This is just amazing.. I was on I-78 heading west just 2 miles from the PA border, when I had a NJ State Trooper come up behind me. I was doing 67 in a posted 65 MPH zone. I saw him behind me and I was in the center lane. I did not step on the brakes but I did lift my foot off the gas to drop to 65 MPH. Next thing I know, he has his flashing lights on telling me to pull over.. He asks for my license and Regristraion not saying a word. Next thing I know, he hands me a ticket for Obstructed View, a violation of statute 39:3-74.. (When I got on the NJ website to check the offense, it said it was an "obstructed windshield" saying nothing about front or rear.) I said are you kidding?? He said No.. He said the cross brace in the rear was blocking my rear window view.. I said it comes with the car, I didn't put it there and it's well below the window line.. I even invited him to sit in the car so he could see for him self.. he said it was against the law for him to sit in my car.. He drove off leaving me scratching my head.. The fine is $44. This happened about 90 miles from my home.. I really don't think it pays to drive the 180 miles round trip to fight it as it would cost me almost $44 in gas & tolls alone but I really want to do something.. Any suggestions?? I know the states in this area NY & NJ) need money, but this is really crazy!!

Steve (k2we) Dobbs Ferry, NY 9135 miles since Sept 17th...

 

Steve- That sucks, but can't you fight a ticket by mail out there- I know you can here in CA. I would imagine they would dismiss this as the car comes standard with this equipment, hell it's attached.
$44 bucks isn't a lot of money but I would probably even drive the 180 miles just as a matter of principle (and w/ my luck I'd get the same ticket on the way home ). Good luck man.

-Jason

 

That is too funny . . .I would be laughing all 90 of the miles back to court. Then I would figure out some way to get the state to pay for your travel time.

Call NNA and tell them. I bet they laugh too. Who knows they may spring for a lawyer.

 

WOW! Now thats nerve!

You should have asked him to make a note of the obstruction on the ticket for you.

In any case, you've gotta contest it. Unfortunately, after it is dismissed (which should take about 30 seconds) you will not feel much better about it.

 

You've gotta contest that man. I had two BS tickets like that in VA (I live in FL) and I just paid them. My insurance was higer for 3 years for the non-moving minor infractions.

My best advice would be to try to find a local (NJ) traffic attorney who will show up in court for you and contest the ticket. There are alot of them in Miami where I live. Down here they charge like 80 or so for a speeding ticket, but they gaurantee no points, etc or they don't charge you for their services.

I feel your pain man, that sucks.

 

Ugh, that's some BS. NJ state troopers suck. Fight it man - on principle alone! Don't let them get your money that easily! I'd rather spend the money on gas and tolls (although I guess that's sorta paying the state of NJ too, albeit a lesser amount) than just mailing that crooked system a check for some BS.

 

What next? A ticket for not having a back seat?

WayneTN

 

LMAO, that is terrible mad. My a ...I can't even describe that trooper. Sorry to have that happen to you, take it to court & then find that trooper & shove a big brace bar up his ****, "Can you still see now Mr. Trooper." lol, just playing.

 

eh you think thats bad?
how about a ny ticket @ 7:00 p.m. daylight outside under the train station being pulled over for loud radio......

even got pulled over in ny for no seatbelt when my car no longer has seatbelts but, it has 4 point sparco harnesses and the officer wanted to see the harnesses......

or maybe being pulled out of your vehicle in ny flatbush to be exact supposidly for not signaling...they search me, my girl and my car for narcotics and weapons lol
then after they didnt find anything they asked me about my car...
they asked where i work and how i pay for my car and why i had $100 bill in my wallet which was f*kin retarted

or this one imdriving home from a clukb 2 a.m. my two friends are drunk and racing each other going about 120 mph with no headlights on...they pass a state trooper in nj..... i pass doing 80 troopers lights go on he flies by both of them who are still racing w/ no headlights on and pulls me over....i dont drink but he decides to give me a test anyway....im not drunk so no harm done but gives me a speeding ticket.......

then i had an incident where i switched lanes and was pulled over for switching lanes while the road was curving......trooper gives me a careless driving ticket.....

then one more for speeding which yes i was speeding so i deserved it.....but he gives me an expiored dl when i dont have a jersey license yet because i just moved to nj....


ive noticed that when your young with a nice fast looking car your gonna get pulled over....and it doesnt help when your from the hood and you wear baggy things and bandanas

f*kin eh

NiLe C.

hehehe my cars still hot tho

 

you can get a ticket for switching lanes when the road curves? Even though there are no solid lines?

