I Got A Ticket Today ($702)

Soul Rebel · Jul 26, 2006

While the end result sucks this has a pretty good story.

This morning on my way to drop my girlfriend off at work we saw a State Patrol car who ended up pulling this older guy over. My girlfriend makes a comment about how it was good he pulled that guy over and didnt see my brake light out. And yes, its still out. I havent had the chance to replace it. Anyway, I went on my way and dropped her off.

On the way back I am doing the speed limit and a State Patrol car pulls onto the highway and I end up almost side to side. He pulls back and turns on the lights. Great. Guess who it was? The same freaking cop. I got a ticket for a busted hood (got in a wreck, doesnt shut all the way. Its latched and safe though) and a missing drivers side mirror. I also didnt have my proof of insurance (I do have it) and I guess my sons car seat isnt properly installed. Great. That made me look like a great parent.

So I have a $702 fine. The insurance fine will come off but that leaves $202. Its the first time ive gotten a ticket that wasnt for speeding. At one point I had 12 speeding tickets but that was when I was young and stupid and raced my car as much as possible. Ive worked hard and have a clean record and havent gotten a ticket in 3 years. Until today. This sucks.

ShelleySnapz · Jul 26, 2006

Aw man...that sucks! Looks like someone was out to get his quota!

darin3200 · Jul 26, 2006

they can give tickets for child's seats?

Corry · Jul 26, 2006

That sucks! Sorry to hear that happened!

Soul Rebel · Jul 26, 2006

darin3200 said:
they can give tickets for child's seats?

I guess so. While it sucks to have the ticket its nice that they enforce it. I had no clue but if I had I would have done it right. There are parents out there that are just too lazy. So....im glad.

PlasticSpanner · Jul 27, 2006

Would you have fitted the child seat correctly if you had known it was an offence or because you wanted it to work at it's best and provide the maximum protection if (god forbid) you ever needed it to?

Sucks about the guy getting his quota though! I always thought it would be better for police to notify you of any defects with your car as they do but without a hefty fine for the first time. They could keep it on record for 12 months and if you got a ticket for the same thing after 7 days then you should get the fine for not fixing it!:thumbup:

Soul Rebel · Jul 27, 2006

PlasticSpanner said:
Would you have fitted the child seat correctly if you had known it was an offence or because you wanted it to work at it's best and provide the maximum protection if (god forbid) you ever needed it to?

Sucks about the guy getting his quota though! I always thought it would be better for police to notify you of any defects with your car as they do but without a hefty fine for the first time. They could keep it on record for 12 months and if you got a ticket for the same thing after 7 days then you should get the fine for not fixing it!:thumbup:

I would never put my child in danger (despite not being blood related, he IS my son) and if I had known I would have put it in correctly because I would not want something to happen to him. I am a better person than wanting to protect him only to protect myself from a ticket.

Oldfireguy · Jul 27, 2006

Looks like someone was out to get his quota!

My dad was a policeman. He heard that everytime someone broke a law and got nailed.

All were safety violations and a missing insurance card which has been required by Wa State for years. No quotas here. He was doing what he gets paid to do, enforce state law. Busted hood sounds petty until you arrive at the aftermath of a multi-vehicle accident on a freeway because the hood flew up and blinded the driver who then proceeds to kill a family of seven because he slammed into them.

On your ticket you have an option to go to court. Go! Plead guilty, ask for time to fix everything, show your insurance card, get the stuff fixed. 99.9% of the time the court will grant you time. If you can't afford to get it fixed ask for time to pay the fine. Nothing you got tagged with will go on your driving record which is a good thing. Go to a junk yard and get a cheap mirror and put it on. If you think your hood is latched and safe then get a mechanic to document it. Take it all to court with you.

As far as the child seat, most hospitals that have peds units will show you how to correctly install a childs car seat. If you don't have one in your area drive down to Mary Bridge in Tacoma, they will do it. Check your local fire station also. Some have been trained to check installs also.

Soul Rebel · Jul 27, 2006

fredcwdoc said:
Looks like someone was out to get his quota!

My dad was a policeman. He heard that everytime someone broke a law and got nailed.
All were safety violations and a missing insurance card which has been required by Wa State for years. No quotas here. He was doing what he gets paid to do, enforce state law.

