Hey guys,

I had a FM tC and I got 2 simultaneous tickets for tints and 1 for talkign o na cell phone. The only problem is I wasnt talking on the phone! I tried to show the officer the recent calls list - but he didnt want to listen. Generally I would accept the fact that I had tints and just pay for the ticket, but this officer was rude, and downright demeaning (because I was 19 at the time). I was wondering if someone can take pics of their Flint Mica with untinted windows so that I can bring it into court in time for my hearing (on February 7). Regarding the cell phone ticket - is a bill showing that I purchased a bluetooth headset proof enough?

Please advise - thanks.

 

You can call your cell phone company and have them fax you a statement showing all the calls you made that day prior to your ticket. The ticket should show the time he pulled you over, so your proof that you weren't on the phone at the time will get you out of that ticket.

As for the tint, it won't matter if you drive a FM, bright orange, or yellow and pink polka dotted car. Tint is tint, and if you're not supposed to have 5% (or whatever the law is), then you're just gonna have to face that and pay the ticket.


FWIW, I used to be a cop...

 

was it right for me to get 2 tickets?

because on prior occasions - i received only 1 ticket for both windows - and those tickets I just accepted.

 

For the windows, yes. For the cell phone, if you can prove you weren't on it, no. Keep in mind simply taking your phone to court and showing the judge the recent calls list won't work, since you can delete calls made and recieved. I can't tell you why the cop didn't want to see the phone, maybe he was in a hurry to get back on the road, or he just didn't want to put up with it. Call your cell phone company, and get a list of every call you made that day. That will be your only saving grace on that ticket.


I don't understand how you're NOW going to court for something that happened 2 years ago. Generally traffic court doesn't take that long to process a case.

 

I'll give you all the info.

In october 2005
I was driving on a 4 lane road (2 lanes each way) that is in a commercial area. The officer was traveling towards me. He then proceeded to make a u turn after passing me and turner on the sirens, I pulled over to the right side to let them through and he flew by me. After he head passed I merged back into the left lane and ended up right behind him because he started to slow down at this point (to 10 mph) at this point i turned on my blinker, merged over to the right lane and just as I passed him he puled me over. He approached me, and I kindly asked him why I was pulled over. He told me for my cell phone, I took the phone from my cubby and asked for him to look at recent calls list - he refused and went back to his van. A couple of minutes later he came back with his partner, they asked me to raise my windows and they put the meters on. Then they went back to the van. I received a phone call on my phone from my girlfriend ( and I made the mistake of picking it up) while I was waiting for them to come back with the tickets. When the officers finished, they approached my car again and handed me 3 tickets. 2 for tinted windows and 1 for talking on the cell phone. The time on the cell phone ticket showed 10:41pm, which was the eact time that my gf called me. (I was pulled over at 10:30ish. So this is where the problem comes from. My nextel phone bill shows that the phone call was place the exact same time that it shows on the ticket, so I dont know if the time they write should reflect the time they "saw" the infraction, or the time they wrote out the ticket? I am also not sure if I should have received 2 tickets for tints (in the past I always received 1).

But thats not all...

The hearing was scheduled for April '06. At a later time I received a notice that it was recheduled for August '06. In august I went to the DMV and didnt see my name on the board for that day, so I went to the coutner and they told me that per officer's request, the hearing has been rescheduled to 02/07/07. So that where I am now. The hearing is next week - and Im trying to gather as much stuff as I can in my defense. Had it been 1 ticket for the tints (which I do deserve) it would've already been paid.

Sorry for the lengthy story - but these are all the details.

 

wow, what a time to wait. lol

 

I'm not sure now if there is anything you can do but simply show up to contest it. Since the ticket and the call time are the same, the judge will assume he pulled you over at the time he "saw" you on the phone, not the actual time he wrote the ticket. You can contest the 2 tickets for tint if they are the exact same and maybe get off with only having one ticket for the windows. Sounds like you're probably going to just have to bite the bullet on this one. I don't know the laws in your state nor do I guarantee any of my advice, but speaking on a law enforcement basis, this ____ is retarded. Just go to court on the date you're supposed to be there and plead your case.

Oh, and again, FWIW, if you go to the court and the date has been changed again, you can move to have it dismissed if it's because the cop can't be there. You can plead that it's rediculous to have to wait 2 years for all of this, and maybe get off with just paying 1 or 2 of the tickets. Also, you should be able to call and talk to a public defender.

 

I went there yesterday to try to change the date because I have school, and they told me I cant, unless I post a bond. So I guess I'll just take my chances. I was kind of hoping to get pics of untinted FM so that I can show the court that I took of my tints, but I dont know if thats a good idea or not

 

Not a good idea if it's not your car. You can get into an even bigger mess. Unless it was a "Fix-it" ticket, you won't get out of it. Even then, you'd have to go to an autoglass place and pay for them to remove it and show the bill to the court.


Dude, if you can just pay the fines and move on, you should. If you really think you can plead your case and get some or all of it dropped, you should. I rarely take the side of the driver in most traffic ticket cases because most of the time it's the driver's fault (ie speeding, reckless driving). But I think you should pursue and see what comes of it, or just pay the fine and move on.

 

thank you for your help, I really appreciate it.

I think I will try to plead with the judge that I may not deserve 2 tickets and I'll show them the bill from the cell phone company and explain that too.

 

Sometimes cops just have a bad day... sorry you were on the receiving end.

 

Man I almost posted my flint too. Then I started reading te story. Anyway, I'm curious as to why he gave you 2 tickets, also. Does it count for two different violations of the tint regs?? It's not good to lie to the govt, perjury is a big offense. Would you really wan to have to explain that to Bubba and Tiny?? LOL, naw but you wouldn't get addressed, but that would be an even bigger fine, if they found out ou lied. And please believe the govt usually finds out. Good luck with your case.

 

Well the two tickets were more then likely written for each window, which may be a NY state law that per window = per ticket. Again you would have to look into that first before you try to plead your case. In california, for first offences, it is a fix-it ticket. Second and above, is a ticket that you must appear and pay. Unless the laws changed since 2003, this is what we were told when pulling over motorists. In regards to your cell phone call, sounds bogus, and sounds like an excuse to pull you over to review the car further. Note**anytime an office is going 10 or less and you are behind them, make your first right turn and then make a U-turn to return back to the same road of travel. I knew a couple guys at my station that used to do that manuever (going slow, and waiting for the first unlucky motorist to pull over). Pretty shiesty if you ask me!

 

Thanks for your responses. I printed out the NYS law for tint, but it doesnt say anywhere if they're allowed to give 2 tickets (1 for each window), does anyone know if they're able to?

 

I though that having your car tinted is just one fix-it ticket.

 

Normally it is. Maybe they saw that he's gotten them before (tickets) for the same thing. IDK though.

 

they were just being asses