I was pulled over today. It was on the interstate (MN) where the speed limit went from 65 to 55. I didn't realize this and was going slightly faster. In an case, I can admit I was speeding and am OK with that part of my ticket.

What is a big deal to me is when I saw the lights of the motorcycle officer behind me, I pulled over immediately. I've been pulled over before (and was maybe slightly nervous and not thinking straight) so I got my driver's license out - and it so happens it was in my jacket pocket, which I was wearing, so I had to unhook my seat belt to access it.

As the officer was walking up to my window he saw me rehooking my seat belt so he citied me for not wearing one. I never drive with out my seatbelt on, and as anyone who drives a MINI knows, it has a fit with that loud dinging until you (and passenger) are buckled in.

So, can I fight this? He did not see me driving without my seatbelt on, but I'm afraid it will be my word against his. I do have a witness that I was wearing it, I had a passenger.

 

go to court, be honest, and tell the judge you had your belt on. Explain your story. Plus, you've got a witness.

 

I just checked my citation, and in the passenger column there is a N (for no). WTH? My boyfriend was in the car with me. Will this make things tough? I can't believe this!

 

Go to court anyway, maybe the cop won't show up.

 

Good luck with this! Did you explain that to the officer?
I always use my 4 point belt. It's impossible to back out of a parking space with it on, then I buckle up. Hope an officer doesn't "catch me."

I'll stay tuned...

 

With my schroth, I buckle it all in, tighten the lap part, then back out. Once out, I tighten the rest.

 

This guy would not let me get a word in edgewise after he asked me what I thought the speed limit was...every time I tried to explain he'd interrupt. There was another motorcycle officer at the scene (who passed me on the right and parked in front of me and used my car to block himself from view as he radared other cars!) and I wonder if he'd remember that I had a passenger..a witness is no good if there isn't any proof he was there.

 

I would certainly contest the seatbelt violation, if for no other reason than principle; however, I think your MINI is not a good weapon to use to fight it.

 

Good luck, but don't get your hopes up. The judge will usually side with the cops. But, if you're going to fight it you have to go to court. You could always say that if you were trying to hide something from the cop, you would've buckled your seatbelt before he walked up to the car.

It's possible that they will reduce your fine for showing up and being honest.

 

He was so close behind me while pulling me over. I was on an interstate and I had no doubt it was me he wanted when I saw the lights, he was right on my butt, so he must have noticed I was buckled in then. And if I brought my boyfriend the passenger with to the court date, will they discount him as a witness because according to the officer, he wasn't there?

 

I can sympathize with you! Quite a while back, I did almost the same thing. The officer was a little nicer and told me next time Wait until the officer comes to the door to do anything. I always keep me hands on the steering wheel until they get to the car and ask me for something. I only do that to take a little stress out of their job!

My only question is, why is traffic court the only place you are guilty until proven innocent?????

BTW, remember (this is important) if the officer does not show up, you can ask the judge to have any written statement of his thrown out since you cannot argue it.

Good Luck!!!!!!!

 

Bring your boyfriend with you to court.

I've seen many citations tossed out for the any one (or combination) of the following scenarios:

1. Officer failed to appear in court
2. Officer failed to provide radar calibration reading (supposed to be done daily in our area)
3. Wrong date/time on citation
4. Wrong street/intersection on citation
5. Failure to acknowledge passengers in vehicle

I agree with everyone else who has said to go to court & honestly explain what happened. You could even casually offer to have an officer accompany you to your vehicle to *witness* the ANNOYING ding-ding-ding sound our MINIs make if we take too long to buckle up!

Good luck!

 

When pulled over you should never take off your seat belt or dig around in your vehicle until the officer approaches and ask for your information. Its for everyones safety. If it is at night then you should also turn on your inside lights as well. When I am in my work vehicle I also roll down the rear windows too just so the officer can see inside clearly. Following these procedures helps with everyone involved in the stop. In this situation the officer should have been able to tell that you had your seat belt on but not all of them are as understanding.

 

Yes go to court. The judge will probably just have you paid the speeding ticket. In TN if it's your first in a long time the judge will allow you to go to driving school and you will not receive points on you driving record.

 

Well, now I know. But it is just as easy to dig a gun out of my pocket while he is standing there as it is to do before he approaches...

What's a long time? My last speeding ticket was nearly 4 years ago...I paid it on the spot with a credit card, no driving school. No clue about the points - I'm in WI, how do I find out how many points I have/don't have? The car insurance didn't go up either, if I recall correctly, however, the cars and insurance are in my SO's name, not mine.

I seem to be a habitual speeder. But I *always* wear my seatbelt!

 

I had this happen too, I had to unhook my seatbelt so I could reach my registration. I've *always* worn my seatbelt, too. The car was completely parked and engine turned off, I didn't realize it was a crime to sit in a turned off car without a seatbelt. The cop make a comment about my belt not being on and listed it on the ticket but luckily he wrote off the whole thing as a warning.

 

Go to court.
You're dwelling on the passenger issue. The thing that will get you out of it may be a short video that shows that your car will ding like a charity bell ringer until you buckle up. Then explain "yes I was speeding, and no I did not violate the seat belt law. I unbuckled to get my license and then buckled back in. I have a 10 minute video of my car idling that shows that the car will not stop dinging until I buckle the seat and there is no way any sane person would be able to drive with it dinging like that.
Then ask the judge if he/she would like to view the tape. Odds are they won't even look at it and will toss the ticket out knowing that you acknowledge the speeding violation.
Sure bring your witness and let the judge know that so and so was in the passenger seat. It may or may not be viable to use, but not worth dwelling on.

 

you should get a statement from your passenger notarized (at your bank for free usually). state they were a passenger and you did have your seatbelt on. explain to the judge that you unclipped your belt to get your wallet and re-clipped because the ding-dong came right on. apologize to the officer for not being courteous but explain you were shocked by the comment that you did not have your seatbelt on and that, coupled with the other officer pulling in front of you and pulling out what appeared to be a gun but you then realized was a radar gun was just too much and you had a little anxiety attack. follow up with a photocopy of something (manual or authoratative webpage) which states that the seatbelt dingdong comes on when not satisfied and you should be fine. be nice -- it help a lot.

 

Pah! Take your boyfriend to court with you. He can testify (under oath) that he was in the car and that you removed your seatbelt after stopping the car. The same testimony from you and the "mea culpa" that you were speeding should be enough for any honest judge to drop the belt charge. With a warning maybe, just to prove he's the alpha dog. Good luck.
-skip-

 

#5 is all the info you need right there. Since he wrote "0" in the passenger part of your ticket and you did indeed have a passenger then the ticket will just be torn up/thrown out. Congrats.

 

By the way that goes for the speeding charge too if they were on the same ticket. They will both be thrown out.