Speeding Ticket Question

[JH6644]

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I have one ticket for speeding on my record. 11 over from 3 years ago. I did not check yes for the misdemeanor on some of my secondaries before I submit because I did not think it would show up on my record. I will be sure to make a note of it on all of my secondaries from here on out. But what about the ones I have already submitted? Will this come back to bite me? It is the lowest possible speed to have kept on your record... 🙁

 

[LizzyM]

Is it a misdemeanor in the state where it happened? What does AMCAS say about having to report things for people in your state of residence (there are different rules depending on your state's laws)? Either way, it shouldn't be a big deal. If the adcom was going to get bent out of shape about speeding, they'd need to fire half the faculty.

 

[ChrisMack390]

Are you sure this is a misdemeanor? Most traffic violations are not.

 

[JH6644]

Yes It is considered a misdemeanor in the state where it happened. Looks like I maybe should have reported it on the AMCAS application. Dang, I honestly forgot it even happened til something jogged my memory of it today. Should I try to notify each school now or just have an explanation ready? It was for 71 in a 60 and yeah my state considers that the lowest possible speed over the limit for a misdemeanor so I was able to find a record of it out there.

**Also my state is not listed on the AMCAS manual of having any special exceptions.

 

[LizzyM]

Send every school you applied to an email with the subject line: correction to AMCAS application. Say, "as you know, no change can be made to the AMCAS application after it is submitted. It has recently come to my attention that a speeding ticket I received in [state] in [month/year] for 71 mph in a 60 mph zone is classified as a misdemeanor and should have been reported as such on the AMCAS application. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for considering my application."

I would not go into a lot of hand wringing about what you learned or how you have grown as a person because, frankly, we know that those sentiments are mostly empty words that people think they need to say to show that they've changed their ways. Don't waste the time it will take me to read that, is my opinion of that sort of thing. Just give the facts and move on.

Frankly, I'd be surprised if anyone cares.

 

[JH6644]

Send every school you applied to an email with the subject line: correction to AMCAS application. Say, "as you know, no change can be made to the AMCAS application after it is submitted. It has recently come to my attention that a speeding ticket I received in [state] in [month/year] for 71 mph in a 60 mph zone is classified as a misdemeanor and should have been reported as such on the AMCAS application. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for considering my application."

I would not go into a lot of hand wringing about what you learned or how you have grown as a person because, frankly, we know that those sentiments are mostly empty words that people think they need to say to show that they've changed their ways. Don't waste the time it will take me to read that, is my opinion of that sort of thing. Just give the facts and move on.

Frankly, I'd be surprised if anyone cares.

That sounds like a good course of action. Thank you for the advice and I'll send out an email to all of my schools just explaining the situation.

 

[Nova24]

I wouldn't worry about it at all. Ive had two speeding tickets, one from about 14 years ago when I applied and one from about 5 years ago. The 5 year old one was in a state it wasn't classified a misdemeanor but the 14 year old one I couldn't find any info online so I paid for the pre background check that you can do and it didn't show up so I left out of my app. Fast forward a few months after I submitted my official background check and low and behold the 14 year old one showed up this time. Of all the schools I was accepted to only one bothered to mention it by sending me an email and I explained I was unaware it was a misdemeanor and I apologized and that was that.

Sent from my SM-G928T using SDN mobile

 

[futuremdforme]

This happened to me and I didn't notify them because I didn't know. The school where I had accepted asked me about it and I said "I received a speeding ticket. AMCAS says not to include traffic violations so I did not include it. I did not realize it was a misdemeanour. I apologize for any inconvenience and hope it won't be a problem." or something along those lines. It was fine.

 

[DrMantisTobogganMD]

I thought most secondaries said "misdemeanors EXCLUDING minor traffic offenses (ie speeding ticket)"?

 

[aldol16]

Most schools specifically exclude speeding tickets from this category. Check with the schools.