So, I got a ticket the other day.

Fuel · Post by **Fuel** » Mar 12, 2012 11:25 AM

I work at an Apple certified service provider in the mall, and we always get a cops in there, and I straight up asked one of them last time and he said I should take a picture of it and not to worry about it, but he was surprised the cop even wrote the ticket.

I ask Paul Blart as well and he said that they shouldn't be writing tickets there anyway.

B7Turbo · Post by **B7Turbo** » Mar 12, 2012 12:34 PM

I like Chattooga, I was there at 5re Fest on 2007, if I am not mistaking. It is a great City with awesome views.

scootermcfly · Post by **scootermcfly** » Mar 12, 2012 3:31 PM

I'd fight the ticket. Here in SC that's a four point ticket. The fine can be reduced but not the points if you plead guilty. If the turn lane was not required to stop there would normally be a Yield sign but I can see where this is confusing w/o a stop line, dedicated stop sign for that lane, or other regulatory signs. I can see where you would defer to the majority which runs the curve without stopping. You should have gotten a warning instead of a ticket in my opinion. For pete's sake it's not even a four way intersection!

If you're driving record is as clean as you say you could call the solicitor's office and see what expungement programs they have. Here in SC we have TEP for driver's that have a pretty clean record. It's run through the same office as the PTI program which is run by the solicitor's office. TN might have something similar and while it may cost you more than just pleading guilty you won't get the big smackdown by the insurance companies and it won't stay on your record.

Greg E34 · Post by **Greg E34** » Mar 13, 2012 8:23 AM

I've been a police officer in Tennessee for almost 20 years. Disregarding a stop sign on private property is not a violation of state law. Even if the stop sign applied to you, on private property it is not enforceable. This guy clearly needs a law refresher as well as a dose of common sense. Does the ticket indicate if you were charged with a state law violation or a city ordinance?

Fuel · Post by **Fuel** » Mar 13, 2012 8:34 AM

Greg E34 wrote:I've been a police officer in Tennessee for almost 20 years. Disregarding a stop sign on private property is not a violation of state law. Even if the stop sign applied to you, on private property it is not enforceable. This guy clearly needs a law refresher as well as a dose of common sense. Does the ticket indicate if you were charged with a state law violation or a city ordinance?

Does this help:

They pushed my court time back from the original one on the ticket as well.

Greg E34 · Post by **Greg E34** » Mar 13, 2012 9:12 AM

He cited you for a city ordinance violation:

Sec. 24-362. Requirements for stop signs; obedience.
(a) Every stop sign shall bear the word "Stop" in letters not less than eight (8) inches
in height. Such sign shall, at nighttime, be rendered luminous by steady or flashing internal
illumination, by a fixed floodlight projected on the face of the sign or by efficient reflecting
elements on the face of the sign.
(b) Every stop sign shall be erected as near as practicable to the nearest line of the
crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or, if there is no crosswalk, then as close as
practicable to the nearest line of the roadway.
(c) Every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop before entering the
crosswalk at the near side of the intersection, or, in the event there is no crosswalk, shall stop at a
clearly marked stop line, but if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the
driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the
intersection, except when directed to proceed by a police officer or traffic-control signal. CHATTANOOGA CITY CODE
Chapter 24 – Page 90
(Code 1986, § 24-362)
State law reference--Similar provisions, T.C.A., § 55-8-149.

I still fail to see how they can take enforcement action on private property with the exception for certain violations which are specifically spelled out in the state law (things like DUI, Reckless Driving, parking in fire lanes or handicapped spaces).

Fuel · Post by **Fuel** » Mar 13, 2012 10:11 AM

Thanks for the reply, I sent you a PM.

I have been pulled over multiple time for little bogus things, my favorite was when I was pulled over because he thought my friend in the back seat didn't have a seat belt on when he was sitting in the middle seat in the back.

I guess he had never heard of a lap belt? oh well.

scootermcfly · Post by **scootermcfly** » Mar 13, 2012 3:03 PM

Not playing devil's advocate here, but are you sure it's private property? We have a couple city roads here that actual go through some large shopping malls. They're still city roads though. We also have some subdivisions that are open to the public but still private roads. They have to actually post signs stating that the roads are under Sheriff's Office jurisdiction before we can enforce them (or officially turn it over to the county for maintenance and take the tax hit like our subdivision did). We actually had an accident in one of those subdivisions that we had to write as a private property accident. While we can right some citations on private property (DUI, reckless driving, leaving scene of accident involving property damage) it is very limited and stop signs are not one of them.

