Just after a bit of info regarding the law and the severity of speeding tickets for foreigners.

A friend of mine just got caught speeding in Oregon (101mph on the interstate with a 65mph limit). It was in a rental vehicle paid for with a credit card and he has a UK license - they took the license number. The policeman produced a yellow summons and said it would be a mandatory court appearance at the end of September when my friend will no longer be in the US. The base fine is $1103 by the way - pretty harsh in my opinion.

He has a UK license and visits the US regularly for work. If he does nothing about this will the local police take action that may have consequences for future visits? Strangely enough the ticket that was issued features a number of inconsistencies - height of driver and colour of eyes for example. In the UK the paperwork really has to be 100% correct or there are no grounds for a prosecution. The fact that there is no US postal address (luckily an out of date UK address) will no doubt make it difficult to chase. There is also no link to a passport number.

The major question is what are the chances of escaping this? Will the local courts even take action for a foreigner? I think my friend has already cancelled his credit card so that the fine cannot be automatically deducted. In the UK, there is little action taken against foreigners - it's just too difficult and time consuming to pursue further.

Hope someone can help in this unfortunate case.

Many thanks