On your ticket you have an option to go to court. Go! Plead guilty, ask for time to fix everything, show your insurance card, get the stuff fixed. 99.9% of the time the court will grant you time. If you can't afford to get it fixed ask for time to pay the fine. Nothing you got tagged with will go on your driving record which is a good thing.

As far as the child seat, most hospitals that have peds units will show you how to correctly install a childs car seat. If you don't have one in your area drive down to Mary Bridge in Tacoma, they will do it. Check your local fire station also. Some have been trained to check installs also.

I really dont care if he was filling a quota or not, or whether they even do that. He had legit reasons to ticket me.

What I find odd is that I have been pulled over, for small stupid stuff that would require an embarassing story, and nobody said a thing about this stuff. Its been there for 2 years without causing a problem.

I dont have the money to fix these things. The carseat problem I can fix but the hood and the mirror are just not possible right now. However, it looks like I am going to be taking my sisters car so I might just go to court and tell them that I got a new car and that I cannot afford to fix those things. I have the carseat properly installed. Hopefully they will see that I took the effort to get into a different vehicle and fix the carseat. I do have insurance (Geico is horrible at sending cards. My entire family has a problem with getting a card) so that doesnt worry me.

If I have to pay, fine. Hopefully they will set up some sort of payment plan.

Oldfireguy · Jul 27, 2006

Don't tell them that your sisters car belongs to you. Tell them she let you borrow it until you get everything fixed. They might ask for proof of ownership.

My wife used to drive a 25 year old Datson B-210. A real race car. It had tinted windows. A WSP Trooper nailed her because her windows were tinted to dark. She was 46 years old at the time. A real trouble maker. It just happen to be close to a high school and he more than likely thought she was a student. He wrote her up. I took it to court and the judge threw out everything because I had removed the tinting. She didn't have a lot of good things to say about the trooper who she felt was wasting court time.

A couple days later I was working and dispatched to an auto accident. Guess who shows up? Same guy who had written my wife up. He asked my crew to direct traffic, I told him to stick his head where the sun don't shine, traffic control is a police job and not a firefighters, hire more people if they can't do their job, etc., and left. Not nice but I felt better.

I don't condone some of the tickets these guys write and he could have given you a warning but didn't. It sucks.

clarinetJWD · Jul 27, 2006

I allllmost got a ticket this morning...speeding...again.
Got a warning. Whew. But I know how you feel, I'm no stranger to the procedure myself

Soul Rebel · Jul 27, 2006

fredcwdoc said:
Don't tell them that your sisters car belongs to you. Tell them she let you borrow it until you get everything fixed. They might ask for proof of ownership.

My sister is buying a new car and I now have the choice to either keep my 1996 Honda Civic or take her 1993 Ford Escort station wagon. Now I know on the surface it seems like an easy situation. It really isnt. The Civic has the issues I was ticketed for. Its a stick, which really is not helping my knees. It also is not the car I want. I might sound silly but it just represents too much of what I tried to get away from.

The Escort, since it is a station wagon, would be much easier to haul the kids around. Also, since I am heading to Portland in October to take some pictures of a friends band it would be nice to haul my stuff down there.

So I have to make the decision. Right now she is letting me borrow it. Soon it might be mine.

Alex06 · Jul 28, 2006

Sorry to hear about the ticket.

The last one I got was a speeding ticket but luckily I could go to traffic school and get it wiped off.
My husband and I had a close call a while back. We got pulled over because I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. Could've been a huge fine. But the reason I wasn't wearing a seatbelt was because we had just rescued a cat off the side of the freeway that had been hit by a car. Turns out the cop's wife was a vet so he had some sympathy and let us go. The cat had two broken legs and internal bleeding but made a miraculous recovery! She was the best cat we ever had- rescued animals are so appreciative and loyal :lovey:

Soul Rebel · Jul 28, 2006

I cant wait until I get my own place and I can either take in an injured dog (not a cat person) or get one from the animal shelter. Giving a dog a second chance seems a lot more rewarding.

Corry · Jul 28, 2006

Soul Rebel said:
I cant wait until I get my own place and I can either take in an injured dog (not a cat person) or get one from the animal shelter. Giving a dog a second chance seems a lot more rewarding.

I totally had a dream last night that I found a two legged dog in my yard....it was weird.