Like I said before, I'd still fight it. Bring all your research that shows the discrepencies and cite the fact that there's no clarity in the law concerning this particular situation. With the exception of only one judge I can think of here all the judges that sit on the bench in traffic court would throw this out.

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 13, 2012 4:13 PM

There is no stop sign there nor is there a reason to come to a complete stop. Isn't that the issue here?

Post by **Jeremy** » Mar 13, 2012 7:20 PM

wkohler wrote:There is no stop sign there nor is there a reason to come to a complete stop. Isn't that the issue here?

Well, technically, under the laws there, that stop sign might apply.

(b) Every stop sign shall be erected as near as practicable to the nearest line of the
crosswalk on the near side of the intersection, or, if there is no crosswalk, then as close as
practicable to the nearest line of the roadway.

There's nothing in the statute about the stop sign needing to be on the right hand side of the way. It's best (standard) practice to mark an intersection in that fashion though, and common sense dictates that there is no need to stop when making a turn into a dedicated lane with no merge in the absence of a stop line that's clearly evident in the other lanes.

I'm not sure exactly what the "nearest line" of the intersection would be in this case. The stop sign was clearly in line of sight for approaching traffic. This whole thing might hinge on what judge hears the case, unfortunately.

I'm clearly no lawyer though, so don't take me at my word on any of the preceding.

Jeremy

wkohler · Post by **wkohler** » Mar 13, 2012 7:37 PM

Yeah, we'll you're no lawyer, I can drive a car and I watch Perry Mason. The design of the intersection says no stopping please. That lane simply continues into its own lane. There's nothing to stop for.

NoM54me · Post by **NoM54me** » Mar 13, 2012 7:50 PM

Minotaur wrote:NoM54me gets my vote as "not a typical cop" judging by the character in his avatar!!

Well I appreciate that! Anyone who recognizes Dr. Hunter S Thompson is OK by me...

Nicke28 · Post by **Nicke28** » Mar 13, 2012 7:51 PM

Fuel wrote:
Greg E34 wrote:I've been a police officer in Tennessee for almost 20 years. Disregarding a stop sign on private property is not a violation of state law. Even if the stop sign applied to you, on private property it is not enforceable. This guy clearly needs a law refresher as well as a dose of common sense. Does the ticket indicate if you were charged with a state law violation or a city ordinance?
Does this help:
[img]http://i.imgur.com/uTmzu.jpg[img]

They pushed my court time back from the original one on the ticket as well.

5IS? WTF?

Reminds me of a time I was ticketed by an equally dumbass cop. He asked me what model my M5 was, I told him it was a 316is.

And the car isn't debadged either...

NoM54me · Post by **NoM54me** » Mar 13, 2012 8:02 PM

He had to put "5IS" because that is probably the state's BMV model code for the car.

mechacode · Post by **mechacode** » Mar 13, 2012 8:10 PM

There are truly good peace officers who have the sole intent of making the world a better place and then there are the scumsucking law enforcers who are in the profession for the rush of having power over others. The unfortunate part is that the former are overtaking the latter.

As for Fuel's ticket, it's a bs ticket and should, in a just court, be thrown out once the evidence is seen. In reality, they'll offer to cut it down and then compensate by charging outrageous filing fees.

Last time I went to traffic court, the ADA blatantly pointed out that they could drop a $250 speeding ticket to $30, however, filing fees and court costs will add $140 to it. They do it with parking tickets as well, a $40 ticket will cost you $48 in court costs whether it's dropped or not.

Nicke28 · Post by **Nicke28** » Mar 13, 2012 8:16 PM

NoM54me wrote:He had to put "5IS" because that is probably the state's BMV model code for the car.

ahhh got it... I guess Tx doesn't do that. At least all of my tickets have never been labeled as such.

mechacode wrote:The sad part is that there are truly good peace officers who have the sole intent of making the world a better place and then there are the scumsucking law enforcers who are in the profession for the rush of having power over others. The unfortunate part is that the former are overtaking the latter.

From my experience the worse cops are the younger guys looking to "become something" within the force. They usually become nothing but ticket writing robots. The older guys and the guys that never intended on becoming officers tend to be the most laid back.

mechacode · Post by **mechacode** » Mar 13, 2012 8:26 PM

Nicke28 wrote: From my experience the worse cops are the younger guys looking to "become something" within the force. They usually become nothing but ticket writing robots. The older guys and the guys that never intended on becoming officers tend to be the most laid back.

