just got a ticket

[millerman]

Ack, I'm never driving on the last day of the month again. $107 for running a red light, even though it was orange when i entered the intersection. I lose 3 points on my license, which sucks because I only have 4.

Do guys think it's worth pleading not guilty and hoping the cop doesn't show up? The court costs is only another $50.

 

[Ronin13]

Ack, I'm never driving on the last day of the month again. $107 for running a red light, even though it was orange when i entered the intersection. I lose 3 points on my license, which sucks because I only have 4.

Do guys think it's worth pleading not guilty and hoping the cop doesn't show up? The court costs is only another $50.

Absolutely. I have beaten a few tickets that way over the years.
If you can manage the day off from work it is so worth it. Those 3 points could cost you a ton more in the future insurance payments.

 

[millerman]

Thanks for the reply Ronin, I guess I'll go to court. Another $50 isn't really a concern, especially if I can get the charges dropped. Anyone else ever contest their tickets?

 

[canadian champ]

Thanks for the reply Ronin, I guess I'll go to court. Another $50 isn't really a concern, especially if I can get the charges dropped. Anyone else ever contest their tickets?

Have done before, battled a charge in a construction zone. Signs popped out of nowhere, no time to slow down. What was the weather like? Incliment weather can render stopping at a yellow unsafe.
cc

 

[Jayhawkk]

You don't plead if the cop doesn't show. Just wait to see but if he's there you better plead not guilty and hope they reduce the points but if you have previous offenses that are less than a few years old the judge might be inclined to not cut ya a break and charge court fines.

I tell everyone to go to court. But just to let you in on a secret. there's no such things as quotas. Not in the sense you're thinking of and especially not month to month bound like a car salesman.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Let me rephrase that first part. If the cop doesn't show you'll automatically be found not guilty.

 

[Cuffs]

Well, if the light was still yellow when you passed the limit line, then there should have been no cite. At leasst in Ca. You can always hope the officer won't show up for court and it will be dismissed. Otherwise, most judges will side with the officer if he/she testifies that the light was red prior to you passing the limit line. Especially if that officer was there watching for that particular violation due to numerous citizen complaints.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Some states are set up that you have to entering the intersection when the light turns or you must slow to a stop. I'll have to look for the exact wording but it's a messed up citing.

 

[Beelzebub]

You don't plead if the cop doesn't show. Just wait to see but if he's there you better plead not guilty and hope they reduce the points but if you have previous offenses that are less than a few years old the judge might be inclined to not cut ya a break and charge court fines.

I tell everyone to go to court. But just to let you in on a secret. there's no such things as quotas. Not in the sense you're thinking of and especially not month to month bound like a car salesman.

not quotas, but certain things are 'encouraged' at various times of the year if city funds are low these are the times that it sucks to be driving because they are looking for anything and everything.

 

[Cuffs]

Yep, quotas are illegal and in all my years I know of no law enforcement ageny in the U.S. that practice quotas. If they did, they would be in a world of hurt by a Grand Jury. Oh, and officers don't get any extra money, or bonuses, for writing tickets or making arrests, or for anything...

 

[millerman]

Hey thanks for the replies guys. Well, the weather was clear, i was going 45, the speed limit, and with regards to my speed and lenght until intersection, I thought slamming the breaks and would be a stupid thing to do. 45mph to zero mph takes longer than a couple of seconds and i don't want to screw up your breaks and rotors. The light was definately orange when I entered the intersection and turned red just before I passed all the way through it.

Well, hopefully all goes well. I was able to calm myself down, so thanks for your input guys.

 

[Jayhawkk]

If you have no previous stop sign violations and explain yourself respectfully in court you may get out with just a a fine or reduced points or if it's been a few years since your last offense(non dui type) not probable but possibly a PBJ(probation instead of the charge)

 

[Cuffs]

not quotas, but certain things are 'encouraged' at various times of the year if city funds are low these are the times that it sucks to be driving because they are looking for anything and everything.

Kind of in a round-about way Beelze. Cities don't rely on citations or arrests to generate money. However, if an agency has a grant to say...conduct seat belt check points, they have to follow certain guidlines if they wish to receive an additional grant in the future. One guidline may be to write seat belt tickets. If an agency who has a grant writes no tickets for the violations, then the overseeing body decides there isn't a problem in that particular area, so they will not give that agency a grant to enforce those violations.

