Officer Mick XXXXXX: You're a not so nice person

[Bitani]

So, as I was riding home today I pass by a cop behind another car with their door open at 41 mph on the speedo, over the yellow line so as to be respectful to the cop, park it in my apartment parking lot, begin walking in, and then I hear a honk. Look around, there's 2 of Miami Township's finest pulling in. They come out, tell me I was "40 in a 25 and failing to yield to a stationary public safety vehicle."

I tell them the truth, that I had no idea it was 25 through there; I had never seen a sign. It is a street that honestly SHOULD be 35. (Turn off of 741 at Cadillac Jack's, that road.)

They don't give a shit, take my license, go in the car and tell my freezing ass to kick it by the bike. I go up to the window in the middle of it and tell them again that I had absolutely no idea it was 25 or else I would have abided by it. They tell me "What's your driving record like?"

I have a ticket for failure to dim headlights and one for leaving my key in the ignition. I don't have a bad driving record, asshole.

So they tell me to go away again. I do, and wait. He gets out of his car and hands me the ticket. I get a little smart-mouthy about how it's kind of BS they're giving me a ticket when I had no idea I did anything wrong; I say that if I did, I wouldn't have just parked my bike (it took 'em like 2 mins to get after me). What they should have done is just scold me imo - I really could have EASILY gotten away without any effort.

So we go through the whole shiz of that, "meeting your quota," "better things to do," etc. etc.

Nice guys it seemed, but their ticket was an asshole move in my eyes.

They dismiss me, etc. I have to go to court because my insurance card was expired.

Now, I'm mainly looking for opinions on what to do. Go to court? Print out new insurance card and just pay the fees?

What confuses me is that, on the ticket, the "Highway" is listed as "Pebble Springs". I don't even know that road. The 'offense' happened on "Ferndown Dr", a two-lane road. They listed it as having 4 lanes. Wtf? (Which is something else I commented on. Why are they pulling someone over on a 2-lane road and expecting me to fully yield when I have to go into the next lane to pass anyways - which I did.)

So yeah. Opinions?

[swingset]

So yeah. Opinions?

Don't speed?

You were over the limit, you got popped, pay up. That's the deal we make when we take to the road.

FWIW, "I'm sorry, I had no idea I wasn't paying enough attention", coupled with some "yes sirs/no sirs" is much better than debate road side...if your intentions are to avoid a ticket.

[jporter12]

Was your insurance lapsed, or just the card an old one? If you did not have insurance, court or not, you're hoofing it for a while.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If someone was never taught that killing someone was illegal (not likely to ever happen) should they be let go because they didn't know that it was against the law?

If they got the road and conditions wrong, you may be able to fight the speeding ticket. As long as you have proof that your insurance was in effect at the time of the offense, you're ok on that part.

[TSB67]

You were doing 40 in a 25. None of the rest of that stuff matters to a court. Pay the ticket and make sure you get the insurance thing cleared up.

[Bitani]

Don't speed?

You were over the limit, you got popped, pay up. That's the deal we make when we take to the road.

FWIW, "I'm sorry, I had no idea I wasn't paying enough attention", coupled with some "yes sirs/no sirs" is much better than debate road side...if your intentions are to avoid a ticket.

I was a little hot-headed when I wrote the title, came back a few hours later to finish and didn't edit it. If any moderator would want to edit that for me to something less rude.

And trust me, I waited until AFTER he handed me the ticket to bitch. I think I was honestly more pissed at myself for not just keeping on riding away when I easily could have.

I know it's my fault at this point, I just think in my shoes I would have given someone a firm warning on a bike knowing that they COULD HAVE went away.

I don't know, but I do know it's my fault now. Again, just a little hot-headed.

The main thing I'm wondering about now is why the heck he'd put down the WRONG road name AND the wrong # of lanes?

[Bitani]

Was your insurance lapsed, or just the card an old one? If you did not have insurance, court or not, you're hoofing it for a while.

Ignorance of the law is no excuse. If someone was never taught that killing someone was illegal (not likely to ever happen) should they be let go because they didn't know that it was against the law?

If they got the road and conditions wrong, you may be able to fight the speeding ticket. As long as you have proof that your insurance was in effect at the time of the offense, you're ok on that part.

My insurance is in effect, I just had no idea that the card would have expired.

Alrighty, so basically just figure out why he would have wrote down the wrong street and # of lanes. That REALLY makes absolutely no sense to me. Like, at all. I don't even know where this "Pebble Spring" road is.

You were doing 40 in a 25. None of the rest of that stuff matters to a court. Pay the ticket and make sure you get the insurance thing cleared up.

I fail to believe that writing the wrong street name AND the wrong # of lanes is 'no big deal.' Read my above posts - I know I did wrong. When I wrote most of that, it was more hot-headed. But, it makes for a better story where I come off as ignorant.

