sicilianoNYC

Ok, so i got pulled over 3 weeks ago on the dekalb/gwinnett county border line (metro ATL) for having blueish white LED sidemarkers on my 350Z. He gave me a ticket for them and also said he was giving me 2 warnings which he wrote on the ticket (improper license tag ...he said my NISMO plate was covering up the county name, and going 80 in a 55 was a warning). So the ticket is for having blue sidemarker lights. I called the number on the back of the ticket today (1 week befoe my court date) and the lady told me It was a mandatory court appearance, I asked how much the fine was and she said I have to go to court thats all.

WHY DO I HAVE TO GO TO COURT FOR a LIGHT VIOLATION!?!?!?

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Around here it is so they can see you fixed it not so much to pay the fine. Here you just fix the car then get a cop to sign the ticket and present it to the clerk of the court.

MRfire

iTrader: (2)

A WARNING for 80 in a 55???

Very strange move there.....

stopgo

Because the authorities in the jurisdiction that issued your ticket are a bunch of mouth-breathing scum. Really. The only reason is that it's much easier to make a "light violation" stick versus a speeding violation. No arguing over radar calibrations, weather conditions, etc. That means it'll be easier to pull a fine out of your wallet and inflate the jurisdiction's coffers. If I were a particularly prickly sort of person, I'd go to court with a photograph of the sidemarkers, some technical details and a very simple question, "Yer Honor, does the court really believe its interests lay in prosecuting a vehicle owner for the possession of TWO FRIGGIN' LEDs?!?!"

And cops wonder why people hate them so much...

Good luck with the ticket. I hope the judge rolls his/her eyes and dismisses it without a second thought.

Scott

ChrisMCagle

Well, I don't know the attitude or anything of the cop that pulled you over, but I can tell you what happened to me.

About 6+ years ago I was on my way to my night class and I had just put some red lense repair tape over my front fog lamps. My car was red at the time and I thought that it would look kinda cool.

Anyway, at a stoplight there is a cop going facing me going the opposite direction and as soon as the light turned green and I passed him, he throws a ***** and get's behind me with his disco lights going. I pull over and turn off my car. This pecker comes up to my car with the BIGGEST attitude I have ever seen and tells me to "Get out of the vehicle!". I do and he asks to see my badge to which I of course have no response since I don't know what the hell he's talking about. He then procedes to tell me that he could arrest me for (get this) "Impersonating a Police Officer!" When I said that I didn't know what he was talking about, he walked to the front of my car and pointed to me "Red Police Lights". I then realized what he was getting at, but thought that "Impersonating a Police Officer" was a bit much. Luckily he just made me remove the tape and then let me go.

Like I said, I don't know if the cop that popped you was like the one who got me, but it might explain the manditory court appearance. I could be wrong though, and probably am, it's just my 2 cents

-Chris

FriscoZR

I believe that blue lights are a federal mandate - so locals or feds can bust you for that. Like Chris said - they may get a real burr about this. Any blue lights or leds should be used for off street use only - otherwise you are at risk. Yellow/amber is the only safe way to go for the front. Best of luck - be prepared to change them.

2003z

iTrader: (7)

especially when there has been a rash of police impersonators here in atlanta pulling people over and stealing their drivers licenses lately.

sicilianoNYC

good god u guuys i have 3 LED"s in my sidemarkers, 2003z what u think theyll make me do? I got a picture of my z before i changed the amber marker and photoshopped a date of 3/25/2004 on it

hoping itll work, and im taking the jeep to court not the z

2003z

iTrader: (7)

I would definitely take pictures and tell the judge you had no idea it was illegal and no intentions of trying to fool anyone into thinking you were police. Show him a picture of the car and what the lights looked like, and the photoshopped one if you aren't going to change them out (but beware, you will probably get pulled over again) and they will probably let you off.

vermilion

So, in order to combat a relatively meaningless vehicle violation, you're now going to falsify evidence and try lying to a judge. Good luck - you get caught with that and it won't be a hundred-some dollar fine...

BDM

First, although I work in FL and not VA, I bet the answer to why it's a court appearance and not a fine is the same as why some violations are court appearances here . . . Because that's the way the law is written. In FL, we have non-moving violations, moving violations, non-criminal court appearance required violations, and finally criminal traffic infractions. It is not up to the particular jurisdiction the officer works for or the officer himself, it's predetermined by the legislature.

And as far as people hating us, I think the level of hate is directly proportional to how often we have to deal with that the particular person in question for things they shouldn't have been doing in the first place.

mofoz

iTrader: (1)

why would anyone want to "impersonate" a jerkoff.

ChrisMCagle

Come on, guys!

Even though the particular cop that pulled me over might have been a *****, it's not fair to paint them all with the same brush. In my life I would say that 95% of all the cops I have met, talked to, or had anything to do with have been very nice. It's just the one's that think they are better than everyone else who ruin the image for the others.

They aren't all bad... you just have to watch out for the ones who are

-Chris

stopgo

Yeah... because my arrest record is *so* extensive.

I understand that cops don't write the laws, and I believe that the vast majority are good people who perform a tough job, and do it very well. But it's incidents like this that make the citizenry appreciate any checks on police authority. What really pisses me off is that the cop in question decided that illegal lights trumped a (possible felony?) speeding violation on the order of 25mph over the limit; thus my original observation that the traffic-stop was probably motivated more by the possibility of generating revenue for his/her jurisdiction than by any obligation to make the roads safer.

Scott

2003z

iTrader: (7)

I suppose we will find out after the court date, but I'm guessing the light violation will just be a fixit ticket, plus the court costs. If he was trying to generate revenue, the speeding ticket would have brought in a few hundred dollars. It seems to me, this police officer was actually pretty cool.

VTEC EX-RT

A few years ago one of my friends got pulled over here in CA for "impersonating a police officer." It was an $800 ticket.

ZNUTS

My friend was a volunteer fireman in NY and diplayed a blue beacon on the dash to warn motorist he was on his way to fire and they should yield.The first week in ATL after a transfer a cop pulled him over and issued him a warning that no blue lites could be displayed of any kind.Here the police use blue and fire dept use red. I guess they dont want people confusing your Z for a police cruiser!Who knows ,good luck ,I'm thinking they will probably drop it when you appear.

afr0puff

iTrader: (1)

I got a ticket for having a blue parking light as well. My sidemarkers were legal, just the little dinky "decoration" light. Wasn't speeding or anything. Just driving. No court date required. Just a simple fine.

The fact that you were doing 80 in a 55 is probably what chapped his a$$ to give you a ticket. The judge will see that you have two warnings on the car. They will want to see that you fixed the violations. If it was just for the blue lights, I don't think a court date would be required. Just a fine like me.

RJW0501

Well said

-=Z=-

While I was flying down the road yesterday (only 10 mph over) I noticed a cop with a radar gun sitting on top of a bridge.
The cop pulled me over, walked up to the car and asked me, "What's the hurry?"
I replied, "I'm late for work."
"Oh yeah," said the cop, "what do you do?"
I responded, "I'm a rectum stretcher."
The cop said "What?? A rectum stretcher? What does a rectum stretcher do?"
I said, "Well, I start with one finger, then I work my way up to two fingers, then three, then four, then my whole hand, then I work until I can get both hands in there and then I slowly stretch it until it's about 6 foot wide."
The cop asked me, "What the hell do you do with a 6 foot *******?"
I simply replied, "You give him a radar gun and park him on top of a bridge..."
The ticket - - $ 95.00
The look on his face - - PRICELESS