I got my first ticket in 10 yrs today ..just so happens i was on the bike ..went thru a yellow in front of a cop and kinda gassed it a lil to make sure i made it before red...got a 114.50 ticket for disreguarding a traffic signal..oh well at least the sherrif complemented me on the bike ...lmao

 

So I take it you didn't quite make it before the red lightlol

 

Take it to court. Say it went yellow while you were in the intersection and you NEVER saw red and stick to your guns. In your state the ticket may not stand if the cop doesn't show to defend his side of the story. You may also be able to defer the ticket and not have the violation on your record if you don't have another ticket for three years after having this ticket. You will have to pay the fine though if you defer. Make a point of the fact that you haven't had a ticket in 10 years. Never think of a ticket as a done deal. The cop was filling his quota and saw you as an easy mark. Never say die.

Them [sm=chairshot.gif]us

 

Yeah... if you didn't exceed thespeedlimit andthe lightwas still yellow when you got through the intersection, you legally didn't do anything wrong... if that's the case, then definitely fight the ticket.

 

i was in thethird lane of a four lane road when it changed to red ...

 

I can understand your hopeless feeling when it comes to tickets but it's always worth a try fighting a ticket. Never just pay one. Like I mentioned a lot of courts will let you defer them and only pay the fine but you must stay clean for 3 years. Not all states do this but it's worth trying. In some states if you contest the ticket and the officer doesn't show then you win. This is not the case in Washington. The ticket will stand in court even if the officer isn't there but you can still contest it or defer it.

 

Cops don't have quota's.. Atleast not in my state, or NY

 

^ well, I don't think they actually have quotas, per se, but if all the officers in one department are handing out x amount of tickets and there's one officer that's handed out way less, it's going to get noticed.

And zorgen, what hopelessness? I said for him to take the ticket to court if he was out of the intersection/still under the speed limit when the light turned red.

 

In Cali if you enter the intersection on the yellow you're cool.