Furious over citation

[TedLynn]

Richard, Was the ticket written in Knox, Loudon or Blount County? Just as Bird has stated, in the past in Loudon County, your case was dismissed on presentation of a receipt for the repairs. The Officer has heard many times that you are on your way to repair it. Big Dave had a good point also. I have also written many of these citations, explaining that they should take a receipt to court, and seldom saw a fine paid. Years ago. Not sure how it is today. Ted

 

[MossRoad]

Richard,
Sorry about your dog.

As for the ticket... Around here, it seems that almost every arrest occurs after they discover the driver of a car with a broken head/tail light had an outstanding warrant. Seems the criminals never fix their cars(too busy being criminals, I guess). Pulling people over for minor safety violations seems to be a valuable tool in rounding up the bad guys. I doubt the cop hadn't met his quota on tickets.

I hope it turns out that if you provide proof of the repair you will get no fine. Good luck.

Again, sorry about your dog. Best remedy is to wait a while, then adopt another one. It will be loved and happy. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Taylortractornut]

Richard I know the feeling, I worked in ALabama away from home for a few months, No inspection sticker needed, the day I came home the Hiway patrol got me when i crossed the stateline into Mississippi. The officer kept asking whay didnt you come back to MS to get one when my position required me on the job 7 days a week and i was 100 miles from home. The kicker was i was in my 94 halfton chevy with a portable tank and he called mad the DOT come check for red fuel in my gas tank. Plus i got written up for my tag light being out. Big help because i was pulling a trailer. I barely wont the court case but it did go through on my side. I had an accident this week i rear ended a kids truck and his dad owns the truck tonight it went from a bent bumper and tail pipe to oh its ruiiend my custom ehausts both of them, the bumper and bent the frame, in a 10 mph crash. THe kid made a mistake to tell me his uncle had a bodyshop and thats who gave the estimate, I wanted to keep it off the insuarance books because of my CDL s i may get. THe guy told me he had a shop picked out already to carry it to. i guess ill include the insurance company, and have it taken to there shop. good luck on the ticket

 

[rdln]

That would piturb me also. I have had 3 fixit tickets in 17 years of driving, 2 for exhaust and 1 for window tint. The window tint was an admitted pet peave for this cop, In Michigan you cant tint the front door windows all the way down only 3" from top, I knew this but I bought the truck that way, it wasn't something I would have done. No fines involved with these just fix it and have ticket signed as such, thats the way these things should be done.

I fix burnt headlights within a week, but I let a rear turn signal go for awhile and it helped cause an accident. It was a minor accident and the that passed me on the right side as I was turning right did most of the helping, but had the blinker worked she would have STAYED behind me like she should have regardless. Anyways the $.99 bulb turned into a $250 deductible and a 3 day inconvenience for me.

Sounds like this cop might have a headlight pet peave, something personal happened to him involving a burnt headlight and he is helping you avoid worse consequences. Who knows?

 

[soarkrebel]

Back in my days as a police i called this a chicken ticket!!
As a sergeant i would ream a patrolman for writing one of these! give a warning unless youve spoke to this person before.
I reamed them and handed them a nolle pros form .

My pet peave was failure to dim. i hated that! but i didnt always right a ticket.
I never wanted to be thought of by my employer as a revenue maker!!!! but sadly some communitys look at the police as revenue!

 

[bgott]

When I was a kid in California I got a fixit ticket or two. Or fifty. A buddy and I stuck a 283 in a '48 chevy pickup once and went for a test drive and got a fixit ticket so long it took three ticket forms for the cop to write it all down. All you had to do there was fix the problem and flag a cop down and have him sign off on it and send it in. If you didn't fix it they issued a warrant and you got to tell the judge why you didn't fix the car. It wasn't a revenue thing, they wanted the car fixed. The only way to get out of it without fixing it was to show proof that you junked the car. I moved to Louisiana and got a muffler ticket. I went and had a muffler put on my van and went to court, they didn't care if I fixed it, they just wanted the $30. The next time you see a light out swing into a parts house and pick one up and save yourself the hassle. When you get rolled on show him the bulb and tell him you're going to fix it right away. I've had them nail me for a headlight out and installed the bulb while he was writing the ticket and had him sign off on it right there. That kind of pi$$ed him off. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[TresCrows]

