My concern now is that my court date is going to be scheduled for the worst day possible. Like the day I'm set to leave for Hawaii in August. That'll be the kicker...if I'm the friggin' one not to show up.
No problem, bro...You make sure you show up in court and fight that ticket...Meanwhile, I'll head down to Hawaii for ya
Thanks SuperRook. I knew I could coun't on someone stepping up to help. You sure sending you off across the country to a tropical paradise isn't asking too much of you?
[b]"Do not go where the path leads you...Go where there is no path and leave a trail."[/b]
It's official, Bloomberg stated that they are cracking down on hazardous lifestyles... yet I still see speeding souped up pick-ups, talking on cells, weaving in and out (cagers). (Courtesy of readin bloomeys comments)
This was in response to Big Ben's accident and also an increase in complaints about motorists safety but they're getting the wrong people.
One thing you can count on: You push a man too far, and sooner or later he'll start pushing back.
Mag7C wrote:That's a total bullshit law. Whoever came up with it should be punched in the throat. It's ridiculous there are laws like that and still nothing against people driving with cellphones or driving while eating.
I don't think it's a BS law... without eye protection dirt/dust rocks whatever could hit you in the eye and cause an accident. We have a law in NJ that you can't hold a cell phone while driving.
I figured something must be going on. I really hope its not in response to Roethlisberger though. It shouldn't take a high-profile athlete to wreck and now everyone's safety conscious.
But alot of cracking down has gone on in even the past week. I saw a total of 7 bikes pulled over within a 3 block radius the day I got my ticket. Who knows what they were stopped for. I understand alot of bikes are stolen and actually don't have much beef with checking regularly. But finding bogus reasons to stop everyone is outright wrong and annoying. Do random checks or something, but don't stop a biker with the intention to solely check then hit him up for his license plate.
Every Tuesday night, a good 50+ NY and NJ riders gather in Edgewater, NJ from about 8:30-10pm or later. We've been doing this for quite sometime now. Just a nice big, fairly empty lot, right next to a Starbucks and right on the water with a great view of the city. Bunch of riders getting together shooting the dodo and hanging out. No one stunts, no one revs obnoxioulsy, no burnouts, no crotch-grabbing...(Well maybe some crotch grabbing), but all in all its more of a weekly hangout and catch up. Not one problem in the whole time we've been doing this. This past Tuesday, cops come in and order people to disperse claiming they saw bikes doing over 100mph down route 80. So of course they assumed they were coming to the meet up spot. So we all had to reluctantly leave, but we just ended up riding a bit farther down the river and finding a new spot. We'll see if the cops get tipped off to any more bs next week.
[b]"Do not go where the path leads you...Go where there is no path and leave a trail."[/b]
I'm no expert, but my Grandfather is. I'm not sure how the justice dept works in NY, NY, but in Canada we contact the courts and tell them a legitimate reason that we can not make the court date. If you can provide proof that you're leaving for Hawaii and that it was planned long before the court date was set, you can likely get an extension.
The great thing about extensions is, the cop NEVER shows up.
Police officers get all their ticket-fights scheduled on the same day so that they only have to spend 1 day in court. If your date is suspended, chances are he will not show up to fight one ticket and you'll get away clean.
This is my first post, but just so happens to be my expertise.
In NYPD, its all about the almight number. Not for money, but just the number of summonses given out. This being the summertime, motorcycles and bicyclists are the current target. Look for a NYCC message board for cyclists griping.
But I can't stress enough, this is New York, so I'm sure they'd find a way to make me drop the soap and hand me a fine of $115
Equipment violations are $60 or $65.
I've heard stories of the cops "never" showing up to court, but right now I'm 2 for 2 with officer attendance
We always show up, if we don't we lose time on the books.
I've got my $90 ticket with complimentary 2pts on my license to prove it.
no points on cell phone violations.
Thing is...they actually seem to be targeting sportbikes.
We all see the idiots on sportbikes doing 100 mph on the way to work, weaving, no plate visible, so it probably puts something in the back of our heads that most sportbike riders are idiots.
Of the 8 riders killed so far this year in NYC, 7 of them didn't have licenses. And most bikes aren't even registered. On the Puerto Rican Parade weekend, motorcycle checkpoints were set up and over 50 bikes were confiscated for being unregistered.
Would I have given you a ticket for the face shield, never in a million years, depending on your attitude.
Would I have pulled you over, just to check everything out (license, reg, insurance), yes, but you would be sent on your way with a "Please Ride Carefully".
Wow, an expert response. Are you a cop? If so, look out for < I Fly >. He's a real LEOminator.
I take it you're rider friendly and from your responses I thank you for your information. I'll add that I did in fact receive 2 points on my license for driving while talking on the phone. I was originally told by the officer that it would not be points, but when I went to sign up for insurance for my motorcycle, they informed me that the 2 points I received from the cell phone violation hurt me but putting me into the higher risk category.
In any case, thanks for the information. Hope you stick around and we all can turn to you for expert opinions and advice.
[b]"Do not go where the path leads you...Go where there is no path and leave a trail."[/b]
So ScooterCop. In your opinion what would you suggest I do in terms of defending myself in court?
In all seriousness, (I'm assuming you're from New York), I was traveling down 125th which you know is always packed. I had the visor up for maybe a block and a half. I know I went through 2 lights because it was at the last light before the end of the street I got pulled over. My next move was to hop on the highway in which case the visor would have obviously been down. Again, my visor is tinted dark simply for that reason, being I want to keep the sun out my eyes (plus it looks cool as hell ). I probably have the visor down 90% of the time I ride. Only time its up is when I'm sitting at a light and wanting to prevent fog or if I want to talk to my partner I'm riding with at the time, which I obviously can't do while moving.
The cop who pulled me over did in fact seem almost apologetic and even suggested I fight the ticket, so thats why I assumed maybe he wouldn't even show up. But if suggesting this then why bother giving me the ticket. I don't know...
But what do you suggest my case be, or how should I go about phrasing my argument to best increase my chances?
[b]"Do not go where the path leads you...Go where there is no path and leave a trail."[/b]
