Got a ticket...need help

[rajiv1998]

I got two tickets today. 1 for tints and another for careless driving. This is what happened. I was comming to a stop at a red light and notice there was a minivan in the left lane. Since it was a 2 lane road I went into the right. The light turns green and we go. I was about even with him at around 2.5k in first and decide to pass him. The road was turning into one lane and there was a truck parked in the right lane. I speeded up and didnt mean to cut the guy off but i had to or else i would hit the truck. Well he gets behind me and throws in his highbeams and starts tailgating me. It wasnt untill about a mile that a cop pulls us over. He said that he saw him with his highbeams and tailgating me. I told him what happened, but since he wasnt there to see it, he wrote me 2 tickets. one for tints (could care less about that one) and one for careless driving. He said i could go to court and pleed innocent, but if i am found guilty i would get 2 points on my license. I have to go to court on the 29th, but what exactly do i have to do. What do i tell the judge and how long will the points be on my license?

[jrc1122]

What was the ticket for, the intial "cut off" -- or did you react to the highbeam tailgating A-hole?

Sometimes the reaction often times is the one that gets punished.

['00T/A]

flashing your high beams is illeagal too ive heard, dude honestly, whos gonna get the ticket, the guy in the minivan or the guy in the badass trans am? id take it to court, plead your case, if you get a reasonable judge youll probablly get off, youve got to present yourself when you go though, dress nice and speak properly. maybe even look into a traffic lawyer who will show up for you plead your case and let you know the outcome, some even guarantee that they will get you out of it


whats your past record? the less tickets you have the better it looks when your there

[shanepatrick1230]

always pled incocent for sure, they always drop it lower because they dont have time to deal with lawers and stuff, atleast in newyork

['00T/A]

and another thing, ive also been told that if the officer didnt actually witness something going down then he cannot ticket anyone, but since he did see the minivan he should be the one getting the ticket...tailgating, reckless driving whatever.


also, how the hell is going to give you a ticket in that situation when he didnt see it happen and he doesnt know whats going on? im getting super pissed off here, let me know how it goes

my old criminal justice teacher told me to always ask an officer to "prove it" when being ticketed, sounds like this guy couldnt do that.

were you polite? angry? or pissy with the officer? this could also effect how the court goes down, if you challenge it he'll have to show up and tell why he ticketed you, which may be interesting hearing him explain that(he might not even show up in which case your ticket would be dissmissed) alot of times ive heard of judges asking the officer how polite the person was while being tickteted

[rajiv1998]

The cop knew i didnt do anything wrong. He said my record was clean. Would it have killed the guy if he just let me passed? He even said "When i saw u turning the corner, u werent speeding. The guy behind u was flashing his highbeams" He just wasnt there to see it, i wish he was so i could get off. None the less im going to court and plleeding. The lady in the car was screaming at the top of her lounges "Its his fault. Dam kids and their hot rods" Actually im friends with one of the cops in my town. I wish he pulled me over so i could get away w/ just a warning.

[rajiv1998]

and another thing, ive also been told that if the officer didnt actually witness something going down then he cannot ticket anyone, but since he did see the minivan he should be the one getting the ticket...tailgating, reckless driving whatever.


also, how the hell is going to give you a ticket in that situation when he didnt see it happen and he doesnt know whats going on? im getting super pissed off here, let me know how it goes

my old criminal justice teacher told me to always ask an officer to "prove it" when being ticketed, sounds like this guy couldnt do that.

were you polite? angry? or pissy with the officer? this could also effect how the court goes down, if you challenge it he'll have to show up and tell why he ticketed you, which may be interesting hearing him explain that(he might not even show up in which case your ticket would be dissmissed) alot of times ive heard of judges asking the officer how polite the person was while being tickteted

I was super polite to him and always called him "officer." I dont know why he gave me a ticket when he didnt see anything just the guy tailgating me. Wut the fuck?? the lady in the other car was screaming. The officer also didnt like the "tone" of my exhaust

['00T/A]

