off topic but....

[tagyak]

hey guys,

just wondering if any of you had gotten a ticket for tailgating? i have to go to court tomorrow to fight a ticket. i normally would just pay up and forget about it, but this time i have too.
i am not qualified to go to traffic school and if i get another ticket on my record my insurance co said that they'll drop me (08-09 were expensive). so i have to be a good boy till next january when these tickets clear.
so if anyone out there who have experienced a ticket like this or has some good advise, besides stop speeding stop tailgating and obey the traffic laws, please chime in.
i greatly appreciate it.

tim

[MuddyMike]

I usually request trial by written declaration. It tells about it on the back of your ticket somewhere.

I got a cell phone ticket, and actually just went to court yesterday to request a TBD. Basically you pay your bail, and they give you some time to fill out your statement.

You can either mail or hand in your statement.

If you don't feel comfortable doing it, there's many services out there that will charge you about $100- to file it for you. (search mr. ticket)

What you have going for you is that the cops get paid more to be in court on the days they assign you, so there's a good chance they will be there.

With a TBD, they have to fill out paperwork, and often they may not even send it in.

If you are found innocent, then you will get your bail amount sent back to you.

if you are guilty, you can still appeal it and fight it in court.

This is how I understand it anyway. Over the last 10 years or so, I've gotten found innocent on 3 speeding tickets. We'll see what happens with this cell phone ticket.

You can find a lot of info online about it. It's intimidating, but it's pretty easy. You just fill out the form explaining that you are not guilty without incriminating yourself, and send it in. It usually takes about 3 months to get a verdict.

[tagyak]

thanks for the info. in this case, my trail date is for tomorrow, can i still request for an extension and a trial be declaration? or is it too late to do this?

[jorluivil]

Schedule an arraignment with the Judge and ask for second offender traffic school, if he allows you to do it you could be taking a 12hr or 16hr course. A few years ago I received two moving violations in just as many months and tried to fight the second one because I had already attended traffic school on the first one.

Long story short...

If I decided to fight it the judge said he hit me with the stiffest fine possible if I lost but if I pleaded guilty (child restraint and speeding) to both counts he would allow me to attend second offenders traffic school, I pleaded guilty and was given a 16 hr course. At this point you have nothing to lose so give it a try.

[MuddyMike]

i'm no expert, but if 'trial date' is the date on your ticket, then probably. just go to the traffic offenses counter and ask.

[WahooUSMA]

Good luck, Tim. Was it CHP or City PD? What did he/she state in the narrative? Did they just cite you for 21703 vc or are the additional violations?

[tagyak]

Originally Posted by WahooUSMA

Good luck, Tim. Was it CHP or City PD? What did he/she state in the narrative? Did they just cite you for 21703 vc or are the additional violations?

it was city pd. said that i was speeding doing 45 in a 35 and made some illegal lane changes but just cited me for 21703 vc. this was early a.m. during the work week.
i think the cop was being nice in his own way. but still a jerk for giving me a ticket instead of a warning.

[bus kid]

That sucks the CHP aka (AAA with a gun) have had my arse, local might be a little nicer. I've had the Sheriffs give me more warnings then tickets. like jorge said plead out and take the 12 / 16 hr course, it kills the weekend but save your insurance. I actually had so many tickets back as a kid that no ins company would carry me, had to have the state appointment me one. due to the cost I rode a bike for 3 years until the 5 tickets in 4 months dropped off.
best of luck in a positive outcome.

[StinkyMatt]

Damn it Tim....

Looks like you will do just about anything to make me drive on all our fishing trips!


But then again, I've been in the car with you and even if I had no legs, no arms and blind in both eyes I may be the better driver.

My limited experience, they don't tell you all of your options in court, unless you ask. When you get your 3 seconds in front of the judge, don't let him rush you.

Ask for reduction in fine. I knocked a 450 dollar ticket to about 280.

Good luck.

