yea make a long story short, tv was off but when my friend was drvin my car. i was passenger, we got pulled over, he had suspended licence, search car and found alchol in trunk (under 21) and wrote me a ticket for tv visable to driver and pass possesss alchol in veh. blah blah. i was just wondering how the hell do i get my screen to be legal? and how the hell do i fight the alchol ticket? wiered cause there were 3 of us that got a ticket for underage in possess of alchol and only 2 bottles of beer in the trunk

 

Damn that sucks. Your going to lose your liscense for a while most likley just because you had alch. in your car, yeah it sucks, but your underage and it's the law. Can I borrow your car during that period? Damn, well good luck man, it's too bad b/c your car is sick, but you'll be back in no time.

 

the only way to make the tv in the front "legal" is to have it for navigational purposes

 

Can't comment on the alcohol since I don't drink or allow anyone in my car to drink, but it is weird that you gat ticketed for the T.V. because I have the same setup for my t.v. and when I got pulled over the officer searched the car and didn't say anything about it. It could be that my t.v. looks as if there is nothing there until you turn it on, but he didn't even ask what it was. Maybe it something that is illegal in your state and usually if it is off then they can't give you a ticket for driving with it. I think that officer just wanted to cause you more problems than a little bit I would check the laws in your state to see if it is illegal to have a t.v. in the front.

 

Thats a nice maxima and thats why you have some nice tickets to go with it. I hate cops just for that reason, i don't know where you live but i doubt having a tv there can be illegal considering MANY new cars something them. He was just being an *** cause you've got a nicer car than him and probably make more money.

 

Take him to Court. Period. He couldn't tell if it was for entertainment or navigation, cause your system was off. He may not even show up. On the underage drinking, he should have popped you for that, the fines are definitely higher in the alcohol catergory. Since he wrote it for the monitor, challenge him in court, but don't take your car. He might want to pull your hoe card and ask you to turn it on too see if it is a nav unit.

 

They can't do that.

 

In my opinion, you deserve no sympathy for 2 reasons:
a) b) As for the TV, I'd check out the laws specific to your area, make the necessary adjustments to your system (or deal with the possibility of getting more tickets), suck it up and just pay the fine. You can try to fight the alcohol ticket but if the officer shows up in court there's nothing you can do--you did break the law, after all.


Sounds pretty irresponsible. How'd you end up with such a nice car, anyway?

 

Sounds pretty irresponsible. How'd you end up with such a nice car, anyway? [/B][/QUOTE]

alchol wasent mine, 2 bottles in trunk were my friends, he took responsibility for it but the cop was a as$hole and wrote all 3 of us for pass possess alchol in car

 

alchol wasent mine, 2 bottles in trunk were my friends, he took responsibility for it but the cop was a as$hole and wrote all 3 of us for pass possess alchol in car [/B][/QUOTE]

Alcohol does not belong in a vehicle. Period. End of discussion.

 

The only way to get away from the alcohol charge is if he searched without permission. That could exclude the alcohol from court. But only if you have a lawyer. TV's are not allowed to be in view of the driver. That's why all the TV's out have a switch so that they won't turn on with the parking brake off. It's easy enough to disable the parking brake switch. But I wouldn't advise it if you are going to let people without a license drive the car.

I also have no sympathy.

 

its funny how the new caravans have the fold down tv in front of the roof by the rear view mirror...this seems to be in view of the driver

as for your alcohol u wont win on any charge, u are a minor! nuff said

 

How did he get into your trunk?

Did they ask for your permission?

I don't know about how it is in your state but in NY they cannot go into your trunk without your permission.


The alchohol thing is going to f-ck you. Him driving your car with a suspended license was a stupid idea. Especially with the way your car looks, it's obviously quite attention grabbing.


Since you were not intoxicated, I won't say anything about the alchohol thing, I'm sure many people here have had experiences with alchohol prior to them turning 21
But you could have seen that coming..

how did he get in your trunk?



oh yea
the TV thing sucks.