I was super polite to him and always called him "officer." I dont know why he gave me a ticket when he didnt see anything just the guy tailgating me. Wut the fuck?? the lady in the other car was screaming. The officer also didnt like the "tone" of my exhaust

dude fuck him, and that bitch in the minivan, lets look at this rationally

officer sees
*black sports car rounding corner at speed limit
*black sports car driving calmly down road
*minivan tailgating black sports car(who is driving normally)
*minivan exhibiting wrecklessley behavior(sort of)
*minivan flashing her high beams
*minivan occupant screaming vulgaritys while you and the officer were
conducting business
*you being very polite towards the officer while she was being quite rude


how did you get the ticket?? any idiot can look at this guide i just laid out and form a rational conlcusion that this lady was much more deserving of a ticket

even if she didnt get a ticket who says a ticket had to be issued? how about a talking to and a warning for both? jesus christ im about to have a stroke

[vannatte]

How can he write you a ticket for something he didn't see? There is NO WAY that would hold up in court. You should've just acted dumb and play it off like the dumb bitch behind you must be mental and you had no idea why she was tailgating you. The only thing the cop knows is that you told him you basically cut her off. Maybe by you saying that, its an admission of guilt. I still doubt that will hold up in court. It doesn't matter anyway, if the cop doesn't show up for the hearing, the ticket will get dropped. My brother is a cop, I'll ask him about it and repost later.

['00T/A]

How can he write you a ticket for something he didn't see? There is NO WAY that would hold up in court. You should've just acted dumb and play it off like the dumb bitch behind you must be mental and you had no idea why she was tailgating you. The only thing the cop knows is that you told him you basically cut her off. Maybe by you saying that, its an admission of guilt. I still doubt that will hold up in court. It doesn't matter anyway, if the cop doesn't show up for the hearing, the ticket will get dropped. My brother is a cop, I'll ask him about it and repost later.

yea dude i wanna hear what he says

[firemedic0135]

I would have to Balk on the carless driving citation.
I will ask some of the officers next door at the pd next time I am at work and see what they have to say.
However the law varies from state to state.

[TMF]

How can the cop ticket you, if he didn't witness the infraction? I'd fight that one

[SSwt00SS]

so you accelerate to pass and 'merged' into the left lane, all while being under the posted speed limit and you got a ticket for careless driving...

plead not guilty and say those exact words. if need be, then continue to say, "i have no clue why the driver of the other vehicle started to drive erratically, flash her brights and tailgate me upto the point of an officer stopping us both. i had no clue why i was being stopped. i was calm and talked to the officer politely, while the driver of the other vehicle was screaming and using poor language throughout the duration of the traffic stop. the officer in no way shape, form or fashion saw or witnessed any traffic violation being commited by me PERIOD, even stating i was under the speed limit, INSTEAD he saw and witnessed the other driver in the act of driving erratically, flashing brights and tailgating me. This citation is hersey: no traffic violation was commited or witnessed in the visual or auditable range of this officer that warrented this course of action taken. He assumed and felt that i broke the law and there is no solid hard proof that any infraction or violation took place on my part. I was pulled over and for reasons unknown to me, and I was issued a Careless Driving citation, while the other driver was not issued anything for their blantant driving behavior. This citation needs to be dismissed for lack of any proof and evidence. Assumption and/or Feeling that I had broken any driving law is a violation of my rights, and is not probable cause to being issued the ciation ticket i received. The officer profiled and ticketed me because of the vehicle i was driving and did not properly issue a citation to the driver who was clearly breaking the law that he DID witnessed and for what I came to find out later the reason for being pulled over."

court is a war of words my friend. be prepared (time of day, weather, take pics) and call a lawyer if need be and listen to what they say...GOOD LUCK

lesson learned here, just say 'yes officer' or 'no officer'. dont EVER disclose anything more than necessary or you risk the chance of waving/losing your 4th admendment rights...

[rajiv1998]

so you accelerate to pass and 'merged' into the left lane, all while being under the posted speed limit and you got a ticket for careless driving...

