2000MaximaSE

First of all its good to be back.. i work alot now with my website and my own retail store so im never on.... So on the way back from the store tonight i get pulled over and issued 4 citations..

One was for speeding.... understandable and wont fight it.. 78 in a 65. but the other 3 are great.... The first being that i pulled off to the left of the freeway instead of the right... wtf??!?!?
next one is my turn signals are white not red or orange. again understandable so i will fix it and show the court i did fix it. The next is the best.. My reverse bulbs are the SAME EXACT white bulbs as my turn signals yet he said my reverse lights are blue!! wtf is he talking about?? not to stereotype cops but he was seriously an *******.. When i told him my reverse lights are indeed white not blue he says "Yes they are blue and you know it because its your car"..... his next intelligent one liner was " You know your supposed to pull off the the right because you took a test for this (holds up my licence) so you know you pull off to the right"... The after filling out my full page ticket he has me sign it and basicly throws my copy into the car with out saying a word and walks back to his car..
so any suggestions for my court date??

serin

iTrader: (2)

ooooh. not very cool.

woosh

Recall everything, write it down, and plead not guilty to all. Next, do a search on the org. There's some good info on here in different posts where ppl received tickets.

Fight even the speeding ticket on the grounds that it still has to be proven. Also if you beat the others and convey the officers attitude during the whole process, winning the others may carry over on the speeding. Good luck.

water-cooled TT power plant dreams
SHIFT_woosh

Lost My HID

I agree with the previous poster. Plead non-guilty to ALL. Then, when the court time comes, start discussing the most rediculous one: Pulling over to the left. I'm no lawyer, but I can argue that I wouldn't have to have pulled to the left but for the cop. Also, in emergency cases, if there is a break-down lane on the left, you can safely pull into it, so why is this any different. Then take a video or picture of the white reverse lights. Which by the way, how did he know where blue if you didn't put the car in reverse? Was it just from putting the car in parking? If so, then tell the court that it was always white and the officer had less than a second to see them on while you shifted to park. Tell them that you offer to show it to him again but instead you were met with sarcasm and ridicule. With these two, you should have enough to show that the cop's attitude was not professional and MAYBE you can get the other two dismissed.

This worked for me in a previous case where I was pulled over in the highway for allegedly doing 75mph in a 65mph. He also gave me a ticket for passing a car in the right most lane instead of moving to the left most lane. Mind you that there are no signs, like in NJ, that says the left lane is for passing only or anything like that. The judge asked the cop why was it that in a divided, 3 lane highway, she couldn't pass a car in the right when all other cars were going slow? He just said that it was illegal and didn't explain it any further. The judge disagreed with him and threw out that ticket. The speeding ticket was marked "observed" which she probably took to mean that he gave me that as an additional ticket for the heck of it because I didn't have to say anything before she said that she was also throwing that one out. It felt good!

My advice is to be very polite and soft spoken. Dress nicely, shave, comb your hair, etc, etc. When the judge asks you to speak, say that you disagree with the officer, not that he was wrong or was an as.hole, etc. But most important of all, don't admit any guilt like I did in a previous session. The ticket in that one was for 45 in a 30 and I got a bit nervous and said that I was not going that fast and that at most it would have been 40mph. Before I could utter my next sentence, she said "A $xx fine for 40mph. Next" It sucks because I had prepared with video and all to explain that it was a hill with curves, and that he couldn't have clocked me for the required minimum time/distance, etc, etc.

Have fun. It is an experience to be sitting there in court listening to all sorts of cases before they call yours.

Maxima Dan

You are told to pull to the right and slow down for all emergency vehicles. This is universal to all states and is pretty much common sense. I am a bit suprised that he didn't just tell you over the loudspeaker that you need to get over to the right.

Definately go to court. Sounds like he was just being a real ***. The judge should throw out a few of the tickets.

Y2KSESteve

iTrader: (22)

I got 5 citations in one stop once. He had to go onto the next ticket to finish it all. He was a big time a$$. Every single one for the bulbs on my car, heads, tails, sides, reverse, and license plate lights. Just switch them all back and show the court that they have been fixed. All my citations got dropped.

grey2002_ny

Don't feel bad, when I was in high school I was in the back of my friends car going to lunch. He got caught speeding through a red light in the left lane.

