Just got a ticket for exhaust too loud!
I received a ticket for a loud exhaust and passing on a solid line while merging on I95... the a$$hole state trooper did not bother messing with the weenie that failed to yield right of way to me. I just chalk it up as another scumbag trooper on a power trip... It's funny in Va state troopers are top notch and widely recruited for higher services like the FBI. In Florida state troopers are the armpit of police and thier attitude never fails to reflect this. Any way, I'll pay the exhaust ticket and have the other one dispensed with through those ticket clinics. It just bugs me that putzs like this jerk give cops a bad name (can you think of anything lamer to cite someone for on I95????)
here's to florida troopers
here's to florida troopers
a'ight
You've been written for two accounts.
Remember its you're legal right to plead innocent, and have a hearing. Innocent isn't saying you're trying to 'get-out' of anything...it offers you a set of rights and protections to make sure the "expert witness" cop was actually doing what he was suppost to be doing in order to pull you over, and charge you with something.
In fact remember that because he wrote you up for two things, you can possibly make two different pleas, one for each citation.
Remember also...that you can't get the cops notes, nor ask the cop anything UNLESS you plead innocent. AND you can always plead guilty and bargan with the prosecutor if you need too 'before' the trial. Also...remember...if you plead guilty before the judge...the judge 'may' let you off easy...but 9 chances out of ten he won't.
This is what I would do: Plead innocent for both charges. Get a court date, and make the officer answer on why your exhaust was 'too' loud. Don't volunteer any information on the exhaust. In fact you don't have to testify about the exhaust. Make them subponea information about your exhaust if they feel it was soooo important to note that it was 'too loud.' Also make the fact that the officer didn't have a dB meter in order to make a good judgement against you. Hearing is very subjective. If you get off on the muffy stuff...Make the point that (in your closing agruments) you were being singled out because the cop had the perception of you being a bad-a#@ driver. Make sure the cop doesn't get off saying things like, "he drives a sports car." Or...you're more likely to go fast because you have a wing on the back of your car.
In any case...stick to the facts of the case against you...They have the burden of proof in order to convict you.
Facts as I see them are:
1.) The cop didn't have a decibel meter.
2.) If the cop got this "magical" number on his radar, how did he get that number?
Rambling on.
Good Luck,
Cheers,
jcnel.
Remember its you're legal right to plead innocent, and have a hearing. Innocent isn't saying you're trying to 'get-out' of anything...it offers you a set of rights and protections to make sure the "expert witness" cop was actually doing what he was suppost to be doing in order to pull you over, and charge you with something.
In fact remember that because he wrote you up for two things, you can possibly make two different pleas, one for each citation.
Remember also...that you can't get the cops notes, nor ask the cop anything UNLESS you plead innocent. AND you can always plead guilty and bargan with the prosecutor if you need too 'before' the trial. Also...remember...if you plead guilty before the judge...the judge 'may' let you off easy...but 9 chances out of ten he won't.
This is what I would do: Plead innocent for both charges. Get a court date, and make the officer answer on why your exhaust was 'too' loud. Don't volunteer any information on the exhaust. In fact you don't have to testify about the exhaust. Make them subponea information about your exhaust if they feel it was soooo important to note that it was 'too loud.' Also make the fact that the officer didn't have a dB meter in order to make a good judgement against you. Hearing is very subjective. If you get off on the muffy stuff...Make the point that (in your closing agruments) you were being singled out because the cop had the perception of you being a bad-a#@ driver. Make sure the cop doesn't get off saying things like, "he drives a sports car." Or...you're more likely to go fast because you have a wing on the back of your car.
In any case...stick to the facts of the case against you...They have the burden of proof in order to convict you.
Facts as I see them are:
1.) The cop didn't have a decibel meter.
2.) If the cop got this "magical" number on his radar, how did he get that number?
Rambling on.
Good Luck,
Cheers,
jcnel.
Look thats what i know, i used to live in Fairfax and i know that we had the most asshols cops ever, infact if you get pulled over you are getting a ticket wether you like it or not. Alot of my friend went to jail in that state its not even funny. one of my frined went to jail for doing 21 mile over speed limit. if i were you i willget a lowyer since you have to show up to court( you have tooo) or they will aresst you in you house. One time i got 20 miles over limit went to court and that was in Fairfax city where they avarage 3 cops for 1 car at night and i told the judge that i did not pay ATT because it was a nice new car, he was nice and he let me go but dont count on it. some times you get some bad *** judge that he did not have a good day and he will put you in jail in one minute front everyone. get a lowyer for $300 and ask what to do. the funny thing if you were a fir fighter there you wont get a ticket if you know what i mean.
Hi,
First, since you have the reckless charge, you may want to get a lawyer. I'm not sure how serious that is in VA, like if they could suspend your license for that.
Second, check out this site:
http://www.motorists.org/
It's for the NMA, a national motorist rights organization. I got a lot of good info while fighting my "Altered Exhaust" and Speeding ticket here in MA. They also advocate for driver's rights and other stuff. For the records, my altered exhaust charge (Mass general law Chapter 90 section 16) was thrown out. Jeez, it's a Buschur Axle-back, and low noise was one of the reasons I selected it!!