So, there are times that it seems like officers are out in full force looking for anything and everything., But, there is a method to the madness. The end of a month means nothing about geneerating revenue, but the end of a fiscal year for the grant surveys may mean showing that a proactive approach is being taken.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Not to mention that those types of enforcements are usually due to complaints from the local residents. Voting and elections work their way down to the police.

 

[millerman]

Probation instead of charge? What is that? Unfortunately, my only prior offense was a DUI, about three and a half years ago.

 

[Jayhawkk]

basically they tell you that for a certain time if you do not receive any traffic offenses the charge will disappear from your record.

You may even get it with the dui charge since that could be viewed differently depending on the judge and how he feels. You may be in good outcome.

 

[millerman]

Thanks Jay, do know how long the usual peroid of time would be?

 

[Jayhawkk]

Usually a year or two for something like that. He/she can adjust it according to what they feel is appropriate.

 

[jomi822]

i speak with a guy almost every day i am at the gym. he is a retired police officer. He informed me that there is not a quota in the direct sense of the word, but that cities, towns DO have income from speeding tickets/other violations in their PROJECTED revenue. If this doesnt mean "quota" then i dont know what does.

if someone is doing something stupid i believe they should be pulled over. however i have been pulled over at least 9 times. the other nights in the span of 2 miles i saw 4 cops. one of them turned around on a backroad and tailgated me 2 miles down the road trying to get me to speed so he could pull me over. i am disgusted with law enforcement. also the other day at the gym i overheard the local cops saying they employed that exact tactic in order to get people to speed.

another time i was going 75 down an intersate and a cop pulled out on the road behind me. he zoomed up beind me and pulled me over. he then informed me i was going 90 miles per hour and that he "paced" me. i took my foot off the gas as soon as i saw him flying up behind me, which was a good 300 yards away. i knew there was no way he could have done what he said he did and informed him of the fact hoping he would realize i knew his bs and leave me alone. i ended up paying over $500 for that incident.

even if you have done nothing wrong, you will still have to go to court, you will still have to pay court fees, and you will still have to sit through the CIRCUS that is traffic court. both of my parents are lawyers and they have assured me since i was 18 that all the courts want is your money, and dont particularly care if you committed a crime or not.

also, 20 (average) year old white males are now the most likely to be pulled over out of any demographic. i am 24. i am sick of being tailgated, followed, looked at funny, and accused of and then having to pay for things i do not do.

 

[Jayhawkk]

jomi- projected outcome is based of previous revenue. Cops are not given quotas and barely see other cops in the same dept that aren't on their shifts much less of a conspiracy when you think a lot of places have city,county,state crossing jurisdictions.


Of course they wants cops to show they've been working and not sleeping their shift. Just like your boss would want proof of some work. This isn't a set number though.

I won't argue that all this isn't set up for cash but i've gone to court and walked out not paying a damn thing including court costs.

Now by 'pace' He could of meant vasCAR. It's just a common mathmatical way of finding speed using two known points. Or he could of been lying. Who knows.

Also, i'd be more wary of lawyers talking about how things are set up for cash

 

[Kam]

Having 14 tickets, I consider myself a somewhat of an expert. But sorry to say I have only gotten one ticket for running a red light, but I only got half way through the intersection.......

I've gone to court many times and as long as your honest with the prosacutor and you dress very well you shouldn't have a problem.

Oh yeah and i've been on court supervision (IL) since i was 16, if i go through this summer without another ticket i'm pretty sure I will have a clear record. Try to remember as many details about what was happening, the frequency others do it. In the town I live in 2 cars always turn left after the light turns red (naperville, chi burbs) so if that's the case in your town you can bring that point up, but it might not help

Biggest thing

- Dress like your OJ simpson
- Be sincere and honest with the prosacutor, and plead not guilty when the judge asks your plea, see if you can get court supervision if it's allowed and the prosacutr is standing there ground.

The only reason i still have a license is that I dress like a million bucks (300 armani suit) and I'm very nice and pleasent and honest with prosacutr.

gl bro, fight it.

