I'm cruising some twisties with my dad and there's police ALL OVER in the mountains, so all the riders are slowing down and real careful. We get to a stretch of 3-4 cars and after a lil while of cruising behind them, we pass when the double yellow lines get broken and we're allowed to pass....so it seems :P

20 miles later after riding behind some group of harleys, we make a left to go up the mountain road (which is the TIGHTEST turns i've ever seen, you see alot of knee dragging on those turns). My dad's ahead and he slows down and pulls over on the shoulder to tell me to go ahead, all of a sudden a police car shows up outta nowhere and asks for MY license, registration, etc. I asked him why he was writing me a ticket, and all he says is a plane caught a bunch of bikes crossing the double yellow to pass and i was apparently a "yellow" bike they had spotted. I'm behind my dad the whole time, and the only time we left our lane was to pass the 3-4 cars i had explained earlier when the line was broken. Hence, I think they're greatly mistaken and i got the ticket for someone else on a yellow bike. We didn't turn back and go home like some of the other sport bikers who got tickets, and kept on going, and then when we got to this restaurant on the summit, the parking lot was full with sport bikes of all different colors (several green, another yellow, etc. etc.). We took a picture of the lot and will use that in our defense to show them how many bikes there are and there is no way to distinguish which one's which. I'm not too worried about this but it's such a hassle because some dumbass cops can't catch the right bikes. At least my dad will be my witness in court and tell them i was behind him the whole time and we only left our lane once, in a stretch of highway that had a broken line. If i'm lucky, the pilot AND the cop that stopped me (both have to show) won't show to court and i won't have to explain myself, but we'll see. My rant's over, thanks for reading, I LOVE YOU PIGS!!!

 

Damn man that sux...it happened also to a friend of mine...he was riding his zx6r (blue) when another biker just decided to follow...so they just cruised till a third bike full throtled it overtaking them...turns out right after that third bike passed two cop cars where somewhere hidden and saw this whole thing...both cars pulled all three bikes over and wrote all three tickets...even when the third biker said it wasnt the other twos fault...the cops just didnt care what they had to say...

at least you got your defense...good idea taking the pictures....

 

It amazes me how many times one bike can get all bikes in trouble. A couple of weeks ago me and my neighbor went for a short ride, nothing too fantastic, just a few twisties to a gas station, have a smoke and some coffee and ride home. About 3 hours later, Im watching a movie with my gf and theres a knock on the door, she answers and I hear the garage open up. Im like, WTF? I go down to be greeted by 5 cops saying they need to see my bike. I can only assume they knew I had one (garage was closed) because our neighbor dates a cop. Of course, it wasnt the right color, but had it been blue, ****.........i would have gotten chastized or worse for some other dumb asses idea of a good time. Apparently there was a blue rocket "racing" around the area. NICE!! I would like to meet this *** hat sometime, but alas, I have not seen a blue "rocket" in my area. Good luck with the fight man.

 

Does your state cite traffic violations as civil traffic? I'd hope so. Everything you say during the stop is admissible in cour, as well as everything the officer says as well.

First, fight the ticket and request a hearing. Make sure your dad goes with you and is listed as a witness. Make sure you bring your pictures. The officer who wrote the summons didn't observe the offense. However, per case law he is able to rely on a fellow officer's statements and so forth, to create resonable suspicion so that is how he is able to cite you. If they do not call in the officer who was in the plane, they have nobody to call as a witness who actually witnessed the event. In that case, both you and your dad are the only two persons in the court who have direct evidence of what occurred. State what happened. Be clear, and be thorough. Based on a proponderence of the evidence (if civil traffic) you should win pretty easily.

 

Glad to hear that Brian, and thanks for the support guys. I'm going to bring my dad as a witness and present the pictures. I don't quite understand what you mean by your question though...traffic violoations as civil traffic? I'm in california so maybe that'd answer your question, cuz i'm not sure. I realize the cop that wrote me the ticket didn't witness the event, which is why i can't understand how he thinks he got the correct yellow bike. Chances are the pilot or whoever was in the plane won't show, this occured in San Diego county, and I'm in Orange County and will get my case heard in Newport Beach. However I can't be sure and I'll just have to wait for the letter in the mail and till the court date.

 

Well, today as we headed up towards the mountains, 3 of us got pulled over for doing 68 in a 45, and he had us on laser.

