i need some advice

[94SCparkavenue]

i recently got a ticket for not maintaining a single lane. i was driving down this road about to take a left at a light and i notice this car came flying up on me i thought he was going to rearend me. i made my left and got into the right lane, i noticed it was a cop. i hit a bump and a soda spilt all over me so i kind of swearved but i didnt leave my lane. the cop followed me about a mile. he pulled me over and gave me a ticket. he said that he heard me coming down the road before i made a left. which is interesting because my car isnt loud i havent gotten the exhaust yet. on my citation it says that my car is green and my tag expires on 2008 which would mean that i was driving on an expired tag. is there any chance i could win if i took it to court. or should i bother ? TIA

[00Beast]

Depends on the evidence for and against you. What's the ticket going to cost you?

[willwren]

Go to court and explain your case while pleading 'no contest'. Not 'guilty', NO CONTEST, with an explanation. Do not refer to him as a cop. Refer to him as the OFFICER. Speak with respect towards the judge while referring to him/her as SIR or MA'AM, or YOUR HONOR.

Your ticket will likely be halved plus court fees. Pleading guilty may not give you the chance of an explanation, NOT GUILTY will assign another court date, and you will likely lose, and pay full price.

Moving to the proper section.

[94SCparkavenue]

$150.00. ok thanks for your help

[94SCparkavenue]

well my buddy and i were headed down 95 not speeding and in the far left lane. i saw a flagler county f150 sitting in the median as we passed i looked back and saw him pull out... my buddy was driving my car and i was driving his. well the officer ended up pulling him over so i decided to stop he told me to leave even though it was my car.... well the officer said my tint was too dark and wanted to search the vehicle... my buddy said it wasnt his car the cop said he was responsible for what was in the car.. well after he searched everything including the engine bay and said that the supercharger was worth more then the whole car... my buddy was like it is probably faster than your county issued f150 well when he went to shut the trunk he SLAMMED it and now the trunk latch motor assembly is broken... should i try to get them to fix it ? or should i just forget about it... i just think its kinda crappy how he broke it TIA

[wake]

im sorry to hear about your bad luck with cops....i dont think you should worry about your trunk unless you can prove that he broke it

i hate cops

[bonnevillain]

i'll be completely hoest with you, i know a lot of people with these types of stories, and who hate cops, and it's always something they do to draw attention to themselves, and are acting suspicous, etc. the officer did not pull you over for no reason if you were not speeding, youre telling a very one sided story. drive responsibly and you shouldn't have a problem. there are cases where cops are out of line, but in my experience it's rare. Your friend shouldn't have mouthed off to the cop like that either. it probably validated pulling him over in the cops mind.

[RJolly87]

Is the latch the trunk pulldown type or just regular latch? If it was a pulldown, I would see what could be done, if it was a regular latch, they shouldnt break like that, and it was prolly bound to happen anyway. And as was said, typically something draws the officers attention, unless they have it out for you or the officer is a jerk.

[94SCparkavenue]

when he walked up to the vehicle he said the reason he pulled me over is because my tint.... i know my friend shouldn have mouthed off... its the pull down type...

[Jrs3800]

Looking at your sig pic that tint looks pretty deep and not legal for florida.. Did he ticket you or your friend for the Tint?

[GXP_vince]

I agree with the above statements but you also have the right to not let him search the car unless he has a good reason to do so or you let him, illegal tint is not one of them, I could be wrong though.

[swampthing]

I agree with the above statements but you also have the right to not let him search the car unless he has a good reason to do so or you let him, illegal tint is not one of them, I could be wrong though.

actually i have been pulled for a tag that was due in the same month (not really expired) and the drug searched me two cops ad a K-9 cop. i was in my ugly truck on my way to a bible meeting on sunday in a suit. one of the officers got mad when i politely asked him why i was being searched and basically told me to shut up the other guy was nicer, he explained to me that anything that is deemed a reason to pull over someone is "probable cause" that gives them the right to search you... ugh the one guy wrote me a ticket for 180 bucks but the nicer guy came back up and took it from me and said it was void

[00Beast]

Um, no. They do not have the right to search you w/o a warrant, unless you grant them permission. That's part of the Illegal Search and Seizure rights under the Bill of Rights, from 200 years ago. They have ZERO right to search your car w/o a warrant.

[swampthing]

well i was much younger when happened less assertive then i am now, also i tend to be popular with mean officers, or at least ones are having bad days however i am always complient and i have never gotten a ticket other then a fix it

[SingsCountry1967]

when he walked up to the vehicle he said the reason he pulled me over is because my tint.... i know my friend shouldn have mouthed off... its the pull down type...

You take that chance when you have illegal tint and know it.
Yes, your friend shouldn't have mouthed off... after a few fines, you usually learn.
I had the pull down type on my caddy... it was 10yrs old and died without anyone slamming it.

Consider it a lesson and learn from it... this is becoming a monthly thing.

[freneticburn]

i'll be completely hoest with you, i know a lot of people with these types of stories, and who hate cops, and it's always something they do to draw attention to themselves, and are acting suspicous, etc. the officer did not pull you over for no reason if you were not speeding, youre telling a very one sided story. drive responsibly and you shouldn't have a problem. there are cases where cops are out of line, but in my experience it's rare. Your friend shouldn't have mouthed off to the cop like that either. it probably validated pulling him over in the cops mind.

I always chuckle a little when people think cops overstepping their boundaries is rare. I don't know if it's just your area or if you are an older person who doesn't understand how badly police target young males these days. Cops do pull people over for no real good reason and do try to violate people's rights assuming that the people are ignorant of their rights. It's disturbingly common and I'm sure anyone under the age of 25 can tell you a handful of stories involving shady police.

Just an example I have a buddy with an Envoy and he constantly gets pulled over for his OEM HIDs. He drives fine, has no criminal record but since he has some custom work on his truck the cops feel it's a good reason to pull him over even when NONE of his mods are illegal.

[94SCparkavenue]

my friend told the officer that it wasnt his car and the officer said that he was responsible for anything in it or on it... so he let him search it...knowing nothing was in it... and before the officers left he siad here is a warning seeing how i cant give you a ticket for the tint since its not your fault its on there ...... also the trunk thing worked perfect before someone had to slam it....

[LeSabre in Buffalo]

It's life. Just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other...