NooB1FieD

Monday 5/2/05 I was going to school and turned off cathcart road onto highway 9. When I turned left I saw my buddies at the light and waved. About a minute later, my friend calls and says "Hey, how are you making your reverse lights stay on?" I was like "uhh, I am not thanks for tell'in me." When school got out at 2:05, I left and headed home. I came off highway 9 and headed back up cathcart road and came over the big hill and saw a cop on the other side. His lights were on and he was filling paperwork of somkind. I passed him (he was probably 100 feet from my housing development entrance) and was wasnt worried about my lights, because he wasnt even in his car, and I was going by him at 45 mph. I turned right, and went probably another 300 feet and heard him come tearing around the corner, and when I saw him pass the truck behind me, I knew he wanted me. I stopped, and he got out, asked the infamous question "Do you know why I pulled you over?" I answered "Yes, my reverse lights are stuck on." He takes my license and registration, hands back my insurance, and goes back to his car to fondle around for 15 minutes. When he came back to my car, I had already thought of every possible thing I could have said to respond to his question, most ending with me getting more than a fix-it-ticket. He handed me my license and gave me a ticket for reverse lights on in forward motion. $101 dollars, pink slip. I was so pissed off. I have nothing on my driving record, never been pulled over or in trouble with the police, and I dont even get a verbal warning. I was so nice to him too, with the yes sir, my license is in my wallet which I am sitting on, my insurance and registration are in the glove box, can I get them for you? (I understand that me being a teenager, he was trying to give me ****) I talked to my neighbor (FBI) and he laughed at me and told me I would probably get it dropped. I even told the cop I was on my way home to fix it, and that my dad was a mechanic (Im sure he had heard that one before). So now I have to go to court for something as retarded as reverse lights. My dad is taking it in to his shop after he has his back surgery (2nd time he broke disks in his back).

What do you guys think? I am furious that I didnt even get a warning, as I was not even 15 seconds away from home, and only found out about the problem earlier that morning. It was fine last friday for school. What a shitty ticket, probably trying to meet his quota, and they do have quotas for tickets! (My FBI neighbor told me this.)

Rio Grande

First you posted this in the wrong section, but that's not my point.

Go to court and explain your story to the judge. Be respectful and don't have an attitude. That's all you can really do, just hope that the judge is nice.

The cop was porbably trying to meet his quota or he is just an

slayer4u

^^^^^^^^^
This is exactly what you need to do. On the back of the ticket it gives you three options. Pay the ticket w/o protest, protest the ticket, and Acept responcibility for the ticket but explan the midigating factors to a judge. Often times these get thrown out anyways so I would recomend the last option.

juddz

I figure that since you were polite to him, he would have been a little easier on you. But he was probably desensitized to your good nature. I think you were probably doing alright, until you told him you were on your way to get it fixed. For all he knows, you could have been driving around with broken lamps for months, with no intention of ever fixing it. And, for all he knows, you could have been warned a half dozen times before about it.

Cops see so much scum, hear so many excuses and lies, and pretty much see a disproportionate amount of the negative aspects in society that I guess it probably becomes easier in time to become more of a hardass. It also becomes a little easier to write you a ticket when tax revenues are down in pretty much every American city, and that guy probably has not seen a good raise in a while. Tickets become a major source of revenues for the city...

Better luck next time. I would go to court. If the cop doesn't show up when you contest the ticket, you'll get it dropped (no questions asked).

kargoboy

Good luck with fighting it. I agree with juddz, cops are desensitized from all the ******** out there. Was he a jerk, yeah, probably, but keep up the polite attitude and you have a good chance of getting off the hook.

TitaniumMSP

that is freakin stupid a cop would write a ticket for that if he was trying for the quota it should have been a couple days earlier cause the cops around here the end of the month they will pull you over just looking at them wrong and then find somehting to give you a ticket...I have never personally had a ticket "knock on wood"

NooB1FieD

I know when I told him that my dad was a mechanic and I was coming home to fix it, that it would be a long shot for him to beleive me. I wasn't expecting him to say "Oh, well your going home to fix it and you say your dad is a mechanic? Well sorry for me bother'in, have a good day!" but I did expect him to say somthing along the lines of "just get it fixed". Today I went and took pictures to show the judge (if it even comes to that) to show how close I was to home and how I only commuted 10-15 minutes, probably 25 minutes total for the day. (I would have turned around to get it fixed, but I needed to go to my high school, or I would have had that retarded becca law on my *** for more than 10 unexcused absenses from all year. Im out in less than a month.)

jster28

Take it to traffic court and show proof of it being fixed. The judge will drop the fine. Its only a fix it ticket, it doesnt go on your record. The officer should have just given you a fix it ticket and you would show proof it was fix and have a cop write it off and send it back in. I know, had many fix it tickets back in the days.

MC

damnn i guess cops r bad over there as they are here....

das some load of crap though.... $101 for something so trivial u found out only earlier....

i dont know how it works over there but contest it hehe damn no need to put up with crap like dat from cops

ghettopro

Bah, I figured my situation would be a warning to but i got a ticket (60 - 40 mph) but mine will be dropped if i stay out of legal trouble for 6 months sometime around september i go back to court, but, good luck.

now days, NEVER EXPECT A WARNING, lol

NooB1FieD

I guess so.... kinda defeats the purpose of even telling your end of the story if you just have to repeat yourself in court. The Protege gets fixed this week!!!

midnightblue97

Good kill....
I was hoping to be able to chastise somebody for bragging about doing stupid ****.
Oh well, another day.

NooB1FieD

so you go tit deffered

bbsid

In the 35 years that I've been driving, I've had nothing simular to what you've had. I have been pulled over for no tail light, etc that I didn't know about or just found out on that same day. And always got out with just a warning ticket or verbal warning.

One time I got pulled over for not having a current license sticker on my car. That really puzzled me because I had just renewed it. With the cop watching me, I looked in my purse and there it was! I had forgotten to put in on the license plate! The cop let me go without a ticket!

In your case, I'd go to court instead of paying the ticket. Yeah....that takes time out of your day, but if you are courteous, dress well....no blue jeans....slacks and a clean pressed shirt tucked in. Go before the judge and tell him/her exactly what you told us here, (have proof that you have fixed the back-up light problem) I'm sure that you will get out of a ticket.

Good luck!

NooB1FieD

Thanks for the advice. I figured that if I just told my case and show him my reciept and defective part (its a little harness thing), he would let me go. I dont mind going to court, I can just have lunch with my dad or somthing in town then go to court. I just hope he doesnt say somthing like "I dont see any labor charge" and think I am lying. (my dad took it into work tuesday and did the labor himself).