[sasha]

Hope this gives you any ideas.. I never used it but some guys i ride bikes with said its got them out of speeding tickets..

http://ticketassassin.com/docs/forms.html

[tagyak]

hi guys,

just an update.

well i went to court this morning and i was pretty calm and ready to request for a fine reduction along with a second offender course. so thanks to all you guys who gave me some pointers.

the court was to start at 8:00 am , but you may know the drill, it starts when the judge is ready. mine didn't get started until 8:45. as i was waiting i am looking at the one cop that is in the court. then as time slowing went by saw another one show up and then a few more i started to get nervous. hoping that mine won't show up and wishing this would start.

finally the judge comes out and starts taking roll call. first one he calls out, "mr. chin", here, "officer Davis", not, "dismissed". second one "mr. fraga", here, ""office wilson", here, wait for trial. third one gets dismissed and i am praying real hard now, call my name. finally he calls my name and i speak up and say "present", "office villegas", not, "dismissed". DISMISSED yippy!!!

so short story, it got dismissed and i had the biggest smile that you could have imagined. maybe i'll have that same smile when i catch my wsb

[bus kid]

congrats thats a good report.

[fishsouthcounty]

haha hell ya....congratulations. lucky day.

[StinkyMatt]

With all the money you saved........

YOU are buying gas, lunch, dinner and a new reel for your fishing buddy.

Lucky Bastard!

[Riskey Water]

Talk about ducking the bullet ,congrats !!

[wiredantz]

Originally Posted by tagyak

hi guys,

just an update.

well i went to court this morning and i was pretty calm and ready to request for a fine reduction along with a second offender course. so thanks to all you guys who gave me some pointers.

the court was to start at 8:00 am , but you may know the drill, it starts when the judge is ready. mine didn't get started until 8:45. as i was waiting i am looking at the one cop that is in the court. then as time slowing went by saw another one show up and then a few more i started to get nervous. hoping that mine won't show up and wishing this would start.

finally the judge comes out and starts taking roll call. first one he calls out, "mr. chin", here, "officer Davis", not, "dismissed". second one "mr. fraga", here, ""office wilson", here, wait for trial. third one gets dismissed and i am praying real hard now, call my name. finally he calls my name and i speak up and say "present", "office villegas", not, "dismissed". DISMISSED yippy!!!

so short story, it got dismissed and i had the biggest smile that you could have imagined. maybe i'll have that same smile when i catch my wsb

Now lesson learned... don't follow me to close

[WahooUSMA]

Originally Posted by tagyak

hi guys,

just an update.

well i went to court this morning and i was pretty calm and ready to request for a fine reduction along with a second offender course. so thanks to all you guys who gave me some pointers.

the court was to start at 8:00 am , but you may know the drill, it starts when the judge is ready. mine didn't get started until 8:45. as i was waiting i am looking at the one cop that is in the court. then as time slowing went by saw another one show up and then a few more i started to get nervous. hoping that mine won't show up and wishing this would start.

finally the judge comes out and starts taking roll call. first one he calls out, "mr. chin", here, "officer Davis", not, "dismissed". second one "mr. fraga", here, ""office wilson", here, wait for trial. third one gets dismissed and i am praying real hard now, call my name. finally he calls my name and i speak up and say "present", "office villegas", not, "dismissed". DISMISSED yippy!!!

so short story, it got dismissed and i had the biggest smile that you could have imagined. maybe i'll have that same smile when i catch my wsb

Way to go, Tim...its always crap shoot - is he/she going to show or not? Generally speaking, in LAPD, during my time, if we missed court we got a slap on the wrist, but now that the city is flat ass broke, you miss court, it cost you a day or two. That's why in my whole career, I bet I only wrote 50 tickets!

[ericko]

Shit i now no why it only took 4 hours to come home from mammoth the last time we went...

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by tagyak

hi guys,

just an update.

well i went to court this morning and i was pretty calm and ready to request for a fine reduction along with a second offender course. so thanks to all you guys who gave me some pointers.

the court was to start at 8:00 am , but you may know the drill, it starts when the judge is ready. mine didn't get started until 8:45. as i was waiting i am looking at the one cop that is in the court. then as time slowing went by saw another one show up and then a few more i started to get nervous. hoping that mine won't show up and wishing this would start.

finally the judge comes out and starts taking roll call. first one he calls out, "mr. chin", here, "officer Davis", not, "dismissed". second one "mr. fraga", here, ""office wilson", here, wait for trial. third one gets dismissed and i am praying real hard now, call my name. finally he calls my name and i speak up and say "present", "office villegas", not, "dismissed". DISMISSED yippy!!!

so short story, it got dismissed and i had the biggest smile that you could have imagined. maybe i'll have that same smile when i catch my wsb

Officer Villegas is my cousin, I told him to stay away or no more for him. Little does he know the season ends next week


J.K.

No related to him

[CurtyL]

Just say you were recently cut off by a car that ...well.. .cut you off and you were trying to discourgae that from happening again with another, obviously agressive, driver.