I actually got advice from a lawyer friend, and a lot of the information was corroborated and supplemented in the site. Basically, you should get organized and learn about the charges against you and different techniques and tactics to fight them. It also explains how the system will try to make you feel like you can't win, what to expect in court, etc. There is a MA specific site of the NMA, not sure about VA though.
In a nutshell, definitely plead innocent and request a hearing. You can use discovery or make a public information request to get information from the police about the ticket, the radar and its calibration (if applicable) etc. If they don't respond and they have a legal obligation to do so, this can be part of your defense. If you just pay the ticket, it's not just the fine, it's the surcharge on your insurance that's the real pain. Also, it can leave you one step closer to losing your license if you get another violation.
In MA, you get a hearing before a magistrate, with a representative from the police present. The rep will just read the ticket and the magistrate will probably find you guilty, or he may lower the fine slightly. This may seem appealing, but remember you might still get the pain of the insurance surcharge. In your state, you may be able to negotiate to take driver's ed to get the points forgiven or make a plea where you pay the fine but they agree not to report the citation to the insurance co or the DMV. Unfortunately, MA doesn't allow either of these. The magistrate threw out my exhaust ticket, but wanted me to plead guilty and pay a reduce fine on the speeding citation. I declined and appealed to have a trial before a judge. In this case, the actual officer has to show, so if he can't make it, you can usually get the charges dismissed. Also, you can grill him on radar use and whatnot. Oh well, definitely do some research and be prepared... Sorry to ramble so much, lol.
Good luck,
FB
First, since you have the reckless charge, you may want to get a lawyer. I'm not sure how serious that is in VA, like if they could suspend your license for that.
Second, check out this site:
http://www.motorists.org/
It's for the NMA, a national motorist rights organization. I got a lot of good info while fighting my "Altered Exhaust" and Speeding ticket here in MA. They also advocate for driver's rights and other stuff. For the records, my altered exhaust charge (Mass general law Chapter 90 section 16) was thrown out. Jeez, it's a Buschur Axle-back, and low noise was one of the reasons I selected it!!
I actually got advice from a lawyer friend, and a lot of the information was corroborated and supplemented in the site. Basically, you should get organized and learn about the charges against you and different techniques and tactics to fight them. It also explains how the system will try to make you feel like you can't win, what to expect in court, etc. There is a MA specific site of the NMA, not sure about VA though.
In a nutshell, definitely plead innocent and request a hearing. You can use discovery or make a public information request to get information from the police about the ticket, the radar and its calibration (if applicable) etc. If they don't respond and they have a legal obligation to do so, this can be part of your defense. If you just pay the ticket, it's not just the fine, it's the surcharge on your insurance that's the real pain. Also, it can leave you one step closer to losing your license if you get another violation.
In MA, you get a hearing before a magistrate, with a representative from the police present. The rep will just read the ticket and the magistrate will probably find you guilty, or he may lower the fine slightly. This may seem appealing, but remember you might still get the pain of the insurance surcharge. In your state, you may be able to negotiate to take driver's ed to get the points forgiven or make a plea where you pay the fine but they agree not to report the citation to the insurance co or the DMV. Unfortunately, MA doesn't allow either of these. The magistrate threw out my exhaust ticket, but wanted me to plead guilty and pay a reduce fine on the speeding citation. I declined and appealed to have a trial before a judge. In this case, the actual officer has to show, so if he can't make it, you can usually get the charges dismissed. Also, you can grill him on radar use and whatnot. Oh well, definitely do some research and be prepared... Sorry to ramble so much, lol.
Good luck,
FB
Last edited by berkel; Feb 23, 2004 at 06:29 PM.
Good news guy, just went to court this morning. The judge dropped the reckless to speeding. Paid the fine for $130 and improper exhaust for $25. Forgot to ask him how many points got deducted, but I think it is 6 points and five years stay in my record.
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Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 6
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From: Long Island, NY
got pulled over in my corvette with a PRT TRI-flow exhaust and a borla x-pipe doing 75 in a 30 (its a big road theres no way it should be 30 mph speed limit). Anyway ive never recieved any crap from any cops about the exhaust and it is LOUD.
P.S. in case you were interested about the outcome of this police encounter, there is another cop in my town who is trying to hook up with a girl that im friends with so I called her up and she called the cop that likes her and he was there within minutes. He spoke to the other cop who had the speeding ticket written out and crossed out speeding and just wrote broken headlight, and gave me instructions to clear that up.
(talk about luck)
too bad that girl got pulled over by another cop in a school zone and she wasnt so lucky
P.S. in case you were interested about the outcome of this police encounter, there is another cop in my town who is trying to hook up with a girl that im friends with so I called her up and she called the cop that likes her and he was there within minutes. He spoke to the other cop who had the speeding ticket written out and crossed out speeding and just wrote broken headlight, and gave me instructions to clear that up.
(talk about luck)too bad that girl got pulled over by another cop in a school zone and she wasnt so lucky
turbo4g63,
I just saw the thread
that sucks man
You could have taken a pic with stock exhaust and show it to judge.. he would have let you go...
well glad everything worked out though..
talk to u later!
Memo
I just saw the thread
that sucks man
You could have taken a pic with stock exhaust and show it to judge.. he would have let you go...
well glad everything worked out though..
talk to u later!
Memo
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