Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.
Traffic Court Advice
Okay, so several weeks ago, I got pulled over at a side road near my home while doing nothing inparticular. There were two officers looking at every car that went by this two-lane road in both directions. They stopped me and wrote me a ticket for having an expired inspection sticker. The officer was pretty cool about it, saying if I had it inspected that weekend, I could just plead 'not guilty' and send in the ticket with the copy of the inspection. I did.
A week or so ago, I got a notice of a court date for the traffic court. So I gather all my information together, and I figure I'll go in and simply tell the judge exactly what the officer told me. I'm actually surprised they bothered to set a date and to call me up in the first place.
I just don't want to get fined. Any advice?
A week or so ago, I got a notice of a court date for the traffic court. So I gather all my information together, and I figure I'll go in and simply tell the judge exactly what the officer told me. I'm actually surprised they bothered to set a date and to call me up in the first place.
I just don't want to get fined. Any advice?
Comments
I'd say show up and make the case that you hardly ever drive the car, and it had simply slipped your mind. It wasn't very far past the expiration date at all, and you corrected it IMMEDIATLY after the officer pointed it out, following his advice. I'll bet the officer won't even bother showing up to the trial.
At least, no matter what the court does, it wouldn't be a moving violation, and the fine is pretty small for an expired inspection. Worst-case scenario: you get zero points and pay a small fine. It can only get better from there.
My favourite was way back when I showed up to fight a bogus $12 parking ticket. There's a bar/rail in front of the judge's desk, and you're supposed to stand in front of it. There is a sign, very large, on the front of this stating "DO NOT LEAN ON RAIL." in large type. On top of the rail, there is another sign stating the same thing.
On average, a good 2/3 of the people pleading cases leaned heavily on it. Every time someone did, the judge would raise an eyebrow, but not say a word. A few times, he'd glance sidelong at the bailiff, who just smiled. One dude leaned wide, his hands perfectly framing the upper sign, and even leaned OVER the rail toward the judge. Again, just the eyebrow.
No one who leaned on that rail was found innocent. No one who did not lean on that rail was found guilty.
I consider that a fair test.
I asked the same question when I first moved to New York. Some states in the US require annual or semi-annual vehicle inspections for car owners.
Apparently though, only a few states, like New York, seem to realize that it is in the best interest of people to keep dangerous vehicles off the road as well. The New York system for doing so, while also not perfect, kind of works. If your car is dangerous, odds are they won't let you drive it. Keep shitty cars off the road I say.
The inspection system really only hurts people driving dangerous vehicles who cannot afford to repair them.
If your state is anything like KY, TN, IN, or MD, your charge should be dismissed upon a showing of your current inspection. If you're in VA, then I don't know what to tell you. VA has some nasty traffic laws.
If the same thing happens on a bridge in NYC it'd wreak havoc for hours!
Tolls I got used to. Inspections I realized were actually pretty nice. The registration thing is silly, but I see the purpose. Left turn on red doesn't make sense when you don't really have properly divided highways.
In truth, had New York not forced me to get my car inspected, I wouldn't likely have realized that my front right control arm bushing was shot until it was too late.
There are crazy numbers of cars about, and yet no vehicle inspections. It's not really a matter of car density. ^_~
There are crazy numbers of cars about, and yet no vehicle inspections. It's not really a matter of car density. ^_~
I'm just saying it should be a matter of traffic density. Did it wreak havoc? Did you make the news? HAha.It's not as crazy as it sounds. Many major roads out there are divided with large turnarounds in the center. Instead of turning left, you go past the street, turn around, and then turn right, or else turn right, then turnaround and go straight. These turnarounds are sometimes controlled by traffic lights. Since it's essentially a one-way street intersecting a one-way street, the same rules for turning right on red apply to turning left.
There are also the blinking reds. At any non-divided intersection, the left turn red light will often blink at certain times. This means that you can turn left on red after a complete stop. The timing of this is pretty standard, and you can navigate many intersections without even looking at the lights themselves.
I got pulled over once for doing it in Rochester. The cop totally let me off after we discussed for a while what I'd done wrong. I'm sure it helped that I still had a Michigan plate and Michigan driver's license.
Cop: Do you know why I pulled you over?
Rym: Err, no. Is my taillight out or something?
Cop: What did you do just now?
Rym: I stopped, turned left on red, and continued.
Cop: Which is why I pulled you over.
Rym: Eh? What's wrong with that? I came to a complete stop.
...
Cop: Michigan is pretty messed up. Don't do it again.
The lights here almost never blink. Instead, you just get the green light and have to fight past the oncoming traffic, unless you're lucky enough to have a green arrow (most intersections don't).