Traffic Ticket Trauma

I recently had an interesting experience trying to solve a problem with the Superior Court, which is not technically a business, but I think there’s a lot of applicability here.

I got a ticket from the Highway Patrol for driving while holding a mobile device.  I was actually only listening to the GPS tell me how to get to where I needed to go, but apparently that’s illegal now as of April, so beware!! 

First, the officer I dealt with was very confusing, and the ticket I received was very confusing.  Then the web site was also very confusing.  I wound up thinking I was supposed to go to night court on the date of my court appearance, but really if I wanted to do night court I needed to make a special appointment.  Luckily I figured this out on the day of my appearance, and was able to request an extension online.

So, knowing that I needed to make an appointment for night court at that point, I tried to schedule it right away.  It turned out that it takes a while for the system to register that you have received an extension, so you can’t do it right then.  Once the system finally recognized that I had an extension, I tried to schedule my appointment using their online scheduling system.  It didn’t work on my home computer and it didn’t work on my work computer…

So I tried to call.  There is an interminably long recorded message on the phone line, which does not give you the option to schedule an appearance at night court, and does not mention the hours to call to talk to a real person.  Eventually I saw in a strange place online that the number to call is only available between 8:30 and 11:30am on week days.  Awesome.  Once I figure that out, I called at the right time and I was placed on unlimited hold.

At this point I am very frustrated with the whole situation.  I email the IT guy about the online system not working for me.  Amazingly he responded very promptly!!  We discussed my issue though, and he couldn't figure it out.  He was very nice and helpful though.  While I was on hold waiting to talk to someone on the phone, and the IT guy was failing to solve the computer dilemma, I finally realize I might be able to do this using the internet on my phone, which I do.  I was able to make the appointment on my phone where two computers and two humans had failed me.

So, when this question came up in class, I immediately thought of this situation.  First, the problems with the confusing instructions from the cop and the ticket and the web site need to be fixed.  However, another strategy that might help people like me actually handle our tickets would be to have social media avenues where it’s possible to connect with people who can help you in more real time, where people can see what the solutions were for others in some sort of archive function, and can avoid having to call or email because they can see other people who had this problem and how it was fixed.  A more user-friendly web interface with the court’s “customers” would help us meet our requirements and give us a more positive feeling about our experience with the court.  Maybe we would be less likely to avoid jury duty if the court was actually a helpful, friendly place that wanted to make sure you had the tools and understanding you need to deal with whatever situation put you there. 

Also, I think it’s ridiculous that laws like this go into effect and we’re responsible for knowing them without any systematic notification.  Social media could be a great tool for keeping people up to date on new laws so people like me don’t end up dealing with antiquated systems in the first place!!