 

Nope, which is why the cop gave him a ticket for "reckless driving." Basically an excuse for harassing him for the way he dressed and looked. Pretty shitty.

OTOH, he could have been driving down a windy road and was constantly chaning lanes in order to drive to the inside of the corner. That could definitely be considered reckless driving.

I do believe that it is pretty crappy to get all those rinky-dink tickets, but at the same time, you should also not put yourself in a position to make it easy for the cop to be a jerkass. In other words, don't speed along next to your friends who are racing.

The strut-bar ticket is a joke though. If anything, the obstructed view is from the ceter mounted brake light and rear headliner (but you may not want to use that in your defence). I think I would have to fight the ticket on principle alone, even if I ended up losing money on gas and tolls.

-D'oh!

 

fight that, and I agree, call NNA and talk to them, Id bet theyll fly a lawyer out there, they cant have the state start issueing tickets against their OEM equipment.

 

I agree Ares...you have to at least contact Nissan Customer Care about this to make them aware.

 

Ummm. I am confused. I thought most states were like Texas. You can paint your rear window solid black if you want. No visibility is required from the rear window. Do they care what window tint is percent wise on the rear window in NJ? Man, I will help pool money for your travel expenses if you need us to, just so you can go fight this. That is absolutely insane. I would have asked for another unit to come out or something. I can't believe that, totally speechless.

 

I was just pondering this, as well. What about even more extreme cars like all Lamborghinis since the Countach? Those things hardly even have a rear window at all. Also, what about trucks with trailers? There is literally zero visibility out the back with a trailer attached. (And most big trucks don't even have rear windows, so a trailer doesn't even matter.) Would that mean that big rigs, and vehicles pulling trailers, are not required to keep the same rear visibility as vehicles that are not pulling trailers?

My guess is that the cop in this case was just having a bad day and needed to take it out on someone, or perhaps had a ticket quota he had to meet. He's probably banking on the fact that you won't show up to contest the ticket.

 

Which is even one more reason to contest it.
You can't let this become a trend!!!

And I'm in agreement about contacting NNA as well, with the tight nit Z community (from forums like this) Nissan knows this story will spread to potential buyers and just give Honda, Subaru and Mitusbishi increased sales.

 

I would think you would win your case as long as the judge isn't a total moron.....sometimes they can be totally wierd and still side with the officer even though you did nothing wrong. Good luck....what a pain in the a$$....first being hassled for no reason....now having to fight in court or spend your hard earned money for nothing.

 

Funny you should mention that... in CA (as I've been told), you cannot have an intoxicated person in the front passenger seat while driving. Therefore, if you are transporting a drunk friend (or drunk date) in your Z which does not have back seats, you may be cited for "essentially" not having a back seat.

Obviously, cramming them into the rear hatch space will also get you cited.

In CA, I've also been told that ANY obstruction to your view, irrespective of whether it "actually" obstructs your view, is illegal. Ergo, my radar detector is illegal because it obstructs my windshield and, technically, so is my sticker from the Nissan dealer letting me know when my next oil change is. Granted you will most likely not be cited for these items, but apparently the law is written so police officers have broad discretion in determining what is and is not an obstruction.

Did you also know that in CA, dropping feathers from your car is not considered littering, but ashing your cigarette (just the ash, not the butt) is littering?

 

Yet drinking hot starbucks coffee, while doing makeup in the mirror, talking on the phone, and smoking at the same time, is considered absolutely legal behavior while driving.

I blame the stupid laws, not the cops.

Tossing the cigarette out the window is a BIG peeve of mine. I've had a few hit my car on the highway. Makes me feel like driving by and tossing a large flaming wooden torch into their lap. Ya like that you f**k?!

 

Steve,
I'd fight that all the way just on principle. Make another Z road trip out of it that court day.

Make me wonder if that stupid law is elsewhere like here in FL. What would they think of the Nismo wings we are putting on. They obstruct the view to the rear, but only a small slice of road just about 30' behind the car.

Good see another Ham with a Z!

73
Jeff WC4E, N4AO
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