[jblosser]

if the street and the # lanes are both wrong, should be able to fight it and win - assuming you just had an old insurance card and you DO have insurance.

might be able to talk to the prosecutor beforehand, point out the errors, and <maybe> avoid having to go to court. maybe.

despite my recent encounter and subsequent dealings with deputy chiefs, attorneys, IAD, and county sheriffs, i still think 99% of LEOs are good folks. this one may have been having a bad day.

[Bitani]

if the street and the # lanes are both wrong, should be able to fight it and win - assuming you just had an old insurance card and you DO have insurance.

might be able to talk to the prosecutor beforehand, point out the errors, and <maybe> avoid having to go to court. maybe.

despite my recent encounter and subsequent dealings with deputy chiefs, attorneys, IAD, and county sheriffs, i still think 99% of LEOs are good folks. this one may have been having a bad day.

I will try all of that. I really don't want to be out a few hundred.

And eh, he really was a nice guy. I wouldn't have done it the way he did, but still. As said in like every above post, I just got hotheaded. My last 2 cop encounters were the REAL dicks.

[FIJI-9-Brother]

point out the mistakes...

[M_Quick]

I'd find the street and see what the speed limit is there, cause a 4 lane road sounds like more than any 25 mph limit!

[redkow97]

Ignorance of the law is never an excuse. It's your duty to look for the speed limit signs. If there really aren't any posted, then you've got something. Otherwise, you admitted guilt as soon as you agreed you were exceeding 25 mph.

[cOoTeR]

The reasoning that he shouldn't have given you a ticket because you could have ran is juvenile. Running would have been a good way to get yourself hurt and turn it into a felony. Maybe he didn't want to ticket you but the cop you passed relayed your speed and info expecting him to cite you. He maybe purposely put the errors on the ticket so it would get thrown out. Or since you didn't have valid proof of insurance he had to ticket you per department policy.

[Limenine9r]

Yeah, I had a ticket from city of Dayton - wrote on ticket that he paced me through downtown Dayton at 60mph.... BS, every stop light was red.. Prosecutor agreeded, dropped the point value to zero but I still had to pay court cost .

[Josh1234]

I tell them the truth, that I had no idea it was 25 through there; I had never seen a sign. It is a street that honestly SHOULD be 35. (Turn off of 741 at Cadillac Jack's, that road.)

They don't give a shit, take my license, go in the car and tell my freezing ass to kick it by the bike. I go up to the window in the middle of it and tell them again that I had absolutely no idea it was 25 or else I would have abided by it. They tell me "What's your driving record like?"

I have a ticket for failure to dim headlights and one for leaving my key in the ignition. I don't have a bad driving record, asshole.

So they tell me to go away again. I do, and wait. He gets out of his car and hands me the ticket. I get a little smart-mouthy about how it's kind of BS they're giving me a ticket when I had no idea I did anything wrong; I say that if I did, I wouldn't have just parked my bike (it took 'em like 2 mins to get after me). What they should have done is just scold me imo - I really could have EASILY gotten away without any effort.

So we go through the whole shiz of that, "meeting your quota," "better things to do," etc. etc.

Nice guys it seemed, but their ticket was an asshole move in my eyes.

They dismiss me, etc. I have to go to court because my insurance card was expired.

Now, I'm mainly looking for opinions on what to do. Go to court? Print out new insurance card and just pay the fees?

What confuses me is that, on the ticket, the "Highway" is listed as "Pebble Springs". I don't even know that road. The 'offense' happened on "Ferndown Dr", a two-lane road. They listed it as having 4 lanes. Wtf? (Which is something else I commented on. Why are they pulling someone over on a 2-lane road and expecting me to fully yield when I have to go into the next lane to pass anyways - which I did.)

So yeah. Opinions?

This thread is funny. Your reasoning for not deserving a ticket is that you didn't know the speed limit. Uh... that doesn't mean you're allowed to go as fast as you THINK the speed limit should be

And then you're all like, "Well my driving record isn't bad!" I just have, y'know, this one lil thing on it, and then that other lil thing on it... yeah.... that's called a bad driving record, dude.

Oh, and then you're like... Oh, beeteedubs, my insurance card is expired!

Last time that happened to me, I just had to send the cops a copy of my proof of insurance, not go to court.

Sounds like you need to man up, pay your ticket, and try a little harder to pay attention to the speed limit signs & when your insurance card/policy expires.

Also, on small two lane roads... Don't pass cops at 40 mph. Slow down a smidge. Oh, you were going 40 mph and didn't slow down at ALL to go around the cop? I'd give you a ticket, too. Or were you REALLY going 60 and you DID slow down... to 40?

[fazer1sniper]

Well I'm gonna chime in here. The details on the ticket as far as lane of traffic and shuch on your copy arnt nessisarily complete. The officer has to go back to his PD or post, get your LEADs print out, complete the citation, attach your driving record and sent to the court via whatever method they use. Bottom line, you got tagged 40 in the 25. Now depending on what time you wanna give up you got options.