Entirely true. I had a young cop follow me all the way across town, including a section where he was caught at a light where he would have had to have gone double the speed limit to catch up to me (which he did), only to pull into my driveway behind me and scream at me to get back in the car (I had parked and got out). All of this to give me a fix-it ticket for exhaust. When I went to get it checked, the older officer asked who gave me the fix-it and upon telling him, he rolled his eyes and went "Oh, that guy.". I told him how it happened and got a chuckle and a head shake out of him, said he'd take care of it.

KillerPM · Post by **KillerPM** » Mar 13, 2012 8:28 PM

Fight that shit.

When you win call the cop an idiot on the way out.

(just kidding, but fun to imagine. Be nice to others no matter how much they piss you off)

OR just act like this (NSFW):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GGL0qGk5lA

oldskool · Post by **oldskool** » Mar 13, 2012 8:32 PM

If noM54me pulled me over it wouldn't go very well at ALL.
He would know the VIN didn't match the plate and the offender was reeking of Patchouli to mask the Gin.
I would call my car an E28 but he would cuff me because I was in the E30. I would swear at him and deride him for not knowing what an E12 looks like. He would taze me and search my pockets and that's when we both end up in Haiti and he is now REALLY upset.

mechacode · Post by **mechacode** » Mar 13, 2012 8:34 PM

KillerPM wrote:Fight that shit.

When you win call the cop an idiot on the way out.

(just kidding, but fun to imagine, be nice to others no matter how much they piss you off)

The cops around here hold grudges against those who get a one-up on them. I know a guy a town over who ended up getting stalked by a cop after he fought a nasty bs ticket, won, and the cop got a talking to by the judge. The cop took it upon himself to park outside his house, follow him and his wife while driving, etc. He filed complaints but got nowhere. He gave up and moved.

mtnman533 · Post by **mtnman533** » Mar 13, 2012 8:42 PM

Just don't act like this guy and the ticket will be thrown away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLKg4DRoLo

Post by **Jeremy** » Mar 13, 2012 8:51 PM

mtnman533 wrote:Just don't act like this guy and the ticket will be thrown away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLKg4DRoLo

I have never seen a judge that attractive before in my life. Not that she's supermodel material, but she's a far cry from the croons usually seated behind the bench!

The ending of that video in the parking lot was priceless, lol.

Nicke28 · Post by **Nicke28** » Mar 13, 2012 8:54 PM

Jeremy wrote:
mtnman533 wrote:Just don't act like this guy and the ticket will be thrown away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLKg4DRoLo
I have never seen a judge that attractive before in my life. Not that she's supermodel material, but she's a far cry from the croons usually seated behind the bench!

The ending of that video in the parking lot was priceless, lol.

I'd make a plea bargain with her.

scootermcfly · Post by **scootermcfly** » Mar 13, 2012 10:44 PM

Is that actually a TV show? Geez, I'm glad I gave up television when Seinfeld went off the air.

Post by **Nebraska_e28** » Mar 14, 2012 9:24 AM

Bimmerguy2002 wrote:
this colored cop asked me why my license was suspended.... .

Was he fluorescent green or a shade of fuchia?

1st 5er · Post by **1st 5er** » Mar 14, 2012 9:37 AM

Nebraska_e28 wrote:
Bimmerguy2002 wrote:
this colored cop asked me why my license was suspended.... .
Was he fluorescent green or a shade of fuchsia?

FTFY

Nicke28 · Post by **Nicke28** » Mar 14, 2012 9:48 AM

OP, next time you see that cop do this on his car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7TzPEYci_w

Fuel · Post by **Fuel** » Apr 10, 2012 9:09 AM

UPDATE: Finally went to court yesterday, and the judge knew of the area where I was ticketed and completely agreed with me on the fact that there is no stop sign.

The case was dismissed and I didn't have to pay anything.

davintosh · Post by **davintosh** » Apr 10, 2012 9:22 AM

Congrats; common sense does still exist!

Duke · Post by **Duke** » Apr 10, 2012 10:11 AM

Fuel wrote:The case was dismissed and I didn't have to pay anything.

What did they pay you for all your wasted time? Should come out of the COPs pay.

MyE28.com

MyE28.com

So, I got a ticket the other day.