 

[millerman]

Jomi, I know exactly how you feel. A few months ago, I went to a local convienent store after work to grab some brews. Well, on the way home, I was doing about 55 in a 40. I was on a long straight away, looked into my rearview, and saw someone coming up on me like a bat outta hell. So I took my foot off the gas thinking it's just some punk kid and I'll let him pass me. Then the lights and sirens came on. By the time he had caught up to me, I was only going 40. The conversation went something like this:

me: is there a problem officer?

cop: Do you know how fast you were going back there?

me: No sir, how fast was i going?

cop: Well, I don't know exactly how fast you were, going, but I was going 90 to catch up with you.

He ended up just giving me a warning, but I have to ask, who was the real danger in that situation, me going 55 or him going 90?

 

[Jayhawkk]

Guys, you're(some of ya) are under the impression that cops are somehow above human emotion and action as well as corruption. It is going to happen. I've been a victim myself. I give advice to help not to see ya get screwed.

Telling stories of how you got ****ed won't do you any good in court neithe will having an attitude when you're there.

Dress well
Yes your honor or sir/ma'am
No excessive piercings/hair styles
Look straight at the judge
Don't stand hands crossed or in pockets
Plead GUILTY! unless you're not guilty then you better have a laywer or the cop isn't there
If you had circumstances like above where you thought stopping was more of an issue than going trhough a yellow light, then tell it.

Remember that there is no prosecutor. There's the judge and the cop. Only MA and jail cases will get those.

 

[millerman]

Sorry if I offended ya Jay, but nobody likes being pulled over. I'm just a little hot about the whole situation. And I do thank everyone for their input and advice.

 

[Cuffs]

Sorry if I offended ya Jay, but nobody likes being pulled over. I'm just a little hot about the whole situation. And I do thank everyone for their input and advice.

Well, you even admitted to speeding. A cop can use a visual estimation of speed if he/she has been deemed an expert in court, which is not all that difficult.

Don't get me wrong, I don't like being pulled over either. Being pulled over is not a pleasant experience. However, the times I have been, I deserved it, with the exception of one time when they pulled the wrong vehicle over.

The thing is, there are some officers who do their job well, and some that don't. The ones that don't, give the others a bad name.

 

[Jayhawkk]

what the hell I had a reply that was ate? I responded to ya millerman and in short i'm not offended but i'm pissed I lost my reply

 

[lifter2005]

Let me rephrase that first part. If the cop doesn't show you'll automatically be found not guilty.

Ive been a police officer for over 3 years now and have missed my fair share of days in court ( sick, too tired from working night shift, vacation, forgot). I have never (knock on wood) lost a traffic case.

 

[Jayhawkk]

Simple traffic like stop sign and speeding? Maybe a DUI case where you weren't needed. Are you a local federal or state cop?

 

[Jayhawkk]

Ive been a police officer for over 3 years now and have missed my fair share of days in court ( sick, too tired from working night shift, vacation, forgot). I have never (knock on wood) lost a traffic case.

What dept. are you still working for that after 3 years all those non excusable excuses were used? Most depts. I know of you would of been booted.

 

[Cuffs]

I just don't write tickets anymore. I give a crapload of warnings though. I feel in most cases that's enough. Now, if a person talks their way into one, then that's on them. My days off are too important for me to be spending in traffic court. With the exception of writing a person for not having a drivers license or suspended license, the last time I wrote a ticket was probably 5 years ago.

 

[lifter2005]

Local Cop in Alabama. If all I missed a major court case, like DUI, drug cases, reckless driving, any misdemeanor cases involving injury, then yes I would have been either, "written up" or given a suspension.
Missing court when all I had was a running red light case, or speeding case, then my Sgt. doesnt really sweat it.

 

[Cuffs]

What dept. are you still working for that after 3 years all those non excusable excuses were used? Most depts. I know of you would of been booted.

Yeah, that's another reason I don't want to go to traffic court. If I forget and don't show up, I can look forward to days on the beach.

 

[Jayhawkk]

How do you get by with the cases being not thrown out when the defendant isn't given the right to face their accuser? That's where i'm confused.

 

[lifter2005]

Ive seen it where other officers werent present for their respective case and the judge will question the defendant and come to a conclusion. The judge will look at the defendants driving record and take into consideration the officers reputation.

 

[Cuffs]

I think he means when he has shown up, he never lost a case.

 

[Cuffs]

Ooops, never mind.

Alabama law is crazzzzyyyyy...lol.

 

[lifter2005]

Actually, the few times I did not make it to court, I still did not lose my traffic cases.

