ticket with a twist

[planet_keeper]

okay so here's the story. i got pulled over for doing 75 in a 45 and failing to signal. when they (there were two cars for some reason) pulled me over, there was no shoulder on the road so we were vitually in the middle of the road so i pulled around the corner into a gas station that was next to us. i then took off my hat (i didnt think that wearing a ferrari hat would help me any ) and the cop started yelling at me to get out of the car with my hands up.

all i got ticketed for was the 75 in a 45 and failure to signal but the cop claims that i could get some serious fines on me for driving away (to pull into the gas station) and appearing to hide something or reach for a weapon when i took my hat off. can these charges be added onto the ticket if i take it to court and the cop feels like it? also, i had a warning before for driving in the hov lan illegally, can this be pulled up as well?

also, what is the likelyhood of a cop car recording what i was doing on video? ive seen it on tv before that the cars come equipped with cameras (lol i know, seen it on tv but id like to have some idea).

im 18, live in washington state around seattle.

[fredjacksonsan]

Driving away? How far was it to go around the corner from where you first saw the lights? If it was a couple miles, then I can see why they were upset. If a block or two, you could (and should) argue in court that you felt unsafe stopping in the roadway, and pulled around the corner for safety.

I don't think "appearing to hide something and reach for a weapon" is a valid charge and is not against the law. However, you've got to remember that the cops don't know that you're getting your registration or whatever; all they see is you leaning and reaching inside the vehicle, and they get stressed out. I've known a few cops, and they say sit still, open your window, and have both hands on the wheel. I've tried it myself and it makes a huge difference in their attitude.

[fredjacksonsan]

Good luck with the ticket. How did they clock you?

[planet_keeper]

Well i know they paced me and im betting they radar gunned me too.

I do understand why they freaked out at me reaching over though, better safe than sorry. My only concern was that if it could be a criminal charge.

As for driving away, I literally drove around a corner and into a parking lot, maybe a total of 50 feet travelled so not far.

Also, since there were two cops there do they both have to appear in court?

[fredjacksonsan]

Originally Posted by planet_keeper

Well i know they paced me and im betting they radar gunned me too.

I do understand why they freaked out at me reaching over though, better safe than sorry. My only concern was that if it could be a criminal charge.

As for driving away, I literally drove around a corner and into a parking lot, maybe a total of 50 feet travelled so not far.

Also, since there were two cops there do they both have to appear in court?

If they paced you AND radared you, you might have to pay the ticket.

Scaring police by reaching into your glovebox isn't illegal. Seems like you followed their instructions (you were cooperative, right?) so they have no beef there.

50' is reasonable for safety and what I said before is probably good to go.

Two cops.....I'm not sure, but if one used radar and the other paced, then both might have to show but I'm not sure.

The problem here is that you were going about 30 over......if you're not worried about insurance, you may just want to pay it.

Good luck, when's the court date?

[planet_keeper]

no date yet. and yes i am hugely worried about insurance because i wanted to be able to afford a new (used) car in a coupel months and a ticket will rape my insurance over and over. i will have no money.

yes i was completely compliant. im not the smartest guy around but i do have some common sense lol

a few friends have suggested that i get a traffic laywer to do it for me. thoughts?

[knorwj]

If I'm not mistaken you are allowed to drive slowly and safely to an area that you feel safe stopping at, just explain to the judge you didn't feel safe stopping where he hit the lights and as long as it was a reasonable distance it is ok.

Think of it this way if you were a woman alone on the highway at night it would be completely acceptable to pull into a rest area or service station with lights etc. Any wacko can buy a set of flashing red lights and try to pull you over and you would never know until he was at your window.

[planet_keeper]

Yeah, thats a good point. I think the reason the cops got kindof ticked about it was because I was driving it like i stole it, started pulling off (like I would have if I had stole it), and when I stopped I appeared to reach for a weapon (which if I was a car theif, might be hiding something illegal and/or reaching for weapon).

