Ok before you say anything, i did read this thread

http://forums.maxima.org/general-max...ead-about.html

But my situation is way different.

So im a 18 year old kid, just turned 18 last week. And i was about to drop off two friends last night and go home when a loud POS civic gets next to me on st george ave in woodbridge, nj and down shifts. Obviously tryign to entice me to race him. now the speed limit is 40 and im doing 45. this guy continues to rev his engine and eventually pulls from me. And keep in mind i am doing my best to ignore him and just get home. then a cop pulls behind both of us and tells us to pull over. cop comes to my window and asked if i knew what i was doing wrong. I naturally said no, becasue i honsestly wasnt doign anything. he asked if i ever got pulled over or had any points on my license. i didnt so i said no. His response " congradulations you just did".Anyway, he gave me two tickets. reckless driving, and drag racing on high way. but NO SPEEDING ticket. now how could i be drag racing, and driving recklesely while doing the speed limit in a straight line. Went home told my parents, they werent as mad as i figured they would be, but they want me to go to court. i'd appreciate any tips or advice for when i go to court.

oh, forgot to mention. he came back to ym car with the two tickets and says" today is your lucky day, 9 points, go home kid"

 

Go to court and cry.


IBTL.

 

the first thing id do is go to court a cop will read the report and the guy will say u wana add anything? then tell him ur side and add in the no speeding part, the fact that he was very rude and u were not driving reckless or racing.the fact that u didnt have any points prior to the friendly officers unessasary actions will show that u are a good guy and the court majestrate will prolly throw the ticket out gl with this as ive been there many of times

 

Go to court!

 

go to court and plead your case and most likely everything will be dropped seeing as you record was clean prior to this altercation. GL

 

wow that blows. all because of some stupid ricer

 

Yeah thats just dumb. I would punched the guy in the civic in his face.

Go To Court!

 

Going to court and plead not guilty, then take it to trial. The officer will have to appear and you will be able to say your side. But honestly, you are probably screwed. Police everywhere are cracking down on street racing. The officer will say that he saw you pull on the Honda as well. He may be mistaken but in his eyes, he may have thought he saw something. Your only chance is to get the officer to admit that he did not see you do anything but be in the wrong place at the wrong time. You have have to create a doubt. Good luck

 

damn that sucks real bad! how much were the tickets? i would go to court if i were you.. i've gotten somewhat of a "stupid" ticket for having an "illegal/defective exhaust".. but that night EVERYONE was getting pulled over.. it was being at the wrong place at the wrong time just like your situation.. hope everything goes well.. keep us posted

 

take it to court, whata bs ticket.

 

Hopefully the cop don't show up for court. If he does, you are toast. A cops word against a 18 yr old....hmmmmm.... good luck dude.

 

Not true, especially since his driving record is clean. When I was 16 I went to court for a speeding ticket. Circumstances were BS and when the cop showed up in court the judge clearly understood that the guy was being a douchebag.

If you truly didnt do anything wrong, you go in that court and just be 100% honest, if the judge is experienced he/she will recognize your honesty and make the right decision.

And if all else fails, point out that the other guy was driving a Civic and the race wouldn't even be worth your gas.

 

What a funny yet d*** move by the cop. Good luck with the court stuff

 

Im just praying that the judge drives a maxima and understands my point. haha

court date is may 11th. ill def keep you guys posted, thanks

 

Being young once I can tell you some police officers will try to take advantage of your lack of knowledge. Go to court and hopefully he doesn't show. Even if he does explain all the details and hope the judge doesn't just take the officers statements in consideration when making the ruling. I personally have recieved citations for infractions I did not commit and it sucks! Don't hire a lawyer because they generally won't do to much more than you can do.

 

You said you 'weren't doing anything' but technically you were doing 45 in a 40 but really, seems like you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just can't let those ricers get to you.

 

Dam that sucks. I agree, go to court and plead your case. Don't be rude about it, just tell the judge that the Civic was trying to entice you into a race and you were doing your best to avoid getting close to him or even looking towards his direction. This made the civic driver mad and threw revs at you or whatever.

As far as the officer's rude attitude, i've been to traffic court at least 5 times (don't ask lol) and every single time the judge doesn't wanna hear about the officer's attitude since it doesn't pertain to why he pulled you over. In fact, i think they even told us that when court began, to present any good legal defense that would prove, without a doubt, that we were innocent and that they will disregard any defense including the officer's attitude. Kinda like a free pass for the cops to act like douches imo.

 

Agree that you were at the wrong place at the wrong time, then again thats how all tickets get issued cause if you never drive near a cop then you wouldn't have any tickets.

