Posted on 05/28/2010 8:36:22 AM PDT by dila813
Just now, got a ticket when I and all my passengers had seat belts on.
I had a gray shirt and a gray seat belt. The Cop insists that he saw it hanging down.
Everyone in my car knows I was wearing a seat belt but they are all minors.
I will go to court and fight this, but what the heck.
My husband got a ticket for ‘using his cellphone while driving.’ He was scratching his ear. He very rarely uses his cp while driving/ company policy. He offered the policeman to look at his cellphone; he would see that he had had no calls coming in/out for an hour.
Didn’t matter in the least. He got the ticket. He is too busy to fight it. I think that is what they are counting on. Sounds like you met the same police mentality. Fight it, to be sure.
I have yet to meet a cop who will admit he made a mistake in stopping you. It’s an ego thing. You’re just supposed to shut up and eat the ticket.
I’ll lay odds this jerk won’t even show in court if you fight it and the case will be dropped.
Hell yea
The issue is, they can now stop you for not wearing a seat belt, before they couldn’t.
That still failed right? They still need to make up another reason to pull you over first?
GET A LAWYER!
This is, most probably harassment as punishment for your demanding he do his job.
This cop is corrupt and it needs to be put on record.
Most
patrol cars have video cams on the dash.The video will show what the officer saw.Force the officer to bring that video when you challenge the charges.
Absolutely, fight it. I’m a municipal court judge and a prosecutor (different jurisdictions :)) and eyewitness testimony that directly contradicts the ticketing officer’s version of events is very powerful.
Now, if you were wearing it improperly (under the arm, for instance), that’s still an offense - and it’s stupid as well, since they’re designed to work properly only when worn over the shoulder.
Colonel, USAFR
I don’t think it is harassment unless he was laying in wait.
We took pictures, I don’t think the guy could have even saw my face.
I am really scratching my head on this one.
I bet, it is like someone else said, revenue, when in doubt stop people and give them a ticket.
Its called revenue...short answer is ...its more profitable for the state to fine a a busy, employed taxpayer, who’s far more likely to pay the ticket, than take the time and energy off work to come argue.
I almost got one as well one time. Not speeding or any other thing. It was a black on black car and I had a black or dark shirt. Chevy has those guides on the side of the seat and I assume the guy thought it was the buckle.
I argued vehemently that I was a family man and did not feel like being buried with a glass necklace and always wore my seatbelt (true). He just looked and me and said he would let me go with a warning this time. Gee thanks.
Our local finest were running a trap under an overpass yesterday. They had three cars pulled over - while traffic was backed up for half a mile because of two stalled cars on the road. Did the locals call for or offer any assistance? Nope. They had tickets to write.
I got a $124 citation in an identical situation. Spent a couple of days putting together a defense with lots of photos of the car with me in it, showing how an illusion was created that the belt was not fastened; ticket dismissed.
I will, but I am sure they will make it hard for me to request it.
I don’t blame the cop except in the poor ethical judgment of enforcing a law in a situation where he couldn’t possibly know if I had a seat belt.
Someone must be telling him, go out and get money.
Not only that, it conditions the populace to obey to the letter.
Sheeple are made, not born.
Keep in mind that there is license plate character recognition software, that runs on laptops, that will real time flag requested plates that pass before the cruiser's camera.
If he has your plate number, the computer will tell him anytime you are near, he doesn't have to stalk you.
I had something similar happen about 3 months ago. I was returning from work wearing a dark blue suit jacket. The seat belt straps are also dark blue. The cop pulls me over asks me why I was not wearing a seat belt. I explained to him I was (which I was). He went back to his car, came back and warned me that I should not wear any dark colored clothes when driving as it was too hard to tell if I was wearing a seat belt or not.
When the seatbelt laws were implemented in VA years ago, a cop could NOT stop a driver for a seatbelt violation only. It may have changed.
But they can’t pull over drug dealers all of whom drive cars with tinted windows, DARK tinted windows. Is this a great country or what?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.