Weird tickets and lessons learned.

One cold January day I drove to Ohio to visit a friend. I was on a back road just following along with traffic, when a cop comes the other way. Gut reaction was to step on the brake a little, since traffic as a whole was over the limit. I guess it was the combination of the front end dipping a little and the lack of a front plate, but the cops turned around when they could and pulled me over. I found out then that my license was suspended (Stupid Indiana) and I was arrested, car was searched and impounded, and while sitting in the back seat I heard one officer say to the other"What else can we charge him with?" Then one says to me "We don't think you had your seat belt on." I explained it was an automatic belt. ('90 something Thunderbird) they let that go but I still got locked up. I got bailed out, went to court, and lied to the judge about having insurance. I was given a proof of insurance form to fill out and return, which I did, using the policy that I had on my bike since the form didn't specify a vehicle.


Another set of tickets I didn't deserve, I was at a friend's house and left late one night. He lived on a 4 land road with a turn lane in the middle, so I backed out into the turn lane, checked for traffic behind me (at 2:00 AM?) and saw one set of headlights way off in the distance so I got going. I reached down to turn on the heat and in that second my left wheels were on the yellow. I went on down the road, made a right, made a left and was pulled over. I was given a breathalyzer twice, then handed four tickets. Two were for lights not working, (worded differently) one for driving in oncoming traffic, and one driving left of center. Stupidly I paid them and took 12 points on my license. Because of that I lost out on several good jobs I was qualified for but required me to drive.

Ummm, one? Wait....are you insinuating that I wasn't "artful"? I guess it's a damn good thing I didn't try to take credit for the original story.

After I posted that, I wondered how many hard-core interwebz warriors would actually take the time to do the search....some of you guys have WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON YOUR HANDS!!!

I suppose this also means you already know MY name, home address, SS#, and have created 5 alternate persona using my personal credit history.... :huh

as a winter rider, I'm happy to read about this

http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Man-charged-with-7-inches-of-snow-on-car/-/9857858/19435254/-/6myidj/-/index.html



DANBURY, N.H. —

Danbury police said Robert Recio, 59, was driving on Route 4 with about 7 inches of snow covering all but a small portion of his windshield around 5 p.m. Tuesday.


Police said they followed Recio for more than a mile with their lights and siren before he noticed they were trying to pull him over. Authorities said he told them he was waiting to get to a gas station before brushing off his car.

Recio was charged with negligent driving, failure to display a license plate properly and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle.

Police said it is illegal to drive with snow covering a car and said it could be dangerous to other drivers.



Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/nh-news/Ma.../19435254/-/6myidj/-/index.html#ixzz2OTsZTumM

Years ago my friend and I were drag racing on the street. We totalled our cars at the end of the road we thought went straight, it didn't. Thankfully we were uninjured. The woman cop got there and asked "were you boys drag racing"? I replied "yes mam". She almost broke out in tears and carried on about how everyone at the department and even her kids lie to her. Then she said there were calls matching our vehicles' descriptions any way.

My ticket was Improper lane usage.
His ticket was failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident.
LESSON LEARNED.:eek1

This, and that woman who was ticket for failure to keep right a week or so ago are giving me hope for some traffic enforcement.

Ah, yes, Blood Mountain. The Dahlonega post highway patrol are not a friendly bunch...we've met.

I got pulled over a few years ago by Williamson County popo in Central Texas. They claimed they could not see my inspection to they pulled me over, after being behind me at a stop light. When they got me into the lot they saw the sticker and let that one go.

So I think they really pulled me over because I had a bike rack mounted to my 150CC scooter and had my mountain bike on board. Once they got me over and gave me the third degree for my inspection sticker, they started to tell me that state law prevented having anything attached to your vehicle that extends more than 4" wider than the left fender or 7" wider than the right fender. I proceded to tell them that I did not think that rule was applicable to motorcycles and pointed out that all his po-po equipment (Radar gun holster, panniers, and the massive Big Gulp cup holder) was much wider than the fenders on his bike (yeah this was moto cops!).

SO a couple of warnings. Learned that I need to keep that inspection sticker semi visible. Oh and that cops are not lawyers,

Cops are not lawyers, but they can sure make it so you need one.

Snip

Could the officer explain which was the right fender and which was the left fender, my scooter only has a front and a rear!!????

Hell, my pickup mirrors are more than 7" from the fenders

I observed a ticket being handed out this evening. The LEO was driving an older, unmarked, mini-van That is just plain unfair.

