Aw crap.

Just received a speeding ticket.

From Arizona.

I lie. I did not receive a speeding ticket from Arizona. I received a bill from Hertz asking me to pay them a $30 administrative fee for what it cost them to tell Arizona that I was in the rental car when the speed camera (I imagine) caught the vehicle speeding in Arizona. This suggests the ticket is on its way.

This annoys for a whole variety of reasons. First, it kills a perfect driving record. (Yeah, got my first parking ticket this year, too, but at least I was free of moving violations.) Second, I was careful in Arizona -- I really was -- because I know they have those speed cameras out. Sure, this was more than a month ago so I can't entirely remember, but if I was speeding, it very likely wasn't any more than 5 mph over the limit. I think I even put the cruise control on the car at 5 over the limit. So, y'know, damn. Third, according to this thing, I got the ticket some 14 minutes before I returned the car. (Man, I was so close.)

And, of course, the cost of the ticket annoys. And/or the issue of traffic school. Poking around the internet (which, believe me, is not my preferred way of doing legal research) suggests that: (a) Arizona and California are part of a multi-state agreement whereby they report traffic violations to each other, so I would end up with a point on my license; (b) it most likely would only be a single point, (at least in California); (c) I probably have good odds if I simply ignore the ticket (because, according to the collected wisdom of the internet, Arizona has to personally serve the ticket if I don't submit to their jurisdiction, and the odds that they'd hire a California process server to hand deliver the ticket to me is unlikely, given the expense; but (d) it would be really stupid for me, as a real live actual "officer of the court," to blow off a summons from another jurisdiction; and (e) I'm not entirely clear on if, despite the whole multi-state agreement thing, there's an online traffic school out there which would satisfy both Arizona and California -- and, if not, whose traffic school I'd have to take [I'm thinking Arizona's, actually].

This just leads to some overall annoyance because I can't contact anyone in Arizona and figure out how to best proceed until I actually have the ticket in hand -- which, with my luck, will happen when I'm out of the country, and I'll miss all sorts of deadlines for paying or signing up for traffic school or whatever.

Although, come to think of it, I wonder if I still have the email address of that former colleague of mine who is practicing law in Arizona now. I bet she'd know.

Argh.