 

[lifter2005]

Yeah we got a few crazy laws, I guess.

 

[Cuffs]

In Ca. an officer must personally identify the person he/she cited to the judge/commisioner during the court trial. If the officer forgets to identify the person, even after giving the facts of the case, the judge will throw the case out.

 

[Jayhawkk]

In maryland there are no prosecutors for minor traffic offenses and without the cop there, there is no one to counter the def. Automatic dismissal.

I can't find the alabama law but every other state I can find is basically the same. I wonder why that state is different. Has to have some kind of different court system.

 

[tomall2]

PA has a weird system also. Wife got a $25 ticket but ended up being over 100 bucks with all the bogus fees. In order to go to court she would have had to pay another $50 fee. Instead she went in front of a magistrate and the only thing he could do was put her on a payment plan. I hope PA doesn't get too overwhelmed with all these payments I now get to make!

 

[Jayhawkk]

At least you got a payment plan. My wife got a chance to empty my bank account in one lump sum

 

[millerman]

hahah, tomall2, I'm in PA. Well, on the citation my fine for the violation said $25 FINE, but then there was the EMS $10, CAT $30, COSTS $31.50, and JCP/ATJ $10!

It's not the money that bothers me really. What really bothers me is the points(3!) and it is a violation that could have gone either way (i.e. yeah the light turned red while i was IN the intersection, could be 50/50 depending on the officer).

But this had made me angry enough tonight and I'm over it, at least till the court date.

EDIT: Oh yeah, that extra $50 is the court cost, which I will have to pay regardless if I win or lose, just like your wife : (

EDIT #2: Oh yeah, just occured to me. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Is there anyway he can actually prove anything?

EDIT #3: (damn it's to early for me to think of a whole post at one time). But I was convicted of a DUI in NJ, which is out my state of residence. The cop never showed up (like I prayed to God would happen, and this is something I don't usually do). However, appearently, they don't need to in NJ, I got the DUI anyways...All I could think to myself was the irony of God granting my prayer and the ensuing conviction. (followed by the ensuing depression). I am still not really over that because it will greatly impact my ability to get a job after I graduate college in May.

 

[lifter2005]

hahah, tomall2, I'm in PA. Well, on the citation my fine for the violation said $25 FINE, but then there was the EMS $10, CAT $30, COSTS $31.50, and JCP/ATJ $10!

It's not the money that bothers me really. What really bothers me is the points(3!) and it is a violation that could have gone either way (i.e. yeah the light turned red while i was IN the intersection, could be 50/50 depending on the officer).

But this had made me angry enough tonight and I'm over it, at least till the court date.

EDIT: Oh yeah, that extra $50 is the court cost, which I will have to pay regardless if I win or lose, just like your wife : (

EDIT #2: Oh yeah, just occured to me. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? Is there anyway he can actually prove anything?

EDIT #3: (damn it's to early for me to think of a whole post at one time). But I was convicted of a DUI in NJ, which is out my state of residence. The cop never showed up (like I prayed to God would happen, and this is something I don't usually do). However, appearently, they don't need to in NJ, I got the DUI anyways...All I could think to myself was the irony of God granting my prayer and the ensuing conviction. (followed by the ensuing depression). I am still not really over that because it will greatly impact my ability to get a job after I graduate college in May.

Use you DUI conviction as a learning experience. In future job interviews, express to your employer that yes, you made a mistake, and explain to them how much you learned from that mistake. Volunteer with a local organziation for a few months and that volunteerism should overshadow a DUI conviction. Having said that, if you caused injury in an accident as a result of being DUI, then that will be a major obstacle to overcome.
Good luck.

 

[Mrs. Gimpy!]

i almost got a big ticket about a month ago....it was my first time being pulled over....i was so surprised....freaked out.... haha . i was driving normal (at least i thought so...) and there was no one on the road and i went to turn and i saw a cop behind me.... no lights so i thought nothing of it. right when i got done turning the lights went on and didnt know what the heck i did!

me: hi...
officer: hi can i see your registration.....
me: im sorry, but what did i do wrong exactly?
officer: i will tell you in just a second. can i get see your registration?
me: um, its in my trunk. let me get it for you really quick
officer: <gives me a wierd look> okay....
me: <open the trunk and give it to him>
officer: i need your license too.... unless its in the trunk as well <slight chuckle>
me: no my license is in my purse in the front! i only had my registration in the trunk just this once because i recently cleaned my car.....
officer: okay.....

in the end he ended up giving everythi8ng back to me and said that he was just going to let me go on a warning and that i rolled a stop light (which i probably did) and i was going 20mph over the speed limit (HIGHLY unlikely). rolling a red+speeding= potentially large ticket.....ew....

he was very nice though...... lets hop0e that i dont get too many experiences with cops though to form a good opinion.

