So I was driving back to work after lunch today and I see a State Trooper up ahead to the side of the road...he had a minivan pulled over...as I'm driving an SUV comes to merge from the highway off ramp, except he doesn't yield and he goes allll the way to the left, so I naturally slam on the brakes and move to the right because I need to take the jughandle turn up ahead. The driver of the SUV is taking the jughandle turn too, but he doesn't know how to stay in one lane, he moves back to the right lane, I end up going around him on the left, but keep in mind I am in the left lane....I pull up to the stop light and the SUV comes up behind me. All of a sudden, the scumbag Statey pulls up next to me and looks at me and I roll down the window, and he tells me to pull over after the light turns green. I was completely shocked, and pisseddddd. I didn't even think I did anything wrong. He comes over and asks me if I knew why I was pulled over, so I said no officer, I'm confused. He goes, oh you're confused? We'll I saw everything and you passed the SUV in a one lane area. I told him it has dotted lines and that it is two lanes, because I drive here everyday. He says, I saw everything and then asks for my license and reg. My heart is racing because I'm so damn pissed and I didn't think I did anything wrong. He comes back with 2 court summons.....Careless driving and Tinted windows....I don't care about the tinted windows, but careless driving? Such BS...I tried to explain myself and he walked away while I was talking, so fu**ing rude...makes me hate cops even more. The SUV merged without yielding and didn't use signals, but I get careless driving? WTF? So now I got my first tickets ever since picking up my MINI on halloween....does any one know what happens with a Careles driving ticket? Court appearance isn't required for either ticket...I'm assuming 2 points and a fine?....Thanks for reading and listening, I needed to get this outta my system....

 

I would make a comment like..."Don't let him bother you he's a state trooper, that's not even a real job." But last time I said that I got pretty silver bracelets and a face full of hood...

 

Just my guess...nah, I'll just stay quiet. But I do appreciate looking up jughandle turn - learn something new every day.

 

I feel your pain. Seriously, I feel your pain.

 

wow... what a bunch of B.S. you had to take!! Sometimes those cops are just Pr--ks. My wife not too long ago, got a speeding ticket for going 65 in a 55 zone right off the expressway, tying to get to my mother's funeral!!! The clown cop would not cut her a brake even for that!! man how much does that suck!

 

Some people become cops for the wrong reasons.

 

Fight it in court?

 

I'm going to go to court and see if they can reduce the points and give me something else. I don't mind paying the fine, but I don't want the points. It's rediculous...and complete BS....some cops are on a serious power trip

 

If you go to court, you will most likely get no points if this was your first offense, but have to pay a bigger fine. Just think of it as paying NJ to fix their pot holes.

 

Get a traffic ticket lawyer and fight it. They can sometimes work magic.

 

Go to court. Go back to the intersection, take pictures, use google maps etc, to illustrate what happened. Have your day in court. Dont ask for anything since they may offer more than you were willing to accept. Be organized, clear and prepared. Considering the normal yahoos that appear before the judge, you will be a refreshing change. Be polite, use sir, or madam, or your honor. Make sure you leave your anger and frustration at the door as that will not help you. Then make sure you post here whatever happens. Heck, you might not have the cop show up at all and it might be tossed out. Or the DA might just plea bargain with you and you wont have to go before the judge at all.

 

I had some time to calm down today and collect my thoughts. I talked to a few co-workers about it and got some advice from those who had recevied the same ticket. Since the ticket doesn't require me to go to court, they suggested I pay the ticket and get over it as soon as possible, unless I want to hire a traffic lawyer, (which I really don't want to do). I still don't know how much the ticket is, but I'm going to try and stop by the municipal building tomorrow. I called my insurance company (Progressive) and asked how they handle careless driving tickets, they looked at my policy and said its 2 points and my rate will go up an extra $60 a month. They suggested taking a defensive driving class (6 hours, 1 day), which reduces a max of 2 points from your driving record. As of right now I have a clean record, so they said this should not be a serious issue. They gave me a list of driving schools to choose from. Once I complete it, they told me to submit the certificate and I will receive the discount and my rates should go back close to where I am now. I hope it's as simple as this....I'll keep everyone updated.