After reading through this I thought I needed to stand up for our Oklahoma LEOs, lol. I've actually never been hassled by one while on my bike, although my friend and I did get a light flash from the other side once, amazing how chopping the throttle will reduce speed, lol.

Living in OKC area, and I had decided to buy my current bike from Dean Jones at Sandia BMW in Albuquerque, so intended to go get it and pull it back. Well, my car decided to act funny so I just rented an Explorer that had a receiver so I could pull the small MC trailer. My son and I loaded it up and left our small town west of OKC, and hadn't been on the road more than five minutes, rolling about 3-4 over among a lot of rush hour commuters when I saw that an OHP had materialized behind me and was lighting me up. My son, not yet 16 at the time, had eyes like saucers and I was muttering what the...4 over?? He came up and looked us over while being pleasant and then noncommittal when I answered his question about why I was being pulled over by saying respectfully "Apparently for going 3-4 over?" Asked me back to his car, in the meantime my son's eyes were now also bugging out and I think he was calling his mom even as I got out to follow the rather large and muscular fellow back to his Charger. We got in the car and he said "Mr....what's your name?" I give it to him while he is squinting at the insurance card and license..."We aren't too harsh here, but we would like folk from Georgia (Georgia tag on SUV) to drive the speed limit, especially at rush hour...wait a minute...this says you live in Yukon???" I explained how my car had punked out and we were on the way to Alb. to bring back a MC, and he could call Officer S... H... if he needed references, the Explorer had more pep than my VW diesel and I hadn't really driven it but a few miles so far, and...(insert tap dancing routine here)" He just shook his head and gave the stuff back to me and said "Just go on, keep it around the limit, ok...and I wouldn't be bragging about knowing S..." and he started laughing, so did I, and then my son had to call his mom back and correct his fervent opinion that I had been arrested and taken back to the cruiser, and I had gotten lippy with the Trooper

So, if you were from Georgia, he would have written you up?

If so, that's a crock. Ian, Iowa

Thursday night I had to drop some clothes off for my son at swim practice so that he could spend the night with a friend. It was nice (first time in a while) so I hopped on the Bonnie.
There is a traffic light for the entrance to a corporate facility very near the high school where he was swimming. This light only cycles red, yellow, green from 6 to 9 in the morning and 3 to 6 in the afternoon; the rest of the time it's blinking.
Since it was after 7 in the evening I was surprised to see this light red. As I approached, the lone car waiting at the light took off. After I stopped and ended up waiting an extraordinarily long time without the light going green, I realized it was malfunctioning and proceeded through.
I pulled in the parking lot, drove to the end closest to the school, waved at a couple of moms having a chat by their car and stopped the bike next to a pedestrian gap in the fence separating the lot from the drive way in front of the pool entrance. As I got off, I noticed the mom who would be taking my son home parked next to the door, so I got back on the bike (figured I just pull through the gap and hand her the clothes).
Before I hit start, an old guy in a Grand Marquis pulls up and stops with his driver side door next to me (he came way too fast and way too close). In a voice that reminded me of one the Lollipop Kids he starts bitching at me about ignoring red lights and dropped at least one F bomb. I considered responding but decided against it, hit start and pulled through the gap and parked by the previously mentioned mom, gave her the clothes and decided to watch a few minutes of practice. When I came out, there was a cop car pulled up behind the old nut bag and a cop standing at his window. When I walk out, the old guy starts shouting (screeching might be a better description) at me. "Get over here, tell him you ran that light."
The cop looked at me for about 2 seconds and turned back to the old leprechaun, so I pulled on my bucket, started up and pulled away.
When I picked my son up on Friday, I found out from the mom that the cop wrote the guy a ticket for running a red light and the guy pitched a fit. I'm guessing the guy saw me run the light and without waiting around long enough to see that the light was malfunctioning, in righteous indignation drove through the light to chase me down and serve up some justice. I'm also guessing the cop was likewise unaware of the malfunction and saw the guy run the light.

I am driving in a small NH town on a back road in my F150 pickup following a 7 series BMW with Connecticut plates going about 10 MPH over the speed limit. Local LEO coming the other way lights up and pulls a u turn. I stop behind the BMW. The LEO walks past my truck on the way to the BMW and says " take off, have a nice day".

Yeah, and next year he'll take his vacation in Vermont. I make sure to have a local running interference for me whenever possible.

But the best line I ever heard when someone got stopped for speeding - while many others sped by - was when the LEO said "When you go fishing, do you catch all the fish?"