Im sending the ticket in today. I wanted to put it off for a bit so that I could get my resources together to fight it. I plan on walking it with about 4" of paper work (lol, its not all going to be real) and if they see that I have a ton of notes I've heard it makes them more likely to plea bargain. If they don't, well... I'll just fight it as best I can.

I figure the least I could do is get the 'failure to signal' off of it. Unless they video taped me doing it they have no evidence to back it. There are some tips on www.beatmyspeedingticket.com that look a bit to me like playing with technicalities but its the best I've got. Ill let you all know how it goes.

[Chevy4life1985]

Dude if your concerned about insurance then why were you doing 75 in a 45? I would agrue the whole part of you driving away or whatever. And no they cant bring up other charges after the fact.

[bad_ass_chica]

maybe I can help, my dad's a cop. If there was a radar, the person who had the radar for the speed is supposed to be the one to hand you the ticket. for the failing to signal, should of said you're light was burnt. and to get a traffick lawyer, depends on how expensive the ticket is. my friend had a 500$ or something like that and with the traffic lawyer, he saved maybe 50$ because of the fee of the lawyer ....the lawyer managed to get the ticket down but i guess it depends on how expensive the ticket is.

if you want me to I could ask my dad to know if you have a lot of chances

good luck

[planet_keeper]

thanks for the advice. im kindof screwed on the burned out light excuse though because i signalled when i pulled into the gas station :P my moms friend's boyfriend is a cop and hes helping me a bit too. still waiting for them to send me back a court date. its takin' freaking forever.

[planet_keeper]

Alright, I got my court date back: Dec 7. I have a question about that though. Does the ticket go on my record before the court date? I ask because I'm still in the market for a new car and if I got a new policy they will scam my record and see it (i've heard yo ucan go quite awhile before they scan it and see the ticket).

Basically, I'm worried that if I get a new policy, I'm going to be paying for a fully un-mitigated ticket on my insurance and since i would likely rather pay the 6 month lump sum than the monthly rate I would be paying a load of extra money.

Also, does the mail-in mitigation plea work very well? Because then i could have it worked out in about 2 weeks as opposed to 2 months. I've heard that the 2 judges in my area are very lenient.

[Igovert500]

I'm not sure if hte ticket will show up prior to the court date, so I really wont speculate.

Carrying in extra papers seems nonsensical to me. Every court I've ever heard of, has offered a plea bargain regaurdless.

I don't know about the mail in thing. Around me, if you want to get it out of the way fast, you can simply drive to the courthouse and enter your plea right then and there, and save all the correspondence time. If you are talking about simply mailing in a plea of 'not guilty' with an explanation or something, I believe you still must show up for court. I don't think a judge would just let you off simply via mail.

[regalfriend]

If your not sure how they clocked your speed, you may be able to ask for a supporting deposition. That would be a written statement from the cop that tells of the events that led them to stop you...Im not sure of Washington, but in NY you can request it...If you didnt get a ticket for failure to signal at the scene then you cant be charged for it in court...as for not stopping right away...it is best if you go back to the scene and get pictures of where this happened. TRy to show the judge what you mean why you didnt pull over right away....Even if your wrong, Judges love to see a defendant come to court prepared. Instead of bringing a stack of bogus papers bring him real things to see. A lawyer may be a good idea. The judge will see that you are trying harder to resolve this and may not slam you...30 over the limit is serious. The ticket will not go on your record until you go to court and get convicted...If you buy a new car before court and get a low rate once convicted your rates will go up, no matter what.

[desii]

umm my freshman year in high school my mom picked me up on the last day of school and she pulled out of the parking lot and made a left.

your only allowed to make a right. well i guess a cop saw us and gave his lights and what not. we didnt even notice wtf was going on so we kept going. i guess it was a while later he was pissed and turned his sirons louder and went on the mircophone and was like "pull over to the side, step out of the car with your hands up" we were like wtf

finnaly the cop let of us of with a warning. lol sorta funny