waterboy11
Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Florida
Over the weekend I got a ticket for not wearing a life vest on a PWC. It was stupid for me, as I've lived a lake for 15 years and this is the first time I've ever went on a PWC without a life jacket... and I got caught, go figure.
It had rained that morning, the waters were pretty choppy, and there were hardly any boats out, and it was getting late... so why would the cops be out? Sure enough, they have nothing else better to do. They pulled their ticket books out before I even said a word, they were just determined to give me a ticket no matter what.
Anyways... I was thinking of taking them to court, and hope they don't show so I don't have to pay $65 worth of a stupid ticket. If I had the money, no problem... but I'm a college kid and money is hard to come by right now.
If they do show up.... could I use the defense that they lied to me? Honestly, I feel they did... one of the cops said "You could hit your head and the life vest could save your life." Which to me, is just a bunch of bull... First off, the seadoo had a carb problem and we couldn't even go over 10 mph on it because of it. What could I hit my head on? We were going in a straight line, slow, and just putting along. It would be hard for me to even try to hit my head on anything, let alone fall in the water. To top it off, if I had been wearing a life vest, it would have been a wakeboard vest, which only helps you float (barely), it does not turn you over if your head is in the water anyways.
So in other words, I can argue that the cop lied to me, which in my honest opinion, he did.
First time in 15 years I didn't wear a vest and got caught. Wasn't doing anything stupid, seadoo wouldn't go over 10 mph. Any hope in getting out of the ticket?
Sorry for the long story.
Over the weekend I got a ticket for not wearing a life vest on a PWC. It was stupid for me, as I've lived a lake for 15 years and this is the first time I've ever went on a PWC without a life jacket... and I got caught, go figure.
It had rained that morning, the waters were pretty choppy, and there were hardly any boats out, and it was getting late... so why would the cops be out? Sure enough, they have nothing else better to do. They pulled their ticket books out before I even said a word, they were just determined to give me a ticket no matter what.
Anyways... I was thinking of taking them to court, and hope they don't show so I don't have to pay $65 worth of a stupid ticket. If I had the money, no problem... but I'm a college kid and money is hard to come by right now.
If they do show up.... could I use the defense that they lied to me? Honestly, I feel they did... one of the cops said "You could hit your head and the life vest could save your life." Which to me, is just a bunch of bull... First off, the seadoo had a carb problem and we couldn't even go over 10 mph on it because of it. What could I hit my head on? We were going in a straight line, slow, and just putting along. It would be hard for me to even try to hit my head on anything, let alone fall in the water. To top it off, if I had been wearing a life vest, it would have been a wakeboard vest, which only helps you float (barely), it does not turn you over if your head is in the water anyways.
So in other words, I can argue that the cop lied to me, which in my honest opinion, he did.
First time in 15 years I didn't wear a vest and got caught. Wasn't doing anything stupid, seadoo wouldn't go over 10 mph. Any hope in getting out of the ticket?
Sorry for the long story.