole new level of problems, whether it be rising insurance costs or, God forbid, they get pulled over again, and now their past record is used against them in a future case. By and large, attorneys taking traffic cases offer free consultations. So what’s there to lose, right?”
In my case, no legal counsel was required. The Red Cliff officer gave me a stern (and absolutely well-deserved) warning but no ticket, so I wasn’t forced to navigate through a different jurisdiction’s court system.
That said, lesson learned. From here on out, I’m paying better attention to the rules of the road when I’m away from home.
