Almost Got a ticket last night

[cfg83]

Stan -

I can't assume your the one that's going to pull me over. I have to assume it's the 1-5% of bad cops. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best and all that.

Originally Posted by Stan

...

a. Pull over safely and promptly and turn off the engine. Leave your hands on the wheel at 10 and 2. If he/she wants your documentation, they'll ask you for it. Open the appropriate window so the officer can speak to you. If the cop asks you to step out of the car and come back to theirs, what they are doing is observing you to see if you move like a drunk. So get out promptly and alertly and follow the officer's instructions. Move normally...in other words, allay their suspicions.

...

Ha ha, I go even farther. I roll down my window and put my hands on the window sill so he/she sees every finger (I once considered having a fake rubber third hand for fun, but thought better of it). If I have to move, I tell the officer exactly what I am doing. The good cops get their respect and the bad cops have less to use as an excuse.

CarloSW2

[Ford Man]

I have had a couple experiences with bad cops too. Back when I was lots younger early to mid 20's I was bad to drive after having too much to drink. One of the city police in the nearest town to where I lived found out that I drank pretty heavily sometimes and started pulling me everytime I drove into the city limits. After a few instances of this happening I learned if I was drinking to just go through the country on the back roads to get home. I'm not condoning drinking and driving, but what he was doing was not right either.

Another time that comes to mind was about 25 years ago when I moved from KY to NC. One afternoon I was on my way home from work on a four lane road, I was in a lane going straight and a state trooper was in a turn lane, when I went by he pulled out of the turn lane in behind me and pulled me over. I was still driving on my KY license and still had KY tags on the car. The cop said the reason he pulled me over was because the KY plate didn't look right. I guess he thought no one from another state ever drove through NC. Anyway he asked how long I had been living in NC and I told him, which I think it was about 2 or 3 months. He wrote me a ticket for not having my license changed from KY to NC, but he didn't give me one for not having the plate changed. After he finished writing the ticket he wanted me to sign it and I refused. When I was getting out of his car he started telling me where I could go to pay the ticket and I told him I would see him in court. In the meantime I went to the library and studied NC law a little bit. It said that a person had to change their license and tags within 30 days of becoming a resident, but then I also found where the law stated you were not considered a resident until you had lived in the state for 6 months, so in reality I had 7 months from the time I moved to NC until I had to make the changes. When the court date came I was there, but the cop didn't show up. I plead not guilty and was armed for battle with the laws I had found. The judge asked me if I had a valid license from another state and I told him yes and showed it to him. The judge dismissed the case and also made the statement that he was tired of cops writing tickets and then not showing up for the court dates which made me feel really good.

The moral of my stories is you just have to be smarted than the cops.

[OokiiMamoru]

Originally Posted by Stan

Save the arguments for court. That is your chance to argue that you were not a hazard to traffic, driving too slowly, etc.

4.

Thats if, and and a very big one, the judge will let you aruge your case.

OM

[cfg83]

OokiiMamoru -

Originally Posted by OokiiMamoru

Thats if, and and a very big one, the judge will let you aruge your case.

OM

Yup, I went to fight a motorcycle parking ticket (bad signage that had recently changed), and the judge was going bonkers at all the defendants. She didn't let me talk but reduced my ticket by half, so that worked out for me.

CarloSW2

[equation112]

Originally Posted by cfg83

OokiiMamoru -



Yup, I went to fight a motorcycle parking ticket (bad signage that had recently changed), and the judge was going bonkers at all the defendants. She didn't let me talk but reduced my ticket by half, so that worked out for me.

CarloSW2

since when do judges have the ability to deny a person from presenting a defense? that is treading on dangerous issues of constitutionality. granted, she reduced the ticket by half, but that was probably because she was aware of the potential problems her behavior might cause if she ran up against someone willing to *really* fight the charge, and possessed the assets to back up the intent just for the principle of the thing. 99.99999% of people would have been so intimidated by her apparent hostility that they would have folded and been happy they got off with what she deigned to give them.

the entire legal and political scene has gotten way out of hand in the last couple decades - the political profession for at least the last 50 years. to be perfectly honest I have come to the conclusion that lawyers and accountants (ie if a person has *ever* held a degree or license to practice law or accounting) should be barred from ever holding elected office - they know too much about how to manipulate the system and so cannot be permitted to be entrusted with the power of those offices. we need more scientists and engineers in political office... at least then things will actually get done.

[/rant]

[99metro]

I'd have probably kept a lot of those comments to my inside voice. There's no way he could have given you a ticket for 5 under - the judge would have laughed that one off. BUT, he more than likely pulled you over "just because". He was looking for anything else - cracked windshield, seatbelts, alcohol smell, whatever. He knew he had nothing on you.

My buddy had the 4:00 am shift. He left home at 3:15 am every morning and got pulled over 3 times in the same week BY THE SAME COP. The cops reasoning is that people out at that time of night/morning are either up to no good or going to/from work. So he just pulls everyone over regardless.

I'm still waiting for my first pulse and glide ticket (erratic driving?). I'm only 12 years without a ticket, so I'll always be a couple/three years behind you! That was back when when the speed limit was 55 on the interstates (I-90 thruway in New York), and he caught me doing 64.

[Greenblazer]

Originally Posted by cfg83

Stan -

I roll down my window and put my hands on the window sill so he/she sees every finger (I once considered having a fake rubber third hand for fun, but thought better of it).

CarloSW2

The rubber hand idea is too funny, thanks for the laugh!

I am not a fan of the police. They never help when I need it, but the moment I slip they are all over me.

Later,

Allan Greenblazer

[Kaneda]

i once had officer friendly pull me over in arkansas... four lane highway with give or take a 50-75ft median between. officer is going one way and i was going the other, east and west. i saw him long before we past and watched him after so. he then v-lined for the crossing about 1/2 mile back and immediately flipped the party lights and blasted up behind me...! pulled me over and comes to my car... do you know... yadda yadda... no sir i dont?.. because i couldnt read/see your reg. sticker. . .!?!?!!!WTF. i was nice and asked him to repeat himself.. then asked him why he really pulled me over and explained how i watched him and all... he then told me that my car matched a suspected drug running car in the area... i then asked him if he felt better telling me the truth... jokingly... then offer him every know opening in the car to satisfy his curiosity. he opened the trunk and touched(not open, not move) a single bag in the trunk of a pick of half a dozen or so... then tells me to have a nice day and a safe drive as he wondered away...
some officers are a lil weird...just doing their job i guess

[KJSatz]

You shouldn't let them search your car! Or does driving a car that looks like a suspected druggy car give them probable cause? Hopefully not :| !

[fclaridge]

Just driving 5 under is NOT probable cause for him to have pulled you over. He violated your civil rights in doing this. They will however, make some excuse for pulling you over. My brother is a deputy and I talk to him all the time about cops that tail me because I drive a Honda that has a high theft rate where we are. So it frustrates me that I get followed even because I drive a certain kind of car. And really you don't need to give him your ID unless he states his probable cause. You can when he asks if you want to be cooperative, but not until the real reason has been divulged.