Jeff sparks
Verified Member
A friend of mine got a ticket a few months back.. He called me and ran it down for me... We share a lot, this friend and I, so I listened patiently while he described exactly how it came down...
A cop pulls up next to him at a traffic light and looks over at him... The light turns green and my friend moves forward through the intersection.. The cop falls in behind him and follows him for a couple of blocks before he turns on his flashers... My friend pulls over...
The cop comes up to his window and says "License & registration please."
My friend hands them over... The cop says, "Sir, do you know why I stopped you?" My friend says no... The cop says, "Your seatbelt wasn't across your shoulder and I'm gonna have to write you a ticket for a seatbelt violation."
My friend says, "Well you can see I'm wearing it, it's buckled in across my lap, I just have the chest strap under my left arm because I have this rash on my shoulder and the belt is very uncomfortable when it rubs across my shoulder."
The cop just keeps writing...then hands the ticket over saying, "Sign here."
So my friend says, "You gotta be shitting me!" "You're actually gonna give me a ticket, even though I'm wearing my seat belt!"
"Yes Sir, improper wearing of the seatbelt."
He signed and called me...
He said, "I'm not going to pay this ticket, I don't give a shit if I have to do time, I ain't payin it!"
I told him to just calm down, consider it road tax and just pay it... You can't buck city hall...
He was of course really mad at this time, and rightfully so... He said he was going to trial with it and would never pay it...
I said I had been through a similiar situation before and that it was way more trouble than it was worth to pursue it..
He was adamant, he wouldn't relent..
I talked to him today, and something reminded me of that ticket he was going to fight a few months back, so I asked him about it...
He says, "Didn't I tell you about that?" I said no...
He says, "Well they had me sit at the courthouse on 4 different occasions, for several hours at a time, and each time they postponed the trial... On the 5th trip I had been waiting for 4 hours and they took a lunch break...I cornered the DA and said, "C'mon man when am I gonna go to trial!" The DA said probably not today, another full docket...
My friend exploded on him saying, "Are you serious, have you even looked at my case, I was wearing a seatbelt and no jury is gonna convict me, you just need to get real and dismiss this... The DA said, "I've never lost a case where a defendant was his own lawyer." "We are going to try you."
My friend said, "I'll bet you $10,000.00 cash I'm acquitted."
The DA said, "You would lose, I'll reduce your fine to $100.00 and you can pay it today and there's and end to it...
Guess what my friend did?
Yep, he surrendered and paid it!
The exact same outcome I had with mine a few years ago... It's all about the money, they just want the money, period...
There's not an ounce of difference between a stagecoach robber and a cop that sets behind a rise in the road issuing speeding tickets... They are both there for only one reason...to get the money..
Call it a road tax and get on with life...
A cop pulls up next to him at a traffic light and looks over at him... The light turns green and my friend moves forward through the intersection.. The cop falls in behind him and follows him for a couple of blocks before he turns on his flashers... My friend pulls over...
The cop comes up to his window and says "License & registration please."
My friend hands them over... The cop says, "Sir, do you know why I stopped you?" My friend says no... The cop says, "Your seatbelt wasn't across your shoulder and I'm gonna have to write you a ticket for a seatbelt violation."
My friend says, "Well you can see I'm wearing it, it's buckled in across my lap, I just have the chest strap under my left arm because I have this rash on my shoulder and the belt is very uncomfortable when it rubs across my shoulder."
The cop just keeps writing...then hands the ticket over saying, "Sign here."
So my friend says, "You gotta be shitting me!" "You're actually gonna give me a ticket, even though I'm wearing my seat belt!"
"Yes Sir, improper wearing of the seatbelt."
He signed and called me...
He said, "I'm not going to pay this ticket, I don't give a shit if I have to do time, I ain't payin it!"
I told him to just calm down, consider it road tax and just pay it... You can't buck city hall...
He was of course really mad at this time, and rightfully so... He said he was going to trial with it and would never pay it...
I said I had been through a similiar situation before and that it was way more trouble than it was worth to pursue it..
He was adamant, he wouldn't relent..
I talked to him today, and something reminded me of that ticket he was going to fight a few months back, so I asked him about it...
He says, "Didn't I tell you about that?" I said no...
He says, "Well they had me sit at the courthouse on 4 different occasions, for several hours at a time, and each time they postponed the trial... On the 5th trip I had been waiting for 4 hours and they took a lunch break...I cornered the DA and said, "C'mon man when am I gonna go to trial!" The DA said probably not today, another full docket...
My friend exploded on him saying, "Are you serious, have you even looked at my case, I was wearing a seatbelt and no jury is gonna convict me, you just need to get real and dismiss this... The DA said, "I've never lost a case where a defendant was his own lawyer." "We are going to try you."
My friend said, "I'll bet you $10,000.00 cash I'm acquitted."
The DA said, "You would lose, I'll reduce your fine to $100.00 and you can pay it today and there's and end to it...
Guess what my friend did?
Yep, he surrendered and paid it!
The exact same outcome I had with mine a few years ago... It's all about the money, they just want the money, period...
There's not an ounce of difference between a stagecoach robber and a cop that sets behind a rise in the road issuing speeding tickets... They are both there for only one reason...to get the money..
Call it a road tax and get on with life...