I guess then that in Texas it is Ok to drink, shoot and drive as long as both your headlight bulbs are in working order.
I got pulled over in Fla once during the daylight for driving with my headlamps on. I asked him why that was a problem and he told me it was hurting his eyes. I asked him to show me how to turn the lamps off. Apparently he is unaware that some cars have daylight running lights. In Louisiana, my home state, the locals down south in keeping the highways (I10) safe from Yankees would pull folks over and hand out tickets even if it was needed to fake the offense. They were then taking the money to go on ski vacations. I got pulled over another time in Fouke Ark for speeding even though I was not and besides that the sign was overgrown inside a bush. It was like 3AM and the cop/judge/mayor/deputy/hardware clerk asked me what if there had been kids out playing, I just had to ask, what kids are out at 3AM and where would they be going? About that time a drunk rode by on a delapadated bicycle and then fell over in the road sprawled out. I did not get a ticket cuz apparently the drunk was the deputy sherrif or some such as that, not exactly sure, and my assistence was required to help him and the bicycle into the patrol car, he was a large man with a large belly.
J

 

[Bird]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( hand out tickets even if it was needed to fake the offense. They were then taking the money to go on ski vacations )</font>

JR, as in any profession or occupational group, yes, unfortunately there have been some crooked cops (and judges). And I have had some interesting dealings with some of them myself (and some of them went to prison as they should have). But in Richard's case, I didn't see that alleged.

I assume your comment above is related to the story on one of the national TV "news magazine" shows (I've forgotten which one) several years ago about some sheriff's departments in Louisiana confiscating money and vehicles on I-10. It so happens that I was stopped on I-10 about 2 a.m. by two deputy sheriffs in an unmarked car and not in uniforms about that time, supposedly for drifting across the center line, which I had certainly done to move away from their car sitting on the shoulder of the road with no lights on and since there was not another vehicle in sight in either direction. My cruise control was set right on the speed limit, so they didn't accuse me of speeding. After questioning me until they found that I was a retired officer, they let me go, but seemed reluctant to do so. And it did make me wonder whether or not they were part of the scam the TV news had shown.

Of course, I wouldn't have even been there that time of night if it hadn't been for the fact that we were down on the Texas coast when we got a call that my father-in-law was in the hospital in West Virginia and not expected to live, so I drove all night to get up there.

 

[Richard]

but you were driving at night with only one light.

This happened at 6:47 A.M. as per the officers ticket. Time of day where it is daylight enought that lots of cars did NOT even have their lights on.

As I had mine on, I leave them on until I get to work...for me, this is that "twilight" part of the day where you "can" get away without lights, but personally, I prefer mine on during this "gray zone" from dark to light, so that just in case, something happens (wreck) I can honestly say to judge.. Your honor, they shudda seen me, I DID have my light(s) on.

This was NOT in the darkenss of "night".

/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Richard]

forgot to add:

I do not mind being stopped at all. I do not mind being handed a piece of paper that shows they documented it.

What I mind is on a first discussion, the evident fine is $221. What happens if I fix it, go to court, they walk out to my car to check it (as the officer said they might...besides, how ELSE can I "PROVE" it's fixed? for me, a piece of paper in hand as receipt only "proves" I have a receipt in my hand, it doesn't "prove" the light is fixed...)

anyway, so they look at my car, both lights work. Fine.. I forget to turn them off as I drive away, the other bulb burns out and 2 blocks later, whammo. another $221.

I realize the scenario isn't likely, but my point is to try to illustrate that as servers of the community, as reasonable people, as stewards of goodwill.... for a silly thing like this, a verbal, or documented "hey, we see that...get it fixed or else" is sufficient, reasonable and in my view, much better communitity relations.

I recall WAY above here, someone asked wehre this happened... it happened in Knox county, Kingston pike and Smith road so it's county court, not city. Bummer too, seems my attorney friend is good buddies with the city judge but doestn' know the county one very well or at all. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif