Please advise on ticket for "Obstruction of View"

[captainjacks]

Hi,

I was driving home with 2 other friends last evening. It was raining, and at a light I hoped to make it while the yellow turned to red. So I accelerated but missed it by a fraction. As luck would have it, there was a cop right on the other side, he did a u-turn and came and pulled me over.

Now here is the story, he asked me whether I knew what I had done. I said yes and explained the situation to him. He took my licence and registration and came back and gave me a ticket. BUT, he did not give me a ticket for jumping the light. He said that I was honest hence he will not give me aticket for that. But he gave me the ticket for the small paper tree thingy (car-freshener) that was hanging from my rear-view mirror. He wrote "obstruction of view" on the ticket (traffic violation Offense Number 39:3-74.

My question is, should I pay or fight? I mean, what the f*** is this? Every car has that thing hanging from the mirror, thats how they are supposed to be right? Isn't this bullshit calling that an obstruction of view?

Please advise. Thanks in advance.

Captain Jack Sparrow.

[knorwj]

just pay it. It is a legitamate ticket. Plus he was being nice not giving you a ticket for the light. It should only be about 40 bucks.


you are technically not supposed to have anything hanging from your rear view mirror because of the obstruction of view thing. A cop won't pull you over for it but if you do something wrong chances are he can nail you for it. Even handicap tags say right on them that you have to remove them from the rear view mirror before driving and then replace them when ytou park.

['97ventureowner]

That's another example of a " revenue enhancer" as most cops tend to give these out with other tickets. In our local paper, when they report about accidents or DWIs or similar infractions, I notice the police give out multiple tickets and one usually is for "obstructed view".IMO it is a law that is selectively enforced as I see numerous violators everyday with their crystals hanging from their rear view mirrors, along with garters, graduation tassels, handicap placards, etc.

[copcarcrzy]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

That's another example of a " revenue enhancer" as most cops tend to give these out with other tickets. In our local paper, when they report about accidents or DWIs or similar infractions, I notice the police give out multiple tickets and one usually is for "obstructed view".IMO it is a law that is selectively enforced as I see numerous violators everyday with their crystals hanging from their rear view mirrors, along with garters, graduation tassels, handicap placards, etc.

revenue enhancer Waht this cop did was give the kid a break... a NON point violation.. made his boss happy for issuing a ticket and cut the kid a break on the fine.. what more could you ask for !!!!!!!

['97ventureowner]

Originally Posted by copcarcrzy

revenue enhancer Waht this cop did was give the kid a break... a NON point violation.. made his boss happy for issuing a ticket and cut the kid a break on the fine.. what more could you ask for !!!!!!!

It is obvious you don't live in NY state. If you did you'd realize how "money hungry" certain municipalities are for ANY revenues to add to their coffers. The cop COULD have given the kid a warning to take it down, as some nice cops do. But instead he decided to give him a ticket, which although was a non point violation, it did carry a fine, and in NY that also means an added surcharge on top of that. Plus, although they claim they do not operate on a quota system, the more tickets a cop writes, the better it looks in his/her personnel file, and when it comes time for promotions. A big infraction of the law I see here in NY is those who put a cover over their license plates. There is a law here that bans anything, even a transparent cover to be placed over the license plates. Yet day in and day out , I see more people break that law and not get cited than those who hang something from their rear view mirror. Some of these once transparent covers are so weathered and yellowed, you can barely make out the letters and numbers on the plate. If the police started cracking down on this, they could balance all of the towns budgets without raising taxes.

[copcarcrzy]

Originally Posted by '97ventureowner

It is obvious you don't live in NY state. If you did you'd realize how "money hungry" certain municipalities are for ANY revenues to add to their coffers. The cop COULD have given the kid a warning to take it down, as some nice cops do. But instead he decided to give him a ticket, which although was a non point violation, it did carry a fine, and in NY that also means an added surcharge on top of that. Plus, although they claim they do not operate on a quota system, the more tickets a cop writes, the better it looks in his/her personnel file, and when it comes time for promotions. A big infraction of the law I see here in NY is those who put a cover over their license plates. There is a law here that bans anything, even a transparent cover to be placed over the license plates. Yet day in and day out , I see more people break that law and not get cited than those who hang something from their rear view mirror. Some of these once transparent covers are so weathered and yellowed, you can barely make out the letters and numbers on the plate. If the police started cracking down on this, they could balance all of the towns budgets without raising taxes.

First off 98% of all municipalities are money hungry for added funds. Second the cop DID give him a warning for his actions and wrote him for a NON-Pointer. the cop could have wrote BOTH. !!!!, and yes it does look good in a cops file to have wriiten tickets, that means when someone looks at his file they see he did patrol and enfore the law, an not stuffing food in his mouth at the local "dunkin doughnuts"
then you complain about him getting a ticket for something silly like an air freshner, but then say they should crak down on license plate covers, instead of rasing taxes.. you cant have it both ways.

['97ventureowner]

I didn't infer it to say I wanted it both ways. I was merely pointing out the "lop-sidedness" of how the police enforce certain laws, and not others. To add to the mix, in NY state it is illegal to talk on a cell phone while operating a motor vehicle, yet I see no one being "pulled over" for that infraction. There was even a big article in our local paper commenting on the lax enforcement of this law. I've even seen people so brazen as to drive by a cop, while talking on a cell phone, and the cop doesn't even do anything. Most of the time the cop is on HIS cell phone, but I realize they are exempt from the law. I witnessed a car in front of me literall blow through a stop sign right in front of a cop, and he didn't do a damn thing about it. At the time of the occurence, he seemed to be preoccupied on his own cell phone.