Eastbound US 36, just east of I-71, Sunbury Ohio, last spring. 35mph zone, heavy traffic going 45-50, I am concerned with a tailgater, deputy dog stopped on the right berm is getting back in the cruiser. Then I see red and blue lights, cutting back and forth across traffic, settles in behind me, I pull over, wait with my hands on the bars, point to my helmet and say "ear plugs" when deputy dog walks up. Deputy dog is a huge Latino woman, very full of anger, and trying to imitate a Drill Instructor. Claims I was doing 48 in a 35. Demands license and insurance cards, she is barking about speed limits and my speed, and I notice three guys in a used car lot about 20 yards to our right... and they are imitating the deputy. Witnesses were a good thing right then, clowns were not. She turns hard right and barks at them, which encourages them. She repeat barks the 48 in a 35 message at me, and I calmly ask her to see her dash cam, and informed her that she was not in her car when I went by. She barked more, I think she was trying to assert authority, and I was being calm and hoping to piss her off more than a ticket would piss me off. And the clowns... kept on stoking the fire... She walks back to her car, gets in, and I shouted at the clowns to stick around in case she decides to whale on me with her club or sap or whatever. They laugh. I told the clowns she was scaring me and they laughed. I think... they were drinking...Deputy with DI delusions comes back from car, throws my license and card a me, and tells me to move out. The clowns are now encouraging her to kick my ass, and laughing, and she does a right face and starts walking tough-guy (tough -gal) style towards them. They take off in the three different directions. I did not stick around to see what happened next.

It has been a while since I've gotten a yellow award ribbon. Here are a coupe of the dumber ones.
Got a non-moving ticket for "obstructed tag". After I reached back and put my hand over it riding through the ez-pass plaza and didn't notice the trooper next to me.

My favorite one- operating a CMV without the proper endorsement. While riding my XB. I was going "a touch fast" on I-75 in probably 2009. Look in the blurry mirror to see flashing lights right behind me, officer friendly says what's the hurry? He goes back after the obligatory chat and does his thing, comes back and says he overlooked the speeding because I didn't have any recent tickets for speeding and that he would get me on a license violation instead, no MC endorsement. Excuse me? I've had a MC endorsement since about 2000. Long story short, officer friendly was a street crimes deputy and traffic was not his specialty. He wrote the wrong traffic statute on the ticket and even the judge looked at him and said...if you don't know that a CDL isn't required to operate a privately owned motorcycle, you probably should just stick to your day job. Dismissed. Cost = 0.

When I was a young lad I once had a police officer write me a ticket for turning left on a yellow light. when he gave me the ticket I asked him if it was illegal and he said "It was about to turn RED. That is how accidents happen!". I was not sure that I understood him properly so I said "So it is illegal to make a left hand turn on a yellow light?" and he lost his crap telling me that I was a disrespectful punk on a bike, blah blah blah.

I took it to court. The judge asked the officer the same question I did. I explained that the speed limit on both roads was 45 mph I approached and could see clearly no one was coming, and proceeded safely through. Case was dismissed.

I've been let off a lot more than I've been written. It has a lot to do with respecting the officer. And the fact that they seem to be surprised when I take my helmet off and they see the white hairs.

Two of my favorites:

6am on a Sunday in early spring. Within 10 minutes of the start of my first long ride of the year. As I slowed for a 30 mph zone entering a small town the short siren burp got my attention. My first thought was to wonder how long he had been behind me. I stayed seated and waited as the 2 NYS Troopers approached, one on each side of me. The gray haired trooper on my right did all the talking. The spit polished kid on my left stood rigid with his hand on his gun. As I removed my helmet, the senior trooper smiled very briefly before telling me they had been chasing me for 5 miles. They took my papers and went to their car. After 5 minutes, they got out of the car. Watching in my mirrors, I noticed neither was carrying a ticket book. With a slight smile, the talkative one told me he could see I wasn't a complete miscreant, gave me my papers back and wished me a nice day. I didn't even get a lecture. I'm not sure what was going on, but in my mind I think the older guy was giving the new kid a hard time because he couldn't catch another old guy. The lesson is don't shave the white whiskers.

My other favorite. Driving an Explorer, towing a flat trailer carrying my Sprint (it was February in NY), a local cop pulled me over. I don't think I had been speeding. As usual, the officer started by asking if I knew why he had pulled me over. Before I said anything, my grandson spoke up from his child safety seat in the back "Because he doesn't have his seat belt on!". I had just removed it to get my wallet. Cop ignored him and told me my trailer had no lights. I had forgotten to plug them in. He let me connect them and sent us on our way. No ticket. Lesson: gag the grandkid.