 

Go to court, talk to the prosecuter and see if he will reduce the charge to a "No Point" violation. As long as your record is clean that should work. Then you won't have to worry about the Insurance Co. You might even be able to do this over the phone and avoid going to court.
Good Luck.

 

IANAL, but I'll second the go to court option and talk to the prosecutor. NJ has a "rule/law" where they'll knock careless driving or similar offenses down to "unsafe driving". You can only get 2 of these in a 3 year period. After you get your 3rd in that period, you get all the points.

Just get ready to open your wallet. I think it's something like a 250.00 surcharge over what the original offense cost, but it's supposed to keep you from getting any points.

This link explains it a bit. Check out the point system section:
http://www.speedingticketcentral.com...ng-ticket.html

 

thats how I handled the one ticket that I got a few years ago, dropped to a careless driving no points. In NJ no points saves lots on insurance.

 

He gave you the best advise. Take pictures of the roadway, Drew a sketch of what happened and be very nice. Do "NOT" bad mouth the idiot cop's actions and take care of this. If you just let it go you will probably have problems other then sky high insurance rates. If a cop stops you in the future he will see that charge on your driving record and think you are a just plain bad driver and nail you good. Nip it in the bud "NOW"

Good luck,

 

luckily around here(new orleans) we dont have the point system, but we do have red light cameras that take a picture if you run the light and they send you a 110$ ticket in the mail, they also have them in school zones, so if you speed you get a ticket. i went through one at 46, it was at like 2 am, school zone not in effect. i still had to pay it

 

+1. "Just paying the fine to avoid court" is the same as admitting the cop was right about your driving.

 

Red light cameras are just plain $$$makers for the city's and county's that use them. Did anyone ever notice that when a red light camera is put up they cut the yellow light time down so much a person has no chance at getting across any street. Rear end collisions inrease by about 40% in the intersections with them. They are just not working the way the people that rent them to the cities say they do. They are making them rich though. The city of Tampa Florida was on the news last week informing that cameras were going to be removed from a couple of undisclosed locations due to rear end collisions.

It would not be so bad if they would increase the yellow light time enough to give the guy in back of you a chance to stop instead of plowing into you when you have to slam on the brakes to stop. These things are just plain bad and how can they send you a stupid ticket without a police officer being on the scene and issueing it? They don't even know who is driving the car if it is a spot without a front camera to verify the driver.

 

I didn't read every single post in the thread but I read your post.

I recommend getting an inexpensive traffic ticket lawyer and fighting it in court for "no points". From what I understand the fine of the ticket and the cost of the lawyer is small potatos compaired to what you will have to pay with an increased car insurance rate. The points is what you should be concerned with, not the ticket cost.

 

I got my 1st ticket the other day as well. I was next to an SUV who was texting on her phone, or taking a picture, either way she was swerving into my lane a few times. Once I had enough I went around the car in front of me to get away from her. As soon as I did I got tagged with the radar.....50 -40. My 2nd ticket in 2 months. I'm calling the DA today to try to get it reduced.

 

thanks everyone for the advice and for listening to problems. i've got until end of April to figure out what i wana do before court. i'll keep everyone updated. BTW, sorry to hear about your 2nd ticket 79cutlas....i feel like my first ticket ruined my driving experience all together.

 

I received my first ticket in 25yrs last January 2009. It was for careless driving because I forgot to signal while changing lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike. I went by myself to Elizabeth court house and was able to get no points since it was my first offense and I only had to pay $85. Fight that ticket!

 

Never heard so much wining in one thread.

Is this the new "entitlement generation attitude". Do things wrong and get an A+ anyways?

Even when you are wrong you are right ?

Just look at these fines as paying a tuition. You pay tuition for a college education right, why should life's lessons be any cheaper ?

Don't do the crime if you can't pay the fine......

 

Riss Racing Threads had the most whiners...