93fox Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 Ok, heres the situation, our first real snowfall, about 3 weeks ago when we got about 4" of snow, I was out with a friend of mine. I was following him into the London Wal-mart parking lot, where you can either go right,left or strait. 95% of people go strait through so i figured he was going to go strait, I was wrong. He suddenly slammed on his brakes and went right, which I in turn did the same thing and nearly missed the stop sign and ended up having the ass end come out on me. Once I got my car straitened out, we proceeded on our way when he slammed on his brakes again to go left and go down an aisle to park. Well I had to slam on my brakes again and my ass end came out from me again( Keep in mind its snowing and there is about 4" of snow on the ground and the parking lot hadn't even been touched by a plow yet) Well i ended up over correcting and the ass end swung out the other way. We were about half-way down the aisle now and when I finally got it under control. A couple seconds later, i pulled into my parking spot and a London cop shows up and points at both of us to park our cars and dont move. I ended up getting a wreckless opp. ticket on "private property". The cop told us we were doing doughnuts in the parkling lot when in fact we didnt even come close to even doing a 90 degree slide. Does it really take over an hour to write a ticket? My question(s) are do you guys have any tips on what I should say to the judge to present my case? This is my first offense ever. Is there any chance of me getting out of this? I mean, its my first offense, the road conditions were shitty, I wasnt "doing doughnuts" in the parking lot and it was on private property, the ticket even stated it was on private property. Any tips would be helpfull. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinner Posted February 20, 2007 Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 wow I didn't know that police could right you a ticket if you were on private property. As for getting out of the ticket the best thing I can recomend is to go to court and ask to have the reckless op dropped to a no points violation. Just explain that it was the night of the strom and the lot was not plowed when you turned in the low you felt the back end come out and over corrected for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93fox Posted February 20, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2007 wow I didn't know that police could right you a ticket if you were on private property. Ya, me either. It was quite the surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rotarded1647545491 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 As I understand, in Ohio you cannot be given a citation on private property.......with the exceptions of Reckless Operation and DUI. Appear, Try to bargain it down, pay your fine, then be thankful you didn't hit him, or anyone else. You would be paying a lot more in insurance deductibles and premiums if you would have wrecked. AND it would have been YOUR fault, not his (assured clear distance or failure to control). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig71188 Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Contest the ticket, go to court, take a big folder full of photos & paper (look like you did some research-or do some research) and talk nice to the prosecuter. They generally come out and meet with you before you go into the courtroom - and they just want to convict you of something. Let them make you an offer to plead to something lesser. If you don't get what you want just stall and tell them "I don't know", or "I was hoping not to have points", or "I really don't want my insurance going up", mention it's a very subjective call, the weather and so on. The prosecuter will generally make you an offer and then may better it once - but that's generally all you'll get. It also helps if mom or dad go along and question the whole process as well. Age does have it's benefits. Good Luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHaze Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 How can you not be given a citation on private property? If an officer sees something and sees it as a threat I don't see why they wouldn't be able to write a ticket. I don't think you'll have a problem getting it toned down from a wreckless opp. Just talk kindly and intelligently to the judge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin R. Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Shitty situation man. Just get the charge as low as you can and move on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Pomade Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Why were you driving so close to your friend? You mentioned several times that the conditions were less than desirable; you'd think that you would have stayed clear from him, especially after the first time you almost rear-ended him. Or, maybe you were just clowning around with your buddy in the snow and ended up getting caught. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93fox Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 First time I wasnt paying attention and just caught me by suprise. The second time, i was following a little to close in bad conditions Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Pomade Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 First time I wasnt paying attention and just caught me by suprise. The second time, i was following a little to close in bad conditions Yeah, unfortunately, I think the whole bad conditions is what it going to work against you. You can't say, "But, judge, it was really bad out and there was a lot of snow" because it sets up the judge to respond, "Yeah, exactly - you should have been extra careful then." You don't have any priors - that, I think, is the best thing you have going for you. Find the prosecutor before you get called up, tell him/her what you're looking for (e.g., a no-points violation, or at least not a reckless operation conviction), and offer something in return (e.g., to pay a big fine, to do 40 hours of community service), and hope you catch him/her as well as the judge on a good day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93fox Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 Ya, I figured the conditions part was either going to help me or hurt me, looks like it might actually hurt me. Hopefully ill just try to get it downgraded from wreckless opp. conviction. Thanks for the advice doc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mensan Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 If you really want to plead down, hire a lawyer. It's cheaper than your insurance hike will be when the prosecutor tells you to get bent. I would not recommend going in to court without one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrMeanGreen Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 John's right. They could technically pull someone over for doing 35 in a 35 if the weather conditions sucked. Ticket for "too fast for conditions". Eli's right about the lawyer, too. It's well worth the money, just make sure it's a non-moving violation they reduce it to. No points will still fuck you in insurance as I found out the hard way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akula Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 I would see what Ohio defines as wreckless operation. The burden of proof lays solely on the prosecution. Be ready to defend the fact that you didn't operate your vehicle with the intention of overcorrecting the slide. If the officer wrote the ticket on the premise that you did an intentional doughnut and you just slid like you say you should be sweet. Be humble, your age is working against you. You need to calmly explain that you didn't in fact operate under the Ohio definition of wreckless and I would find something on how to drive a rear-wheeled drive vehicle in the snow and study it. Bring that information to the court to show them you have taken this ticket to heart and are attempting to be a better driver. You have to know you are 18 with a Mustang, that's two strikes right away. I promise the judge has seen 50 of you this month and is sick of your antics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodRed Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 You can get a ticket on private property if 1. Someone calls the police and tells them that something illegal is happening. 2. If the property is patrolled by the police department. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JaSSon Posted February 21, 2007 Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 You can get a ticket on private property if 1. Someone calls the police and tells them that something illegal is happening. 2. If the property is patrolled by the police department. Thankyou professor. So if 1)no one was there to call the police and 2)the property wasn't patrolled the police wouldn't know anything happened to write a ticket? Thanks for clearing that up. But yeah, you can get ticketed for doing donuts on private property, which I think is stupid. I got busted a couple years ago for doing some 4wd donuts in my old Wrangler. I got off with a warning. I would be really amazed if the charges stuck, even if you're lying out your ass and you were doing donuts. Just politely say: snow+rwd+torque+curve=loss of control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
93fox Posted February 21, 2007 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2007 You have to know you are 18 with a Mustang, that's two strikes right away. Well it was actually in my 91 olds cutlass calais. I went in this morning and the judge said I was in for unsafe opperation and the max I could get was $150 fine and 2 pts on my license. I was shocked because the ticket says wreckless opp. and that can carry a $330 fine and 4 pts on my license. I ended up paying a $100 fine, court costs($75) and 2 pts on my license. Still didnt want the points on my license, but its a hell of a lot better than paying $330+ and 4pts on my license. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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