Traffic Ticket advice

[KJShover]

Taking pics and timing the light = good idea. Getting a copy of the report is also a good idea but this may work against me. When i was stopped he said he could have nailed me for two other things but let them slide..

I'm not familiar with your traffic laws, but up here once the cop lets things slide on traffic stops its over and can't be brought back up, it looks like afterthought. especially after fighting the first charge. It looks too much like revenge, and it always brings up the "why did you let it slide, do you take it upon yourself to decide what laws are to be enforced and what doesn't?"

I've seen it several times and even *cough *cough recieved it a few times too after giving warnings instead of citations.

 

[RaWarrior]

While the dash cameras may only be on when lights/sirens are activated, the license plate scanners are always on. They don't care what your bike looks like, just the name associated with it. I don't know about other states, but all the NY State Trooper cars have tag scanners now. If you ever get close enough, look on the shelf in front of the rear window...there will be two "guns" mounted in either corner. Usually another one facing forward on the dash. A lot of larger city cops have these now too. As far as I can tell they're always on, even when the car is parked and not running. There's a cop car that's frequently parked on the main street through town in the same spot. Even when the car is empty and not running, my radar detector always picks up K band emitting from the car.

 

[Mr. Pickles]

Remember. You are INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty. The burden of proof is on the officer.

Good Luck.

Innocent until proven guilty only applies in civil and criminal matters, and not applicable in traffic court. Traffic court convictions are levied on a preponderance of evidence. This is what would be considered "more likely to have occurred than not" type scenario. The burden of proof still falls on the officer but his case is pretty easy. It's an uphill battle for the ticketed person.

Dress well
Be polite
Go in with a not guilty plea
Explain clearly, quickly, and concisely your case.
I've rehearsed mine in the mirror before.

 

[twistedmax]

as stated earleir ,maybe not so clearly.SAFETY FIRST, short & sweet and prolly in the manual.

 

[COP RUNNER]

I'M NOT SAYING DON'T FIGHT IT , I SPENT A LOT OF TIME IN COURT & HERES HOW IT TURNED OUT FOR ME ! THESE ARE ONLY THE MOVING VIOLATIONS , EVERY TIME I GOT STOPPED I ALSO GOT LOUD EXHAUST TICKETS TOO ! EVEN IN MY "69" NOVA WITH NO HOOD & 2X4BBLS ! EVEN A COUPLE YEARS AGO I GOT A TICKET IN MY SKI BOAT FOR OPERATING AT AN UNSAFE SPEED !:confused2:IT ONLY DID ABOUT 75 MPH'S THE MARINE POLICE COME FLYING UP ( AFTER I HAD STOPPED OF COURSE ) AND SAID , AND I QUOTE " ARE YOU ******* KIDDING ME " I SAID WHAT , HE SAID THE ONLY THING IN THE WATER WAS THE BOTTOM HALF OF THE PROP ! .. I SAID I KNOW ! HE SAYS I'M GETTING THIS TICKED & I SAID WHY THERES NO OTHER BOATS AROUND & WHAT IF I WAS UP IN THIS RIVER IN THE MISS BUDWEISER THAT HAS BEEN CLOCKED AT OVER 220 MPH , & WAS ONLY DOING 75 MPH , WOULD IT STILL BE OPERATING AT AN UNSAFE SPEED ? HE SAID I'M A REAL WISE ASS ( NO **** SHERLOCK ) , SO THEN I SHOWED HIM MY SAFE BOATING CERTIFICATE , HE WASN'T IMPRESSED & CONTINUED TO WRITE ! "**** UM" !:rofl_200: http://www.vmaxforum.net/album.php?albumid=95

 

[ghostntheshell]

You guys have speed limits in your boats??

 

[COP RUNNER]

You guys have speed limits in your boats??

NO , THATS MY POINT ! ... HOW CAN I GET A TICKET ? ESPECIALLY WITH NO OTHER BOATS AROUND ! :confused2:

 

[dannymax]

You guys have speed limits in your boats??

