Originally Posted By: rooflessVW
Originally Posted By: mightymousetech
Why do people try and fight tickets, and waste court time and taxpayers money, on something they know they were doing.
Man up, pay your
lawyer, and go on with your life.
FTFY. I can recall paying court costs each time as well... So it's a waste of what now?
The system exists. Why not use it to your advantage instead of being a victim?
Exactly!
I thought about it again, and I've only fought one ticket that I was at fault for. One was wrong and two more were absurd, in context. A couple of examples are when I was pulled over twice (two different times) for being in the intersection while my light was yellow. Both were given by cops who were sitting without sight of my light, and based their decision on the fact that their their light turned green before I was fully through the intersection. This is common when the intersection is long and/or the speed you're going at is slower than the designer of the intersection's lights anticipated (not all have a second + delay between red and green.)
1. In the morning, there's a cop who sits at the off-ramp from I-95 and waits for someone to run a yellow light to pull them over. There are gross violators, wherein you'll see 2-3 cars ride each other's bumpers, NASCAR-style, so as not to have to stop; the last car or two is usually behind the white line (i.e., not in the intersection) when the light turns red. That's not what I'm talking about.
In this instance, it's also absurd, because, at 0500, I can probably count on two hands the number of cars I've seen going the perpendicular directions over the past ten years. Nothing is open or operating, except for my employer. 3rd shift ends well after 0500; they would be the only ones leaving.
2. I'll keep this one shorter. I filmed the intersection from my perspective, the police officers, and in between where you could make out both his and my light. I then printed out a blown-up picture of the intersection from Google, showing the distance scale. I had calculations to support that driving even slightly over the 25 MPH speed limit would result in my rear bumper still being technically in the intersection, from the police officers perspective (the intersection was offset and not in a cross shape). Traffic was light to moderate and I was doing probably 20 MPH through the intersection. The light turned yellow while I was well into the intersection and when I was pulled over, I assumed it was because of my tint or for some other reason. When he told me a ran a red light, I inadvertently laughed at the absurdity, which didn't help.
3. The one I was at fault for, was 0330, on my way to work. We had just had a major snow storm and the roads were clear, but still slick in areas. I stopped at an empty T-intersection, where I could see to my left 3 blocks down. I saw an SUV coming up on me kinda hot, so I made the decision to run the red light just as the SUV was getting alarmingly close. Turns out that SUV was 5-O. I had a 7.5 hr exam that determined the fate of my job that morning, and the guy held me, because I didn't have an updated insurance card in the glove compartment. I pulled up my USAA page and showed him an electronic version, but he said it wasn't good enough. He said I needed someone to pick me up and he would need to have the car towed.
Luckily, another police officer happened to be driving by and stopped. He sleepily wandered over and leaned against my A pillar and asked what was up. He then gave the other cop a hard time, saying I had an electronic version, which was fine. He further pointed out that I had base stickers and a CAC, and that one needed updated registration and insurance to have those. Granted, I my insurance could have lapsed during that period, but that argument is what finally made the other guy back off.
So, instead of showing up 3 hrs early for my exam to get some last minute cramming in, I showed up with only a couple of hrs to spare, including the time I took to calm down a bit. If I'm being honest, that incident might have helped me. I could not sleep at all that night due to nerves, and was extremely fatigued by the time the exam started. I feel as if the stop got my heart going and let me at least start the exam with a fully clear mind, even without coffee! I guess I should thank that jerk!
//
For all of my warnings/tickets, whether warranted or not, I was driving a Subaru STI. The only exception, I believe, is the second example above, in which I was driving a Civic (with tint).
I got rid of the STI more than four years ago and haven't had a single issue since. I drive exactly the same way I always have, though the Forester and Legacy look and sound a lot less aggressive. and garner almost no attention from anyone, including cops.