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"Improper Method of Giving Hand Signal" or "giving a cop the middle finger"

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pinkyrabbit

Junior Member
"Improper Method of Giving Hand Signal" or "giving a cop the middle finger"

On my way to school almost every morning there is a cop who sits in a parking lot watching a 4 way stop. After coming to a complete stop at the sign, I noticed him lurking back in his normal spot so I stuck my arm out the window and gave him the middle finger as I drove by. He followed me for about 2 minutes until I got to my school but instead of parking because he was still right behind me I decided to go ahead and drive around to lose him. Just before I could make it "off campus" (a road goes "through" our campus) he pulled me over and asked me the basic questions. I informed him that I was going to be late for my physics test, and he proceeded to do a COMPLETE inspection of my car. After finding no problems with my car, he started writing me a ticket for "improper method of giving hand signal(FL Statute 316.157)" as its only citation, referring to the original indecent. He requested that the Dean suspend me too because I told him that I was not in fact signaling a turn, but giving him the middle finger which means "f*ck you" at the location of the stop ("on campus")when he handed me the $113 ticket. I am also on my parents insurance and will be seeing many consequences of that due to points on my license.

My question is: Should I fight this ticket and expect to win? Can any extended arm out a window count as an "improper hand signal"? e.g. waving at someone could appear to be a "right turn" and simply dangling your arm out could be considered "slow down/stop"

And just to clarify, I'm not some punk doing it just to look cool or just to be a xxxxx. I only gave him the bird because I disagree with him sitting there every morning essentially "preying" on students (who cant afford a ticket anyway) for petty infractions that are practically harmless. As an American I like to express my opinion and I felt this was a decent way of doing so AND I knew there was nothing ELSE he could cite me for.

I literally got a ticket for flipping off a cop.
 
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As an American I like to express my opinion and I felt this was a decent way of doing so AND I knew there was nothing ELSE he could cite me for.
You felt this was a "decent way of doing so?" Honestly? That's hard to believe unless your town has no newspaper that you could write an op-ed letter to.

I think, rather, you felt that you could act out a bit of passive-aggression and get away with it. Now you know better. At least, we hope so. :rolleyes:

I literally got a ticket for flipping off a cop.
Zigner said it so perfectly that it deserves repeating (ad nauseam, if I could get away with it ~ which I'm sure I could, seeing as how it's not as bad as making obscene gestures at police officers :rolleyes:):

No, you literally got a ticket for being stupid. Said stupidity manifested itself with "the bird."
 

FlyingRon

Senior Member
While pissing off cops intentionally often ends badly, I'm going to dissent with the rest of the crowd here for two reasons.

First off, the statute reads, "When required to be given..." so unless the driver was in some situation that required a hand signal (which is rare with a car with electric turn and brake lights), the statute doesn't apply.

Second, there were a handful of cases lately that indicate that flipping the cop a bird is protected speech.
 

CdwJava

Senior Member
On the rare occasion I get some idiot flipping me off, I tend to smile and wave.

And, of course, if my attention is now attracted to him and he is unlucky enough to be committing a violation or possessed of some poor equipment, he just might get a ticket. Or, I just keep waving and watching him ... let him worry for a moment or two.

Pinky, all because you can do something does not mean you should do it.

After all, the officer is doing what the taxpayers expect him to do - enforce traffic safety.

In this instance, I think the officer will lose a challenge in court. A judge will likely see this cite for what it is - contempt of cop. The officer allowed himself to get too wrapped up in the gesture. I personally don't care what twits think of me, so someone flipping me the bird really doesn't bug me all that much.
 

pinkyrabbit

Junior Member
Well I came to freedadvice for some advice. I don't care about your opinions of the incident, I just want to know if I should expect to win the case if I take it to court and to find out if you can actually be found guilty of "improper method of giving hand signal" while giving a cop the middle finger. The only things I could find regarding the middle finger and going to court is that you DO have the right to flip them off and they will pay more attention to you and try to get you for another citation(duh). I haven't, however, managed to find anything saying FL Statute 316.175 (or related hand signal citations) can be upheld in the court of law when regarding a middle finger. But I guess you get what you pay for.

@ previous 2 posts, yeah thats about all Ive managed to find after searching the web.
 
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I'm going to dissent with the rest of the crowd here for two reasons.
I don't think you actually dissented with any other opinions here, per se, other than possibly giving this poster more credit (than they deserve) and actually bestirred yourself to give a thoughtful opinion.

For that, you get kudos. :)
 

pinkyrabbit

Junior Member
And we, as Americans, were "expressing our opinion in a way we felt was decent." ;)



Since you paid nothing for our opinions, and in fact, wasted our time reading your juvenile drivel, I believe you came out ahead. :)
I came for free advice, but got your bs opinion. I got nothing. I paid nothing. The content of your post wasn't really my point, I was just saying I actually came here to get an experienced answer or at least a relevant opinion on if this would stand in court, but you just like to bicker.
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
I came for free advice, but got your bs opinion. I got nothing. I paid nothing. The content of your post wasn't really my point, I was just saying I actually came here to get an experienced answer or at least a relevant opinion on if this would stand in court, but you just like to bicker.
Says the guy who thinks it's just great to flip off the cops for NO reason :rolleyes:
 
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pinkyrabbit

Junior Member
pinkyrabbit, please tell me how this has inconvenienced you.
This specific post? Are you being witty? Because my original post pretty much covered how the ticket inconvenienced me. Im just annoyed now because I still don't know how this would go in court and I had some high hopes for getting an actual answer today with no luck.
 
I came for free advice ... {blah-blah-blah}
Are you truly that dense? You come here asking for advice for dealing with a situation in which you were clearly acting like an arse ~ and are unrepentant to boot ~ and you accuse us of being trolls and/or simply argumentative?

Perhaps you should have been as conscientious prior to using obscene gestures then as you seem to expect us to be now.

How about you have mom and dad log in here and ask for assistance. Clearly, they are the ones that will suffer the most as per your actions ~ and attitude. :rolleyes:
 

>Charlotte<

Lurker
This specific post? Are you being witty? Because my original post pretty much covered how the ticket inconvenienced me.
No, I'm not being witty. At least, I'm not trying to be. And your previous post wasn't as specific as I'm asking you to be.

Were you, in fact, late for your physics test?
Are you going to respond by mail, or are you going to court?

And anything else you can think of. I do have a point to make, I just don't want to assume anything.
 
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