Very precise the way they do it in Jerzey.....there's 2 speeds, Reasonable and Unreasonable!!

Timmy's speed was (in that cops opinion) Unreasonable!! I could've been following him in a row boat and gotten the same friggin' ticket if the cop felt like writing it!!

They got Carte Blanche!! (What's that mean anyway....white paper??)

 

[Geek_Law]

Very precise the way they do it in Jerzey.....there's 2 speeds, Reasonable and Unreasonable!!

Timmy's speed was (in that cops opinion) Unreasonable!! I could've been following him in a row boat and gotten the same friggin' ticket if the cop felt like writing it!!

They got Carte Blanche!! (What's that mean anyway....white paper??)

The laws of the legislature must be specific enough so as to appraise a person of whether they are in violation of the law or in conformance with the law. Without such specificity, the court considers to to have been no "notice" to the person.

Just to be clear however, you need not be "actually" aware of a law that is specific, since you are deemed to "constructively" have notice just by them being enacted.

Regardless, you can challenge a law as being unconstitutional for being overly broad and also for being "vague."

It happens all the time, and would be an interesting way to fight a ticket like the one you got on the boat, although, I would expect the lower court to rule against you, and you would likely have to appeal to get the court to actually listen. But I think you would have a good case if the law was really no more specific than to state a "reasonable" speed and an "unreasonable" speed, without any comparison or benchmarks.

Anyway ... that's what I think. :bang head:

 

[naughtyG]

Well, I'm going to court 2moro for a ticket I got on Halloween: I made a 'california stop' on a red light, then went as the way was clear. The cop behind me said I didn't stop, gave me a ticket, said if I took an online course it'd just be a fine no points or record. I took (and passed) the course, and emailed the court to find out how much I should pay. They replied saying I must go to court, because of a 'statute discrepancy' - apparently the cop wrote the wrong statute on the citation :confused2:

So I just hope he doesn't turn up tomorrow, then it gets dismissed. Otherwise I have no clue how much this is gonna cost, but at least I've got a course certificate..

Cross yer fingers for me my friends..

 

[mattness]

Taking pics and timing the light = good idea. Getting a copy of the report is also a good idea but this may work against me. When i was stopped he said he could have nailed me for two other things but let them slide..
First was failing to stop at a stop sign before making a right turn (I was 90 degrees from getting in the left lane) which I also don't agree with because there are 5 lanes of traffic to get to the left lane from where I was. If you don't stop to look back you will get crushed. Second was crossing all lanes of traffic to get to the left lane without first making a right turn to gain access to the road and then easing over lane by lane until in the left. This was true but in my 10 years of leaving this parking lot I have not seen one person do this and it does'nt make any sense because there is not enough distance to pull this off (light is very close to where I turn to get to the left).
Also learned you go to court here there is no pre-court meeting

delete this post and call the police department and ask for the report. if he didnt write any of the other stuff down he wont remember it

 

[kaboom]

While the dash cameras may only be on when lights/sirens are activated, the license plate scanners are always on. They don't care what your bike looks like, just the name associated with it. I don't know about other states, but all the NY State Trooper cars have tag scanners now. If you ever get close enough, look on the shelf in front of the rear window...there will be two "guns" mounted in either corner. Usually another one facing forward on the dash. A lot of larger city cops have these now too. As far as I can tell they're always on, even when the car is parked and not running. There's a cop car that's frequently parked on the main street through town in the same spot. Even when the car is empty and not running, my radar detector always picks up K band emitting from the car.

Hell......sometimes they don't even hide them that well.....

Lots of patrol vehicles have them mounted on the roof......

One town around here has them mounted on the trunk facing forward....:confused2:

 

[dannymax]

Hell......sometimes they don't even hide them that well.....

Lots of patrol vehicles have them mounted on the roof......

One town around here has them mounted on the trunk facing forward....:confused2:

I saw a NYS Trooper car with 2 shoe box sized things mounted on either side of the trunk lid, facing slightly down and out at about 45 degrees....is that what those things were, tag scanners? They were facing rearward. :confused2: