What in the heck can I do, I'm SCRE#*D?

[Got-Cobra?]

I had just picked up a NEW motorcycle on Saturday and decided to go for a ride with some friends.

So we are getting on the highway (on-ramp) and a State Trooper passes us heading in the other direction. No big deal, we continue down the road and I just barely see brake lights before he is out of sight.

So I am riding for a good 3-4 miles when I see a car come blasting up from behind and I know immediately who it is!

So he flips on his lights and pulls me over.

Long storey short: He says he paced me at 82 MPH for 2 miles which he didn't and goes back to his car.

Then he comes back with a ticket and I start looking at it. The "BAD NEWS!" He put on the ticket (speed) 125+ in a 65 and that he paced me for 2 miles at 125-130 MPH! I ask him what the heck is this and he begins the bla....bla....bla.....

I asked him if I could see his RADAR and he said "I didn't clock you, I paced you!?!?" What? He didn't even have a visual on me for a good 2 miles and then pulls me over as soon as he catches back up to us.

So now I am pissed and holding my tongue!

What the heck can I do???? This is at 12:40 at NIGHT and there is another bike in our pack that looks just like mine. How does he single me out , other than the fact that I was in front!

HELP!

Josh

 

[bad bike]

ask to see the sertificut from when his speedo was calibrated.

why didnt you turn off onto another road and park it?

 

[FordSVTFan]

You need to remember that summons is for you to appear in court, if you choose, and tell a judge your side of the story. Your other option with a summons is to the check the box and pay the fine and live with the consequences of your actions.

If you go to court and want to negotiate because you know you are guilty of speeding to some degree, speak to the prosecutor and ask to plead guilty to a non point violation and pay the fine. The prosecutor wants the "win" and the court wants it money. This way everyone does okay.

If you want to challenge it completely you are going to ask to see the records showing his speedometer was calibrated recently and within the guidelines of the law and that the vehicle has the manufacturers OEM tires on it. Those are your options.

I would not go in and challenge the fact that he lost sight of you or that he couldnt observe you from the distance that he did, you have no direct knowledge of that and the judge wouldnt buy it. Just because you couldnt see him doesnt mean the opposite.

those are your options, good luck.

I recommend hiring a well known local muni attorney that appears before that judge quite often and see what he can get you, as it is always who you know!

 

[95oRANGEcRUSH]

It's nearly one in the morning and he paced you for 2-3 miles at 125+ MPH? :rollseyes . That's bullshit, to say the least.

In my eyes, that would be called a pursuit. What LEO would pace someone for more than a mile, let alone 2-3, at 125+ w/o calling it in to dispatch as a pursuit? If what your saying is entirely true, then this ticket has TONS of loopholes.

Also, seeing as how this is at night, you would have seen the lights from his cruiser for more than a mile behind you. That being said, for him to say he paced you at such dangerous speeds, w/o reporting it as a pursuit, w/o turning his flashers on, is just making him look bad. It makes him look bad for not doing anything but saying he paced someone for 2-3 miles at such a reckless speed.

Call an attorney and fight this. If this trooper did entirely what you said he did, and your telling the truth, then this ticket is bogus.

 

[FordSVTFan]

Spoken like a true 19 year old full of supposition and no fact!! It is nice that you know what the officer did and did not do and that you fully understand his department/agencies policies and guidelines concerning these matters. :nonono:

 

[Got-Cobra?]

This ticket is BOGUS!

He "did" lose sight of me "for sure." I was riding with three other motorcycles and the next closest bike was about a 1/2 mile behind me and the other two were about 1 mile behind him. I know for sure he didn't see me because the closest bike to me could barely see me.

As for him pacing me, he didn't have his overhead lights on at all until he got right on my butt! Before he turned on the overheads, I actually thought it was the other two bikes catching up driving side-by-side!

 

[FordSVTFan]

Originally posted by Got-Cobra?
This ticket is BOGUS!

So you were doing the posted speed limit?

He "did" lose sight of me "for sure." I was riding with three other motorcycles and the next closest bike was about a 1/2 mile behind me and the other two were about 1 mile behind him. I know for sure he didn't see me because the closest bike to me could barely see me.

Again, you cant say what he saw. That doesnt make you wrong, it just doesnt prove your point either. And a judge will not see it your way.

As for him pacing me, he didn't have his overhead lights on at all until he got right on my butt! Before he turned on the overheads, I actually thought it was the other two bikes catching up driving side-by-side!

He didnt need his lights on for any other reason that to pull you over. He got on your butt with no lights on most likely to ID you before lighting you up.

Again throughout this entire discussion you never said you werent speeding. All that seems in dispute is the speed or is it just that you dont want to pay for playing?

Either way you need to get with an attorney that knows that jurisdiction very well and has a reputation in that court. He will be your best bet in sorting this out.

 

[Got-Cobra?]

FordSVTFan,

Thanks for your help!

I might not have been going 65 MPH but I sure as HELL wasn't going 125-130 which is what he wrote me up for!

 

[FordSVTFan]

Again, you need to talk to an attorney in the area that is well respected in that particular municipality. A good trick is if it is a small municipality with a politically appointed p/t prosecutor, find out who the prosecutor is and call his private practice and ask for a "consultation" regarding a traffic citation but dont give further details until you meet with him in his office. He should tell you that he is the prosecutor and he will recommend another attorney. Guaranteed that other attorney is a friend of his:thumbsup:

 

[Got-Cobra?]

Thanks again for the help!

I'll be calling an attorney tomorrow.

Josh

 

[Groovyash]

If the issue was really 125-130mph I find it hard to believe the bike is not impounded and you did not pass go, collect $200 but went directly to jail. You guys must have some real easy going traffic laws. :shrug:

Dan

 

[FordSVTFan]

Damn Groovy you could throw a stone and hit OH from there!!!

 

[Got-Cobra?]

That's a good question?

I don't think it matters but I am stationed in Ohio with the military and have an out of state license!

That was the other ding on the ticket. I didn't have a tag because I had just picked up the bike "THAT DAY!" The bike was bought in a state that doesn't require a temp tag and he said I still had to have one operating it in OHIO, WTF?

I know that is WRONG! What if I was just driving through, he can't give me a ticket for something another state doesn't require!?!?!

 

[FordSVTFan]

Yes he can!! Since you were in Ohio you MUST abide by all of Ohio's laws!! That is the way it is.

 

[Groovyash]

Naw, I'd have to use a slingshot...now hillie might be able to toss a rock across the line. ;-)

As for the T-plate, technically he was correct, your vehicle is required to meet the standards of the state it is operating in, not nesscarily what it is from, and it is your responsibility to know the laws of the state who's roads you are traveling on. I'll give you a better situation where the logic for this is more apparent, say a bunch of yahoo's go through PA in some POS with no doors, a cardboad box for a hood, 3 car tires and 1 31x10.50 15, no exhaust and a mag light for headlights. and the car is from some state that does not require a state inspection. This obviously unsafe vehicle, both by PA standards and common sense, while may be perferctly legal in state X is posing the danger on PA's roads, therefore it falls under our laws as it endangers our population.

Dan

 

[Got-Cobra?]

(Homer Simpson: voice) "Doooooooooooh!"

Can I just go down to the local motorcycle dealer and get a temp tag? What else can I do until the out of state plates come in?

 

[ROADWARRIORSVT]

Originally posted by FordSVTFan
Spoken like a true 19 year old full of supposition and no fact!! It is nice that you know what the officer did and did not do and that you fully understand his department/agencies policies and guidelines concerning these matters. :nonono:

KIDS,..........ya gotta love'em! :nonono: :nonono: :nonono:

 

[mswaim]

Originally posted by Got-Cobra?
This ticket is BOGUS!

He "did" lose sight of me "for sure." I was riding with three other motorcycles and the next closest bike was about a 1/2 mile behind me and the other two were about 1 mile behind him. I know for sure he didn't see me because the closest bike to me could barely see me.

As for him pacing me, he didn't have his overhead lights on at all until he got right on my butt! Before he turned on the overheads, I actually thought it was the other two bikes catching up driving side-by-side!

Actually, I wouldn't have activated my overheads unitl I closed the gap a bit between myself and the target vehicle, especially if it's a bike. It cuts down the "head start" if they plan on running.

Not trying to flame here, but my experience tells me that when you find a group of bikes running together, they are usually closer than the distances you state. My experience tells me the reason for the large gaps is due to rapid acceleration on the part of one or more of the bikes, leaving the others behind.

 

[Got-Cobra?]

I was the first bike out the on-ramp and accelerated ahead of everyone else. That and last bike was a Harley and the other rider stayed with him.

Usually when we ride those two stay together and myself and the other bike stay together.

How long does it take you guys to catch back up with someone if you are heading in the "opposite" direction?

If he's going 65 and I'm going 65, it's going to be a few miles? (Make the next turn around, slow down, and then accelerate back up to catch them?) That is why I was so far ahead!

I might not have been going 65 but 125+ is just wrong!

 

[mswaim]

I can't comment on the spped or why he even stopped you since I wasn't there. However on your question of how long it takes to catch up, I can say from experience that it varies widely.

In light traffic, late at night, not very long. However if your flipping around to conduct a paced determination of speed, it will take a bit of distance, adding to the time.

Once you determine that your going to make the stop, or if the contact was done via radar and you have the lock, I would accelerate at full throttle to close the distance as quickly as I can.