We were pulled over by four cops and he went from having 0 points on his license to 19 (I think he lost it after 12 points, but I think they just wanted to rub it in)

I wasn't even driving and I was sh****ng a brick.

tampamax

One was for speeding.... understandable and wont fight it.. 78 in a 65. but the other 3 are great.... The first being that i pulled off to the left of the freeway instead of the right... wtf??!?!?
next one is my turn signals are white not red or orange. again understandable so i will fix it and show the court i did fix it. The next is the best.. My reverse bulbs are the SAME EXACT white bulbs as my turn signals yet he said my reverse lights are blue!! wtf is he talking about?? not to stereotype cops but he was seriously an *******.. When i told him my reverse lights are indeed white not blue he says "Yes they are blue and you know it because its your car"..... his next intelligent one liner was " You know your supposed to pull off the the right because you took a test for this (holds up my licence) so you know you pull off to the right"... The after filling out my full page ticket he has me sign it and basicly throws my copy into the car with out saying a word and walks back to his car..
so any suggestions for my court date?? [/B][/QUOTE]



For what this is worth I have been to traffic court a total of 12 times and never had one stick. Ten of the twelve times were to fight frivolous citations that (trust me) I did nothing wrong. Anyway, gathering from my experiences and from what you've said it's my belief that this cop would a complete fool to try to show up to court to justify these tickets. A good lengthy explaination was giving as to how to prepare to argue you case. You probably won't be relaxed when you go to court but you should put yourself at ease because if the cop is a big enough fool to show then you will not have to do much in the way to prove this to the judge 'madjistrate'(msp?). I've found it imperative to let the cop give his explaination first. I got off once when the cop showed for different ticket he had written that someone was trying to fight, and because he was there had to try to 'defend himself' for the ticket he gave me. He had no reason for issueing the citation and apologized for incoveniencing(msp?) me, all because he was having a bad day. You are standing on solid ground when it comes to fight this. Prepare for the worst and expect the best. This cop will sound like an idiot trying to explain everything if he is dumb enough to show.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

You were speeding and you got caught. So pay the price and go on with life.

Blue/Super White what ever you want to call those bulbs are illegal. Fix them, show the court a reciept for bulbs and take a pic of the lights corrected. That ticket will get dismissed.

Pulling over to the left is definately a Unless you live in England that is.

You can eaisly get the lights dismissed, be nice nice in court and you may get off on the left ticket as well. But don't even argue the speeding ticket, just pay it and thank them for dismissing everything else.

MaxedOut2g

hey dont feel so bad....i was driving home from school [which is 6 hours north] and i got pulled for going 106 mph, and although not an excuse, but my speedometer wasnt working properly, but i shouldnt have been going that fast to begin w/...but what really ****es me off while the cop was handing me the ticket, he told me to remove the tint off my windows...kinda like a 'oh yea, got you for this too;'
i dunno, i dont think i was going that fast but i know courts wont believe me....

not to steal your thread, but anybody know court process of 'speed in excess of 100mph' ticket in CA...imma post this in westcoast to but juss some general 411 would be coo
holla

irvine78

iTrader: (2)

you're not suppose to pull over on the left side of the freeway unless you have an emergency and getting pulled over by a CHP isn't one of them. i don't know why the officer didn't tell you over the loud speaker to pull over to the right..so i guess on that ground, you can fight that ticket...

speeding...eh...just pay the fine and go to traffic school if you can.

the blue lights..fix'em. don't even bother with these cuz honestly cops will sometimes look for 'any' excuse to pull you over.

good luck!

zeitgeist57

I got pulled over three days ago for having PIAA turn signals on my 2k1. The cop checked all of my lights (PIAA heads, and also front clear sidemarkers) and the only thing he also had a problem with was my "Blue license plate lights". I explained to him that they were white LED bulbs...they last 100,000 hours" and he seemed to like that answer. After 20 mins of back and forth with me, telling me things like "anything you put on your car that isn't stock is illegal" , he finally said "What's it gonna take for you to get into compliance: an $87 ticket or a warning?" I took my warning, went home, and swapped out my PIAAs in the rear for the stock ugly amber turns.

I'll probably end up getting 2k2 tails and spray the amber turn lens RED I like that look alot, anyway!

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

On the "blue" lights...I assume you have tinted bulbs? Look blue when they are off, but light up white? If so...you got nailed. Tinted bulbs are illegal in most states since they do not meet SAE specifications for the color WHITE.

