Ticket for no seatbelt

[Oryx]

New York

Okay let me start this by saying, yes I know I am guilty. But there are many people who fight speeding tickets when they're guilty and get away with no fines.

I was driving in NYC and got pulled over for not having my seatbelt on. I had gone through the Holland tunnel and I had to reach in the back to get money for the toll. I took my seatbelt off so I could reach and then forgot to put it back on. I don't usually drive in the city so I was nervous. I had to follow directions and was scared of getting lost and I'm also terrified of tunnels so I was pretty scared the entire time I was driving and the first thing on my mind was "don't hit the wall of the tunnel" followed by "don't make a wrong turn and get lost"

I know I should have remembered to put my seatbelt back on but is there a chance I could get out of this? Also, when I had a car the seatbelt was automatic so I never had to think of putting it on. I was driving my mom's car and wasn't very used to it.

I asked this somewhere else and I got really rude answers so if you have nothing helpful to say can you please not answer? Again, I know what I did was wrong but so is speeding and people get out of those tickets all the time. I've never had a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt or for speeding before. Also if it makes a difference, I'm 19 and female.

 

[Zigner]

I asked this somewhere else and I got really rude answers so if you have nothing helpful to say can you please not answer?

Darnit, and I was ready to answer too!
Well, you're obviously forum-shopping. I'm not gonna play.

 

[Oryx]

Forum shopping? I've been a member here for over a year. And the other place I asked wasn't a forum anyway.

There's no need for you to be so immature.

 

[Zigner]

Forum shopping? I've been a member here for over a year. And the other place I asked wasn't a forum anyway.

There's no need for you to be so immature.

Forum shopping means you are looking anywhere you can to find the answers you want.

Good luck...

 

[Oryx]

I'm aware of what it means. What I was asking was how exactly am I forum shopping? I've been a member here for a long time. I asked at the other site first because it loaded first. There is nothing wrong with asking a question in more than one place. I'm looking for as many knowledgeable opinions as I can get.

 

[You Are Guilty]

So you admit you're guilty, but want us to manufacture a non-existent defense? I'm missing something here.

In any event, its a non-moving violation that carries no points. Which means, in terms of effect, it's basically a parking ticket. Why not just pay it rather than risk pissing off a judge by saying "yeah, I'm guilty, but it's only because I'm a crappy driver". (Judges tend not to appreciate those sorts of arguments).

 

[Oryx]

What I'm trying to ask is whether there's a chance of fighting it. I've seen a lot of speeding tickets completely dropped when the person went in and said "yeah I was speeding but I didn't realize how fast I was going and I'm sorry" but I don't personally know anyone with a seatbelt ticket which is why I'm here asking for advice.
I'm not going to court to lie and I'm not trying to say that I don't deserve the ticket but there are a lot of people who do deserve speeding tickets and have them dropped so I wanted to know if it was worth a shot or not.

I also don't see how being scared of driving in NYC for the first time alone is being a "crappy" driver. I know many adults who refuse to drive in the city because they're scared.

 

[You Are Guilty]

You can always throw yourself on the mercy of the Court. There's no way to predict the outcome if you do. Maybe the judge thinks you're hot and lets you off the hook. Maybe the judge thinks you should practice driving in the city more so you're not scared of running into the wall of the tunnel. Who knows.

However, you have nothing to lose by trying (other than your time that is, i.e. the Court can't charge you more for asking the judge to ignore the law).

PS: Procedurally, this is quite different than a speeding ticket.

 

[Zigner]

What I'm trying to ask is whether there's a chance of fighting it. I've seen a lot of speeding tickets completely dropped when the person went in and said "yeah I was speeding but I didn't realize how fast I was going and I'm sorry" but I don't personally know anyone with a seatbelt ticket which is why I'm here asking for advice.
I'm not going to court to lie and I'm not trying to say that I don't deserve the ticket but there are a lot of people who do deserve speeding tickets and have them dropped so I wanted to know if it was worth a shot or not.

I also don't see how being scared of driving in NYC for the first time alone is being a "crappy" driver. I know many adults who refuse to drive in the city because they're scared.

A non-crappy driver would have had their money ready (it's called being prepared).

 

[Oryx]

A non-crappy driver would have had their money ready (it's called being prepared).

Well at the beginning of my trip (which was a favor to my mom) I was told all the toll money would be in the center console so I assumed I was prepared. When I realized I was shorted a dollar I had to get my own money from the back. Of course this is besides the fact that being prepared has nothing to do with my actual driving ability.

And if you've ever bothered to look around at busy tolls you would notice tons of people scrambling around to get money.


Does anyone have an idea how much court costs are?

 

[Zigner]

Well at the beginning of my trip (which was a favor to my mom) I was told all the toll money would be in the center console so I assumed I was prepared. When I realized I was shorted a dollar I had to get my own money from the back. Of course this is besides the fact that being prepared has nothing to do with my actual driving ability.

And if you've ever bothered to look around at busy tolls you would notice tons of people scrambling around to get money.


Does anyone have an idea how much court costs are?

The fact that there are a LOT of crappy drivers out there doesn't mean you AREN'T one...

 

[LeeHarveyBlotto]

You could plead insanity.

 

[Oryx]

The fact that there are a LOT of crappy drivers out there doesn't mean you AREN'T one...

Please explain to me why you keep coming to this thread when you have absolutely no advice to give. Not having the right amount of money at a toll does not make someone a crappy driver. Not using your directional, cutting people off, going when you don't have the right of way or getting into an accident makes you a crappy driver.

Somehow I doubt you're a perfect driver...although with the amount of attention you're giving this thread there is the possibility you never got your license. Maybe you should focus your energy on something more constructive.

 

[Zigner]

Please explain to me why you keep coming to this thread when you have absolutely no advice to give. Not having the right amount of money at a toll does not make someone a crappy driver. Not using your directional, cutting people off, going when you don't have the right of way or getting into an accident makes you a crappy driver.

Somehow I doubt you're a perfect driver...although with the amount of attention you're giving this thread there is the possibility you never got your license. Maybe you should focus your energy on something more constructive.

I'm not giving you advice because of your attitude in your original post

 

[Oryx]

I'm not giving you advice because of your attitude in your original post

Well judging on your attitude in all your posts, I'm glad you didn't bother giving me advice. That still doesn't explain why you bother checking this thread so often. Do you really have nothing better to do?