One, you can go in to the court, show your good insurance and pay it and take the points. Done. no more time lost.

2, go in to court, appear infont of the judge, plead no contest, likely pay less, and still take the points.

or 3, go in plead not guilty, get a new court date, the officer will be called to court (and like get a good chunk overtime) and you meet with the procecuter. He will offer a "deal", less fine, cite for no points and a fine, or if you, were taking it to trial... Last part not likely for a traffic cite but can happen. If your are a d*ck to him or the officer the odds of this goes up. It all depends what kind of your time you wanna commit to this. Hell, Im a patrol cop, me going to court on traffic tickets in easy overtime. I don't care if you walk with a minor fine with no points or just walk. But if I saw a traffic violation and don't stop you for it, I'm being wrong or lazy. 2 things I don't wanna be. He had probable cause to stop and cite you. Where it goes from here is up to you and the amount of time you want to dedicate.

Edited November 14, 2012 by fazer1sniper

[C-bus]

Wouldn't that suck if one of Officer XXXXXX's friends was one of the x000 members on this very public forum?

[99FLHRCI]

Don't break the law or three at once (you said you were doing 41 in what you thought was a 35 past a stopped emergency vehicle (slow down or move over) and expired insurance) or if you do be a man and pay the fine. Why should the cop have to deal with your sucky attitude because you got caught?

[99FLHRCI]

If there really aren't any posted,

Not true. There are set posted limits on an unmarked road depending on zoning, number of lanes and condition/type of roadway.

[ohiomike]

Well I'm gonna chime in here. The details on the ticket as far as lane of traffic and shuch on your copy arnt nessisarily complete. The officer has to go back to his PD or post, get your LEADs print out, complete the citation, attach your driving record and sent to the court via whatever method they use. Bottom line, you got tagged 40 in the 25. Now depending on what time you wanna give up you got options.

One, you can go in to the court, show your good insurance and pay it and take the points. Done. no more time lost.

2, go in to court, appear infont of the judge, plead no contest, likely pay less, and still take the points.

or 3, go in plead not guilty, get a new court date, the officer will be called to court (and like get a good chunk overtime) and you meet with the procecuter. He will offer a "deal", less fine, cite for no points and a fine, or if you, were taking it to trial... Last part not likely for a traffic cite but can happen. If your are a d*ck to him or the officer the odds of this goes up. It all depends what kind of your time you wanna commit to this. Hell, Im a patrol cop, me going to court on traffic tickets in easy overtime. I don't care if you walk with a minor fine with no points or just walk. But if I saw a traffic violation and don't stop you for it, I'm being wrong or lazy. 2 things I don't wanna be. He had probable cause to stop and cite you. Where it goes from here is up to you and the amount of time you want to dedicate.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This

[jester3681]

If you have to take it to court anyway, go in, talk with the prosecutor, see if they'll make a deal involving no points. If they will, take it. In your situation, I see this as the best case scenario. You'll pay some money, no doubt, but your insurance should stay the same. Make up some ridiculous story about why you were speeding, maybe your dog is sick or you had to take a monster shit.

[jporter12]

Nice title change mods!

[MidgetTodd]

Kids

And for the record, I wish you would've tried to run. That always turns out amusing. I'm going to guess your age at 19

[Bitani]

I'd find the street and see what the speed limit is there, cause a 4 lane road sounds like more than any 25 mph limit!

VERY good point. I'm honestly just wondering how the heck he would have gotten the street COMPLETELY wrong. (To where I don't even know where that street is.) Possible intentional error?

Keep in mind this Mick XXXXXX guy is in his first 3 months where he's riding with another cop.

[Bitani]

Kids

And for the record, I wish you would've tried to run. That always turns out amusing. I'm going to guess your age at 19

Not 'run.' It literally took them 2 minutes to get into my apartment complex. They were dealing with another ticket and caught it on radar.

I could have easily just kept riding the speed limit and they wouldn't have found me. It's not like I was suggesting a high-speed chase.

------

And thank you whoever modded the title. Gave me a good giggle when I woke up. I really have nothing against this cop - he was a nice guy. I just had a pissy fit. Glad I can give you guys a nice laugh at my momentary ignorance, though.

------

Now, all of this 'prosecutor' stuff. I honestly have a very vague knowledge of the court system. Is the prosecutor the 'judge' I go to in traffic court, or somebody outside of it?

I'm probably going to point out the wrong street name and # of lanes, suggesting that if it WAS a 4-lane road the speed limit sure as hell wouldn't be 25.

Edited November 14, 2012 by Bitani

[conn-e-rot]

You may want to check with the court before you appear as to what they require for proof of insurance most likely they will want a letter from your insurance company stating you did have valid insurance on and before the date of the ticket usually you printing a card is not sufficient proof.