Too bad on the turn signals. In WA, white turn signals are legal...that law can be different in each state.

tampamax

Before you take anybody advice on this post as the gospel(even mine) check with your 'CURRENT' state statutes. This is how I beat most of mine. Also something to check into is finding a lawyer 'in the county you recieved the citations' to fight this for you. Case in point...in hillsborough and pinellas counties in Florida there is one lawyer that specializes in getting you off with no penalties. Track record is 3,000 plus cases in hillsborough county court system and NO loses. Pinellas i'm not sure of, but do yourself a favor and check the statutes and look for the kind of lawyer as described above.
Good Luck

woosh

That's what we should do. Maybe start a sticky with the following information:

State, county, lawyer info and specialty (no fines, nopoints,etc)

water-cooled TT power plant
SHIFT_woosh

Axel

iTrader: (3)

My friend and I a while back were driving back from St. Louis to Toronto (I'm Canadian) and a Michigan State Trooper pulled him over just before Detroit for speeding. The right shoulder was under construction and the left shoulder was wide and clear so my friend (being in the passing lane) pulled over to the left shoulder. He would have caused an accident had he pulled over to the right shouler because it was too narrow with the construction crap.
The first thing the cop mentioned is, when you're being pulled over, which side are you supposed to stop on? (expecting my friend to say the right side and the cop could have answered something like and what side are you currently on? and therefore give him crap). Instead, my friend answers: which ever side is closer (total bull**** but he answered it as if it were so normal). The cop was like uuh....maybe in Canada, in the US it's on the right side (the cop just let it be). Afterwards, I was laughing so hard my friend came up with such bull**** and the cop fell for it and didn't know what to answer. My friend still got the speeding ticket though

tampamax

Just to clear this whole you must pull over to the right thing. UM...NO...The correct answer and the one the officer would like to hear is "whichever side is 'best' for the officers' safety". Example, I was pulled in VA for speeding while cruising the far left lane in very heavy traffic. When the state police flashed her lights I instictively pulled to the left shoulder. I felt it was pleanty wide for us to pull off the highway and still leave the officer enough room to approach the drivers side of the car. If I would have tried to merge across 3 very busy lanes of traffic I would have cause an accident. The officer was very greatful for the curtesy(msp?) and told me so as those were the first words from her mouth. Got the ticket anyway. The whole officer safety thing was a big reason i was able to connect with the judge and keep him on the line long enough to bs my way out of the ticket.

Axel

iTrader: (3)

This may be true and very good advice. However, in my friend's case, the right shoulder was very narrow (could just barely fit a car) so had my friend pulled over on the right, the cop would have been in the way of traffic. My friend might not have had the cop's safety in mind, he just pulled over instinctively on the left because the right shoulder was just generally unsafe (for the cop, the cars, the drivers in the right lane passing by, etc.). Yet, in this case, the cop didn't say, thanks for pulling over to the left because the right shoulder was very narrow. Instead, he b|tched about which side my friend SHOULD have pulled over in (meaning the right shoulder). I personally think you just encountered an officer that wasn't oblivious to the surroundings and was respectful enough to thank you for it.

NyMaxedOut

iTrader: (8)

How did you pull over to the left anyway? In any event, in NY I know this ticket is auto dismissal, just a waste of time for the cop and he just hope you dont know up. From a previous experience where I was not the driver, I heard you are NOT supposed to pull over on the left and since the cop was 'escorting' you, he/she should have instructed you to move your vehicle to the right. So that ticket is really null and void in NY. Ck your local laws. I bet you that cop owns a nicely riced honda.
Type R= Retard!

griffy2k2max

Yeah, plead not guilty and present your case in court. Let the judge know first that you are not being argumentative. But you are baffled by the all but the speeding charge, which you could have asked to see if he was radar equipped. I've seen motorists pulled over on the left shoulder in NJ. could you have safely pulled off to the right at the time that he ran up on your bumper to run your plates?
Let the judge know the cop was rude. They are supposed to hand you all of your stuff back and let you know that you are free to drive away.
Just my opinion. Did he ask you to put the car in reverse to verify the "blue" back up lights?

ICELANDIC MAX

iTrader: (1)

check out:
http://www.ticketassassin.com/
i don't know if this applies only to california. check your state's speeding laws. i got off of a speeding ticket with a lot of useful info from the website. it's free to register.

max...to the ma

huh... u just reminded me of something
one time, when i was going to court cuz i had gotten a parking ticket and a speeding, but forget to pay both
anyways, i was on vacation, and i did not have my suits ready and i had also dyed my hair for fun, and made spikes.
so when i come in, the judge gives me this look, and looking at my DMV record, i swear i heard her say "how did he become a lawyer, and get such a nice car?"

so i guess u were lucky to get better judges... she ordered me to go back to driving school, and if i didnt know better, i would have probably argued against it

d_warner

OK OK OK.


Here's the deal.