 

[ArnoldIsMyIdol]

Cops give out lots of tickets in High Point for bull**** reasons. The highway running into the city is in the best condition of any I know, part of it is brand new. Its the safest road to speed. Yet as soon as you cross into the city limits the speed limit immediatly drops 10mph even though the road conditions do not change. It's a bull**** money grab is what it is.

What they should do with all the money for fines, put it in a fund and give it back to the taxpayers at the end of the year instead of giving it to the courts. I bet they don't write many tickets after that.

Court is a joke. You can get out of the ticket maybe if you go to driving school and pay another $40. the last driving school I
went to was supposed to be like 4 hours, it was 30 minutes.

Think I learned anything? No but then again I am already an excellent driver. Even though I've had alot of tickets when you consider the fact that I speed everyday-for every ticket I got there were probably 1000 times I sped and got away with it.


Even my attorney told me tickets are all about revenue for the city.

A tip: rader detectors DO WORK. They have saved me probably 12 times in the last month. Most cops around here have their fingers krazy glued to the radar trigger. However a once in awhile (including last night) there was one that just hit the trigger as I was passing by that I did not have any advance warning. But I wasn't really speeding anyway so it didn't matter.

My advice to you is to get an attorney and have your ticket dissappear. He might charge you 100-150. Last year I had 2 court dates in 2 counties on the SAME DAY. my attorney went to one, had it knocked down to improper equipment so no points. I went to the other and took the lame-ass driving school option.

 

[Jayhawkk]

I bet they don't write many tickets after that.

Do you think the cops see any money or write ticket based off who gets the money?

No but then again I am already an excellent driver.

I won't argue with that but you're not quite a smart one yet if you keep getting busted over and over again.

A tip: rader detectors DO WORK. They have saved me probably 12 times in the last month.

They work, sure. In most cases though when you get the warning you have already been caught and you either aren't getting a ticket because a) you didn't pass the min. threshold the cop uses before making a stop or b) another car got the tag c) too many cars in a group.

If you rely on a radar detector you're gonna get busted. Not to mention if the cop sees it as he stops you it's probably gonna end up being a ticket instead of a warning.

 

[mp5man1]

Yep, quotas are illegal and in all my years I know of no law enforcement ageny in the U.S. that practice quotas. If they did, they would be in a world of hurt by a Grand Jury. Oh, and officers don't get any extra money, or bonuses, for writing tickets or making arrests, or for anything...

Does that mean I have to give back the toaster oven I got.
(just kidden)

I never miss court. We do get in hot water for not showing at my Department. I don't write many and give warnings most of the time. I don't give warnings on Red lights and speeding in the fog and the other really bad stuff that would make any of you pissed if you saw someone do and had that where's a cop when you need him thought. My reasons for this are the fatal T/As I'v been to from these violations.

Having said that I don't like working traffic. Maintaining a shift average has been tried as a preformance measure on officers but quotas are against the law.

Now that I have transfered to a school I hand out stickers all day and no cites at all.

 

[ArnoldIsMyIdol]

Do you think the cops see any money or write ticket based off who gets the money?

That does not matter. It works like this: City needs money. Mayor tells city police to step up patrols, increase ticket enforcement. Police chief passes the mayors order on to the police force. Tickets increase, city gets the money it needs.

I don't think the cop who wrote the ticket thought about the money, but the higher ups have got the system setup to bring in the dough.



The trick with the rader is to stay several hundred feet behind another car so that when the cop clocks them you have a chance to slow down.

 

[Jayhawkk]

I wish I paid enough attention to remember tricks of avoiding radar
I still get caught in known radar traps cause i've got the attention span of a...ooooh neat smiley face thingie! Where was I? Oh, add a half tbl of butter and mix then put in the oven for 35 monutes or until golden brown.