plead not guilty and say those exact words. if need be, then continue to say, "i have no clue why the driver of the other vehicle started to drive erratically, flash her brights and tailgate me upto the point of an officer stopping us both. i had no clue why i was being stopped. i was calm and talked to the officer politely, while the driver of the other vehicle was screaming and using poor language throughout the duration of the traffic stop. the officer in no way shape, form or fashion saw or witnessed any traffic violation being commited by me PERIOD, even stating i was under the speed limit, INSTEAD he saw and witnessed the other driver in the act of driving erratically, flashing brights and tailgating me. This citation is hersey: no traffic violation was commited or witnessed in the visual or auditable range of this officer that warrented this course of action taken. He assumed and felt that i broke the law and there is no solid hard proof that any infraction or violation took place on my part. I was pulled over and for reasons unknown to me, and I was issued a Careless Driving citation, while the other driver was not issued anything for their blantant driving behavior. This citation needs to be dismissed for lack of any proof and evidence. Assumption and/or Feeling that I had broken any driving law is a violation of my rights, and is not probable cause to being issued the ciation ticket i received. The officer profiled and ticketed me because of the vehicle i was driving and did not properly issue a citation to the driver who was clearly breaking the law that he DID witnessed and for what I came to find out later the reason for being pulled over."

court is a war of words my friend. be prepared (time of day, weather, take pics) and call a lawyer if need be and listen to what they say...GOOD LUCK

lesson learned here, just say 'yes officer' or 'no officer'. dont EVER disclose anything more than necessary or you risk the chance of waving/losing your 4th admendment rights...

Ok i feel a little better and i will tell u more detailed stuff when he pulled us over. This is what EXACTLY HAPPEND...

He gets to my window and says
Officer: Whats going on here
Me: I didnt do anything wrong. I was in the right lane near the light when it turned green. I had to get into the left lane becasue it was turning into a 1 lane road and there was a truck about 200ft parked in front of me in my lane after the intersection. I was even with him when we took off and i had to get into the left, so i sped up and got into the lane. Thats when he proceeded to flash his highbeams and tailgate me.
Officer: Ok sit tight and ill be back (comes out 15 min later) Talks to the minivan guy first and then comes to me
Officer: Ok i wrote u 2 tickets. One for the tints (which i dont care) and one for careless driving.
Me: Officer, u saw me when i was comming up the corner from zitas (ice cream store) I was driving normally. I tried braking to get him off me but it didnt work
Officer: Yeah i saw u, u didnt do anything wrong. The only reason I pulled u over was i saw him tailgating u. When i got out of the car, i came to know what happened. I have to give u a ticket cuz hes saying something differant and ur saying somehting differant. He got a ticket for using highbeams and careless driving (I think)
Me: Listen look at my record, it clean
Officer: I know but that has nothing to do with the situation. The court date is on the back.
Me: Ok fine. Good bye

HOW THE FUCK CAN HE GIMME A TICKET BASED ON ANOTHER GUYS STORY. HE HAS NOOOO PROOOOOFFF.

[86 IROC-Z]

Say your guilty and pay the fine. Unless you enjoy spending a long time in government buildings (I don't).

[Neo]

Say your guilty and pay the fine. Unless you enjoy spending a long time in government buildings (I don't).

Buddy that made zero sense.

@ Raj, The cop gave you the ticket because there were conflicting stories. It's what they're instructed to do. It sucks, but it's what they do, because they don't know who's lying and who's telling the truth. Sure, your record's clean, but the minivanner's might have been too. Nothing you can do, man. Go to court, plead innocent, hope the cop's there so he can give his side, and if the cop tells the truth, you should be fine. Hell, maybe the minivanner'll be there, too. The fuck.

[TMF]

Buddy that made zero sense.

@ Raj, The cop gave you the ticket because there were conflicting stories. It's what they're instructed to do. It sucks, but it's what they do, because they don't know who's lying and who's telling the truth. Sure, your record's clean, but the minivanner's might have been too. Nothing you can do, man. Go to court, plead innocent, hope the cop's there so he can give his side, and if the cop tells the truth, you should be fine. Hell, maybe the minivanner'll be there, too. The fuck.

My bet is the Cop won't even show...........you win, at the least the DA will reduce the charge

[Neo]

My bet is the Cop won't even show...........you win, at the least the DA will reduce the charge

Yeah, or that. Either, way, you should get off.

Haha, I said get off

But yes, there's no way that you should have to pay for the careless driving ticket. Tints is a whole other story.

[whitelightnin99]

instead of cutting in front of him since you "had nowhere to go" , couldnt you have just let him pass and got in behind him??

[TMF]

instead of cutting in front of him since you "had nowhere to go" , couldnt you have just let him pass and got in behind him??

OMG, you offer common sense? how refreshing