He was a nice cop and let us go with a warning.

 

Unfortuneatly I'm not that lucky, and not even guilty

 

Offenses can be classified as different things, and it usually depends upon the state you are in at the time. Civil traffic violations are pretty much the standard. Sometimes they have different names, such as "infractions". In a civil case, certain rules of evidence/procedures do not apply (leading questions, discovery, Brady, etc.). Also, civil actions are usually tried for monetary reasons. The burden of proof in a civil case is a proponderence of the evidence. What that means is that whomever proves their case better, will win (50.00001% VS 49.999999%). Civil cases cannot result in jailtime.

Criminal traffic is usually reserved for things like DUI, Unlawful flight from a LEO, Reckless endangerment, etc. These cases can result in either a misdemeanor or felony charge. Punishment for a misdemeanor is less than a year in county jail. Punishment for a felony is a year or more in a state correctional facility. Rules of evidence and procedure are more strict. Also, the burden of proof is bore by the State. They need to prove beyond a reasonable doubt (not beyone ANY doubt, and definately not beyond a shadow of a doubt), that a crime was commited and the individual(s) charged commited the offense.

Your citation should state if the offense is civil traffic, criminal traffic, or other.

If I was testifying in the case, it would be pretty easy:

"At xxxx time, on xxxx date, I xxxx was traveling east/west/north/south bound on roadwayxxx. At this time, and location, I was riding a 2006 Honda CBR 600 F4i, which is yellow and black in color. Additionally, I was travelling in a group/whatever or riders, and was xxx in line of this group.

At approx xxx location I, and our motorcycle group, encountered xxx vehicles travelling in xxxx direction. Our group closed in behind this/these vehicles, and continued in the xxx direction of travel. At this location, the roadway consists of two lanes of bi-directional travel seperate by a painted solid double center line.

Our group continued behind xxx vehicles until xxxx location, at which time the painted center line was no longer solid double yellow line, but was a solid/solid and dotted (whatever fits) line which allowed passing in our direction of travel. At this time, seeing that the opposing roadway was clear, our group signaled and used the oncomming traffic lane to pass the slower moving vehicles, in accordance with CA Statute. Our group continued in xxx direction on highway/roadway xxx until we were stopped by xxx police. Once contacted by the officer, he stated that an overhead aircraft was being manned by xxx officer and this airborne officer observed a yellow motorcycle passing in a no passing zone.

YOU: Officer XXX did Officer XXX in the aircraft indicate anything other than a yellow motorcycle? Did he describe the rider, or his clothing? Did he describe the type of MC (sport, cruiser, etc)? Was the rider part of a group, or travelling alone? Did the officer state what vehicles were passed and how many? Officer XXX is it possible that officer XXX observerved a different motorcycle than mine?

Based on his answers you will know how to proceed (if a description of rider/group was provided did it match what you had on or travelling with). At this time, call your Dad as a witness. Ask him to describe the ride up to, and including the traffic stop. Make sure he uses his own words, and doesn't just restate your testimony.

Move on to the pictures. Testify as to the time and date. Ask your witness to verify. Ask the picture be shown to the officer, and entered into evidence. Again ask the officer if he could be mistaken if he did not admit to it the first time.

Close with a summary of your position, and that every pass made was lawful and has been verified by witnesses present at the time. Mention that the officer who cited you was not at the scene, and has no first hand knowledge or proof that he cited the co

 

shouldnt be too hard to win as the copper wasn't the witness. On the ticket make sure it checks that he didn't spot you.

 

Generally if an aircraft spotter was used, he will have to appear in court since the officer who wrote you did not witness the violation.

I would concentrate on the fact that the spotter had to have lost sight of the target vehicle prior to you getting pulled over.

Remember that most of the time (as stated above) traffic infractions only have to be proven with a "perponderance of the evidence" it is NOT "without a reasonable doubt" as in a criminal case. The officers testimony only has to be slightly more believable than yours.

Good job taking a picture of the parking lot at your destination. That will help raise doubt about the officer citing the correct rider. You may also want to look up the number of your bike produced in your color to show that there is a HUGE number of those bikes.

Were you wearing any specific riding gear? If so question the officer (spotter) about what gear the rider he witnessed was wearing.

Good luck. This is why I get so pissed when I see other riders acting like asses. It brings trouble for all of us who ride responsibly.