But anyways I'd hire a paralegal to represent you in court, they know the legal system inside out and I think you'd have a very good chance of winning ESPECIALLY if the cop has no evidence in this case. You clearly don't deserve a ticket and the court should see that. Just google traffic tickets and you'll find tons of them, the prices are fairly reasonable.

Good luck! Keep us posted

 

So your trying to tell us that even with two friends in your car you never even stepped on the gas just once while that was going on...



Drag racing is always done in a straight line.
You can drag race from 0 - 40 MPH, not be speeding, but your breaking the law.

I'm thinking you got had for a reason, cops don't just pull you over because a CIVIC with a fart can pulled up along side you and revved his engine.

That just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

You're kind of in a bind. Because it's your word against the cops, and you're an 18 yo kid. That doesn't sit well if the judge doesn't really care to hear your situation.

Most important, dress for success. A button up shirt and tie, dress slacks, and dress shoes. Shave and fix your hair conservatively. Then, be very courteous to the judge, you're in his fishbowl. Even when speaking of the police officer or to him in court, be respectful. It would be ideal if he has an outburst in court, and you don't. That kind of situation will earn you points with the judge. So keep your cool no matter what the cop says or how he reacts.

As far as describing your situation, don't go into any details that will hurt your case. Tell them that you weren't racing, you were just driving defensively as normal. It was obvious that the guy next to you with the loud muffler and revving emphatically was what made it appear as though you were racing. But in fact you were not. Mention that you maintained constant speed, but certainly don't admit to any speeding.

Stating that you've got a clean record may not get you any points with the court. You're 18, it just means you've never been caught...seriously. But give it a quick mention once, and move on.

As far as how to beat this with evidence, the only thing you've got is to place the cop in an obstructed vantage point. If you can prove somehow that the cop only initially saw the other car (from the side he was parked, or coming around a turn), and that this obstruction could have easily given him the illusion that you were racing with him...then it's possible to raise doubt. You may actually get the cop to admit that he didn't have a clear vantage point of you, only the other car, and he himself will admit a mistake.

Good luck. You really need it. You also have no other choice but to fight these tickets. 9 points is a lot of points at 18. Insurance company is going to rip you appart.

 

in a way the cop has NO PROOF that u were driving recklessly... cept for his word... just tell the judge that you were NOT driving recklessly, and you werent racing... just tell the judge like this... "your honor, please tell me, honestly... how can I possibly be (with a sad, puppy dog face) drag racing... going only 45 mph.... imean seriously... if i were to be racing at all, I would be speeding.. and look the cop did not give me a speeding ticket... How can he not give me a speeding ticket, but give me a drag racing ticket".... im 20 bro.. i kno wat ur going through... i live in NYC. and do me a favor... idc how... but get urself a frikkin PBA card... lol... it really helps...



01 Maxima... greddy catback, 20% all around. tokico 5 way illuminas with H tech teins. Living in NYC. LOL

 

good luck with that ticket bro... keep us posted.

 

Take good note on MadMax07SL's advise, especially when it comes to your appearance and respectfulness in front of the judge; that really works in your favor. If the outcome is not what you'd wish, by all means, take one of those driver's improvement courses approved by your state division of motor vehicle. They even offer the convenience of taking them online. It will reduce or eliminate the points on you license and, in most cases, the insurance companies will not raise your premium (or your parents', if you are riding on theirs).
Best of luck!!!

 

I have to say it, this above is probably what NOT to say. Make no inference that needs to be "answered" by anyone. You don't necessarily have to be speeding to get a racing or reckless driving ticket, as I'm sure the judge will inform you if you ask such a loaded question. Point out how fast you were going at the time, and state that you didn't accelerate quickly to race anyone, and of course point out that you were never cited for speeding, frankly because you weren't.

Simply describe your situation, what you specifically were doing, and where you saw the cop come from in an effort to point out his poor reference point to you and the other car that actually was racing. The judge gets paid to decide if you were wrongly cited by the cop. He will determine if not being cited for speeding clears you of the wrong doing based on all the other factors you and the cop describe. But just because you weren't speeding, doesn't automatically clear you of those two citations.

 

I want to know what the OP's car looks like.

 

Great advice. in reference to njmaxseltd and coolmax's questions. I can imagine what the cop was thinking when he saw my car and the civic right next to it. but the only thing on my mind at that time was getting home after a long day at rutgers fest.
This is my car.

http://forums.maxima.org/5th-generat...week-pics.html

yes i know, cf trunk and big exhaust not helping my situation. but really what do i have to hide from you guys.

 

man, ask that dumb cop for a radar, and if he said no den he couldnt giv u a ticket anyways, plus cops r idiots anyways, they pull us over for anything theres days, i got one for loud music.