Improper maint of lights, weird story

[kwisch]

What is the name of your state? New Jersey

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So- okay- I'm coming home from watching superman from the movie theatre tonight- (good movie btw) with two friends, and we're heading over to ruby tuesdays to get something to eat. So, we're going down route 57 towards ruby and I pull into the parking lot.

A cop pulls up behind me and puts on his lights. Now, I was purposely going slow because of the rain on the ground tonight. So, the officer comes up to my window and says "license, reg, ins"... and I said, "here you go, but out of curiosity why am I getting pulled over?" He says, "I clocked you going at a 53 in a 35." I say, "Sir, there's no way I was going 53 back there- that's crazy. I've driven this road hundreds of times and with the rain 53 in that spot would be crazy." Now, my friends were in the car with me and both of them said that MAX I might have been going 40, but no way in hell was I going anywhere close to 53.

So, the cop says, well- blah blah, and proceeds to ask us what movie we went to, and where we were going. So, then I say, "Sir, I thought you were going to be giving me the ticket for my one light that's out back there." He says, which one's out? I say, "Pass. side."

So, he then proceeds to write me up a 44 dollar ticket for improper maintenance of lights. I ask him what the fine is, and he goes "It's 50- rather than have 4 points on your license son"... and walks back to his car.

Now, when I got home, I took some pictures of my lights, and this is what they looked like. I have a timestamp on my camera- so if I fight this I'm going to need to bring in the camera to the court:

http://www.amazingsite.com/lights1.jpg
http://www.amazingsite.com/lights2.jpg

Looks to me like all my lights are working fine, besides the one bulb that is out on the passenger side- but there are still two bulbs that are working fine.

Question- should I fight it?? He gave me this instead of the speeding, but my one friend said the speeding charge was nullified because I didn't get a ticket for it at all, so he has no grounds to say I was speeding at all anymore. What do you guys think?

 

[garrula lingua]

It's up to you...
you said you were doing 40 in a 35 = speeding ticket

he gave you a ticket for a non-moving offense ... is there a point difference in NJ ?

Is that a 'fix-it' ticket, or do you have to be fined ?

Either way, he exchanged the speeder you admit you're guilty of & gave an equipment non-working ticket, instead. I'd take it as a wash.

Fight it if you want. .... no good deed goes unpunished ... ? sometimes, that's bad karma.

 

[kwisch]

thanks for the quick reply! no good deed goes unpunished? The only reason why I said I might have been speeding, is because, like most people, I look at the road when driving in the rain, and at night, not at the speedo the entire time. So honestly wasn't sure.

Second, 53 in a 35 is ridiculous. I have actually FLOORED it on that road, and never made it past 45 in the daytime, before coming up to that turn. He was bsing the entire time, hands down. Plus, it was the end of the month. Meeting a quota?

Thanks for your opinion though!

 

[The Occultist]

Quotas don't exist.

And even if they do, they still can't start making up crimes you're committing, and they don't.

If the law requires that all of your lights be functional at all times, then you're still breaking the law even if you still have 2 good ones.

"...like most people..." HA! I'd like to see where you're getting your statistics from that allows you to express this sentiment. All responsible drivers are able to glance at their speed every now and then, especially in less than perfect driving conditions. It doesn't exactly take driving a quarter mile while staring at your speedometer to figure out you're speeding.