How about headrest monitors? Are those illegal as well? They are afterall visible to other drivers..

 

I am curious to know how he managed to get in the trunk too. Maybe he got popped for the unlicensed driver, and since you guys were already in trouble for that, you went ahead and let him search your car. Nevertheless, he didn't cite you for the alcohol, so still, take him to court.

 

I wouldn't push my luck if I were you. He didn't have to let the vehicle drive away as it had a moving violation with the tv monitor. He could have made you tow it home, or to an impound lot. That's actually what most officers are trained to do when there is an obvious violation that could hamper safe operation of the vehicle.

Don't forget that when you check the statutes you need to need to check the local town or county statutes, the state traffic laws as well as the federal laws. Any violation is reasonable cause for a traffic stop.

 

ummm I don't know where you're from, but here in NY it's
1) illegal to purchase beer if you're under 21 but possesion of it is not illegal
2) perfectly legal to have closed alcohol containers in the trunk (my dad had put a 12 pack of beer in my trunk and i was ****ed because i thought i could get in trouble, but turns out it was no problem at all), opened cans of alcohol are illegal

 

Someone in the vehicle under 21 already admitted that the alcohol was for him/her. Therefore it is reasonable to beleive that it was actually shared by all in the vehicle. I don't know about NY but I thought it was federal law that restricted possession of alcohol to people 21 or over. I know it is enforced in Virginia. There are many laws on the books that are not enforced in certain communities and states. That does not make it legal to disobey.

I honestly don't agree with a law that limits the rights of a person of voting age. It's pretty stupid to allow a person to vote if it's thought they are too irresponsible to drink a beer. But that it for the supreme court to decide and I don't have the time, money, or desire to fight that limitation on rights.

Remember, "Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

 

yeah im pretty sure its legal for minors to have unopened containers of alcohol in their trunks too....so id really check your state law on that one

i worked with a guy who got arrested for two unopened bottles of corona in the car (not trunk)...so maybe you got lucky in the sense you just got a ticket

 

Heh...so how does it get from the store to one's home? Couldn't resist.

Anyway, I don't know a whole lot about navigation, but along what jmax said...afaik, the factory nav screens are all disabled when the parking brake is released. If that's still true across the board it'd be hard to get off with the TV. You may have to look up your local laws if any regarding in-car entertainment (or get an attorney to help you, more likely). One reason I wouldn't do attention-grabbing mods in a maxima, external or internal (TV screens, lighting, etc) is because it definitely attracts vandalism. Another is it's just begging legal troubles. I've had my legal run-ins and always worry about any possibilities for trouble beforehand. I had to learn the hard way though.

It kind of sounds like with the non-insured driver and the interaction you had with the police, that you've screwed yourself as far as the alcohol tickets go. Good luck on that note.

 

It really shouldn't matter what the monitor is used for. In Louisiana there some ol Fu@#ed up law thats kinda goes like this. If you have a monitor installed where it would distract the driver it cannot be powered on while driving. If one is to be installed where the driver can see, it must be rigged to the parking brake and will only turn on when the parking brake is applied. If his monitor was off when the RichardHead (D!ckHead) stopped him, that charge should be dropped.

 

What made the officer check the trunk? They can only search your vehicle if you give them permission or they have probable cause. I'm not sure if driving with a suspended liscense would give them probable cause or not but If he asked to search your vehicle and you knew you had alcohol you should have told him no asked him to get a search warrant first.

 

You know, just by putting rims on your car makes you a target for vandalism. Trust me, I got hit twice; once when I had fake, gold BBS rims, and again with the current rims I have now. Both times, it was the stereo system they were after. Glad I live on the base now.....

 

he never asked for permission to search the car, ***got said he had the right to search the car becuase my friends licence was suspended, im not trippin to much becuase i got a lawyer, cant leave anything to chance