[Chevy4life1985]

Well I dont know about NY but in MA a red-light violation could be up to $100(I believe). And thats more points added onto your insurance(1 or 2 depending on past record). SO the cop gave him a ticket for 40 and no points. I agree the cop could have let him go but, he also gave him a break. So you cant really go either way I mean its a win-lose for him. Could have really been screwed and had to pay both and get points on his insurance. But he didnt and he only has to pay 40 (opposed to 100) and no points.

[copcarcrzy]

Originally Posted by Chevy4life1985

Well I dont know about NY but in MA a red-light violation could be up to $100(I believe). And thats more points added onto your insurance(1 or 2 depending on past record). SO the cop gave him a ticket for 40 and no points. I agree the cop could have let him go but, he also gave him a break. So you cant really go either way I mean its a win-lose for him. Could have really been screwed and had to pay both and get points on his insurance. But he didnt and he only has to pay 40 (opposed to 100) and no points.

[tri-power]

In NY, most tons will not let you fight an obstruction ticket, because most of the time if you get one, the cop has already lightened your ticket. It's best to pay the ticket and move on. I've recieved the same ticket before and it cost me $30 and got no points. It beat a speeding ticket. Even though they're considered illegal most everyewhere. It seems to be a good way to get out of big tickets. A necessary evil in my eyes.

[directory]

Originally Posted by tri-power

In NY, most tons will not let you fight an obstruction ticket, because most of the time if you get one, the cop has already lightened your ticket. It's best to pay the ticket and move on. I've recieved the same ticket before and it cost me $30 and got no points. It beat a speeding ticket. Even though they're considered illegal most everyewhere. It seems to be a good way to get out of big tickets. A necessary evil in my eyes.

yup, pay the ticket. the have you...

[Igovert500]

Pay it, be happy, move on. A one time fine is better than points on insurance.

[maureendo]

I am a 65 year old disabled woman driving with disabled plates, unable to pay my housing and medical costs and the police PULLED ME (siren blaring) over in Staten Island on a light traffic road going home from the supermarket. A young very arrogant cop told me I violated the law because I had a translucent Tweety bird air freshener and a very small tag with the towing insurance number handing from my rear view mirror. To all of you "Just Pay the ticket' is just one other revenue scam that the cops use and we should all accept this?

I don't care what their quota is - the cop could have given me a warning but they are like bees buzzing all over NYC sirens blazing as they pull one person after another and give tickets for any old thing. I begged the cop not to give me a ticket as I am so broke and he just smiled and said "America's a wonderful Country - no better place to be!!!!!" I don't know how much the ticket is and have heard that the price has gone up. My air freshener and tag were not blocking my rear view mirror. I am a very careful driver having been seriously injured years ago by a drunk driver (one of the reasons I'm disabled) and I am outraged at the idea that just giving people tickets for any old thing and assuming it won't hurt them much is what I call UNAMERICAN!!!!!!

Actually I am hoping this blog is correct and this is a non-points violation as I can hardly pay my car insurance and am avoiding coming up with the $64 and time (and pain for me) so I can take the utterly stupid revenue raising "safe driver" classes and get a reduction on my insurance (my 3 years has run out again - think I've taken these stupid classes over 30 times already in my lifetime.

I can't pay my co-payments for my drugs (even with Medicare and EPIC) and I should just grin and bear and pay what $40 or more for a nonsense ticket. America is not a good place to be if you are old, sick and poor.

[fredjacksonsan]

Hi maureendo, Welcome to AF. You'll get a better response if you start a new thread, but I'll try to answer for you here.

Sadly, this type of ticket can't really be fought in court. The cop will testify that he saw something hanging from your rear view mirror. It's a violation. The judge will believe him. Unfortunately there have been a LOT of REP (Revenue Enhancement Patrol) tickets lately, everywhere, as people buy less and therefore pay less taxes.

Just pay it, make sure your mirror is clear.

Hopefully the economy will pick up soon and this BS will end.

['97ventureowner]

To add to that , upstate in Syracuse, one of the local news stations ran a report recently on the number of complaints from individuals receiving these type of tickets for "unobstructed view". People thought the police were unfairly targeting them with tickets for this infraction, and a report obtained by the station showed an increase in the number of these tickets issued over the last 12 month period.
The way NY Vehicle and Traffic Law is written it gives the cops a lot of things to write tickets for . Such items not allowed by law but are commonplace on many vehicles in NY are: license plate frames, license plate covers, items hanging from rear view mirror, stickers pasted on rear windows, and also the vehicle tint law, to which many tickets are also being written for.
Many are surprised to see license plate frames as not allowable. How many vehicles do you see going down the road with a license plate frame advertising the dealership they got their vehicle from ( to which the dealers are more than happy to place on your vehicle without telling you.) Also they don't allow any coverings, even the clear license plate protectors to go over a plate. I see many of those in use. In my area, many of the school districts have clings you can buy of the school mascot to put on your vehicle, ( I'll admit I have some on my vehicle,) and those too are not allowed.
Even those blue handicapped placards are supposed to be taken off the rear view mirror before you pull out of your parking spot. They can give you a ticket if you leave it there while driving. It is even printed on the placard itself to remove when driving. How many of these do you see in vehicles while driving down the road? There is a lot of things a cop can ticket you according to the NY V&T laws. Many use these to supplement a ticket, especially if they feel the original infraction may be tossed in court, and as a way to pad a fine/surcharge bill. There are many cops on the other hand who choose not to go this route and are more compassionate.
I wonder though, if maureendo wrote a nice letter to the DA of her county and explained the situation and asked for leniency, if there was something that they could do for her?