What, no ticket?

So, do you remember this post about Jeff getting his first traffic ticket? Or this one about dealing with insurance? I thought I blogged about Jeff officially being told that he couldn’t drive my car as long as it’s insured by State Farm, but I can’t find it, so I’m guessing I didn’t. But know that in December, Jeff and I both had to go to the State Farm office and sign documents stating that we understood that nothing would be covered if Jeff had an accident in my car and I could very well lose my insurance with them.

Moving on…

Here we are five months later and we’ve still heard nothing from Daviess County concerning Jeff’s ticket. I’ve never paid a fine. We’ve never gone to court. We didn’t sign up for or pay for the diversion program. Nothing.

So, as I’m doing Jeff’s taxes and my taxes, Jeff’s FAFSA, and his housing paperwork for school, it crossed my mind that perhaps I should follow up on this ticket. So, I called the Daviess County courthouse. I talked to four different people, including the person responsible for juvenile records that are ‘locked up’. There is no record of this citation anywhere. After about 24 hours of searching, they suggested that I call the Sheriff’s Office and leave a message with the officer that ticketed Jeff. So, I’ve done that. I haven’t heard back from him, but I expect to.

So, here’s my deal… I wouldn’t be surprised if there no longer is a ticket (that it was thrown out or lost in the shuffle). That means that Jeff doesn’t actually have a reckless driving ticket on his record. IF that is true…and it’s a big IF, I agree…but IF that’s true, would State Farm still have a reason for NOT insuring Jeff? Just so I’ve included all information, there was a minor claim as an outcome of the original incident. No one was injured and my car went unscathed, but the Ford Bronco that ran into the old, weak fence got a new bumper out of it.

What Jeff really needs is to practice driving a car. He desperately needs more experience. But since he can’t drive my car, he hasn’t been getting it. He hasn’t driven at all since the second week in December. He’s now 18, will be leaving my home in a matter of months to go to college, wants to get himself a car, and has hardly driven in his lifetime.

Personally, I’d feel better if we could spend a couple of months with him behind the wheel of MY car with ME in the passenger seat. But right now, the only way to make that happen is for me to leave State Farm (after 18-19 years) and go with someone else who WILL insure my son. If this ticket doesn’t exist and State Farm refuses to reinstate Jeff on my policy, that may very well be what happens.