Speeding: Is the officer radar certified. How did he determine your speed. RADAR / LIDAR? Is he certified to use those instruments? At court, have him show proof of certification. Try to slip him up in court. Ask him: "Did you calibrate the Radar or Lidar before you came on duty?" If he says yes, he's lying. They can only be calibrated with extremely high tech equipment. Our Department has someone come in once a month to calibrate ours in our cars. If he says no, try to trip him up again and ask why not. If he's good, he'll answer all of these correctly. You'll probably get lucky though.

Pulled to Left: You screwed up here. In your drivers handbook, it says you must slow and pull to the right for all emergency vehicles.

As for the turn signals, you may be OK there as well. I know here in Texas, Side marker lamps, i.e., your bumper corner lamps must be amber. No Exceptions. As for the blinkers, they can be white or amber. Look on the ticket and see if he wrote you for the blinker bulbs or the marker lamps. If he wrote "blinkers" then you may be able to beat this one too. If he wrote "Marker or corner lenses" then you may be had.

As for the Reverse lights: Here in Texas, I believe they have to be white. What I see when I read your post is that aparently your rear turn bulbs are white too. That is a no-no. You should have no white light showing to the rear of the vehicle except for the rear LP light, or the reverse lights when the car is in reverse only. How did he see your reverse lights? Did you back up on the freeway? I don't see how this could have happened.

I hope this helps. I am a COP, and I am a Maxima Driver as well. Keep in mind that everything I have stated here is according to TEXAS traffic law. Do some research and get on the internet and look up the law before you go to court. Look at it in great detail and basically know it by heart. If you get to court, and you don't even know exactly what the law book reads, you'll look like an idiot.

Also, check the Criminal Complaint. The criminal complaint is the actual complaint issued by the court that charges you with the offense. The information on the complaint, not the ticket is what you are being charged with. You should be able to get a copy of this complaint prior to your court date. This will assist you in defending yourself.

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me anything.

David

ICELANDIC MAX

iTrader: (1)

one cool cop!

Axel

iTrader: (3)

I just want to point out that I tried the same thing myself regarding the radar and for certification, prosecution asked that the judge "assume" the officer was in fact certified and therefore did not require the officer to bring in proof. The judge agreed saying it would be a waste of time. Had I had a lawyer representing me, he might have had a good response to that re "laws" but I didn't since I'm not a lawyer. I went on to ask various technical questions and prosecution again said that I wasn't qualified to ask such questions and that we would need a testimony from a "radar" expert/technician.
Again, a lawyer might have been able to counter that with something like "ok, let's reschedule and get one" or something but when you're at the stand by yourself, it's not as easy to think of every possible answer. (Obviously, the judge sided with prosecution and the cop).
I ended up losing that one and since, I've always bargained with prosecution for a lower charge. If I ever get into the same situation where I'm sure the cop is wrong, etc. I'll get a lawyer or something.
(By the way, in that incident, I asked for the cop to show me my speed on radar and he said he couldn't cause he erased it. I told the judge this and the judge answered that the cop didn't need proof of my speed. His word was good enough. Also, the cop did lose sight of my car since he pulled me over on a different highway than the one he said he caught me speeding on but in court, he said he never lost sight of my car.) I tell you, the whole justice system is a complete joke. This is in Ontario by the way.
Sigh...

d_warner

Regardless if its a joke or not, it is the system. Lets put it this way, there are a few bad cops that make us all look real bad. I hate that fact, but I do realize its the truth. Sorry bout it though.

David

Axel

iTrader: (3)

I'm not saying cops are a joke. I was saying the system is.
I guess my pet peeve is that there's a few bad judges out there that even though have been given proof that someone may be innocent, they still convict them. For example, I know someone that had a handicap pass, parked in a handicap spot. They got a ticket. They went to court with their handicap sign. The parking ticket person admitted they hadn't seen the handicap sign on the windshield and shouldn't have given them a ticket. You'd think it'd be a closed case, but no, judge still convicts them as if they shouldn't have parked there in the first place. I realize cops are simply enforcing the law. (Yes, some are bad, but hey, that's what the judge is for right? A bad cop wrongly charging you for something should be ok once it gets to the judge. You'd think the judge would be objective and notice the cop did something he shouldn't have. Some judges just don't give a damn and charge with no good evidence or worse yet, with perfect evidence/witnesses pointing to the contrary and not taking them into account.) That's the joke in my eyes. One could answer that there's an appeal process for those situations. However, have you ever tried to appeal something? Unless you're a lawyer or you have a free lawyer at your disposal, it ends up costing more than most original fines. (I'm talking traffic fines here, not criminal or other stuff). Furthermore, you have to pay the fines because technically, you have been convicted and charged. So you're spending more money hoping you'll get a better judge. The justice system shouldn't be a casino.
That's my rant for the night.