luxury1

So I was cruising down a country road in New York when my radar detector goes off and I see a NY state trooper driving the other direction. I rapidly slowed down but sure enough he turns around and pulls me over.

He told me that he pulled me over for speeding and he quoted the speed but when I asked to see the speed he said that he didn't have it locked and that they didn't have to show the speed. Is there any truth to this?

I asked if he could overlook this infraction and he said that he could either give me a seatbelt violation or a speeding ticket. I said that I was wearing my seatbelt (which I was and he knew this) but he said, I can either give you a smaller citation seatbelt violation or the speeding ticket. At that point I realized that he may be helping me out so I took the seatbelt violation.

The ticket doesn't have a cost until I mail it in with a guilty plea. How much will this cost (roughly)?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

of course take the seatbelt, it's not moving violation. you pay for that ticket (maybe go to court and plead guilty and reduce the fine further) and that's it. i believe only moving violation can put points on your record, the cop was giving you a break already

but on the issue of radar detector though. i think you have the right to ask for the radar reading, and i think he can tell you he didn't have it like he said. if you really bring it to the court, then it's about your say vs his say, and who the judge trusts

sorry to hear about your ticket

Johnny

Fight it! Explain to the judge what happened, if the cop dares showing up. He can't swear that you didn't have your seatbelt on; he'd be perjuring himself (big no no in his capacity as a law enforcer). It's not his job to barter with different offenses. Legally, you've got him between a rock and a hard place.

mmarshall

I disagree with Burnaby. Henry (rominl) is correct. Accept the seat belt violation and just deal with it. Even if you DID have the seat belt on, you probably WERE speeding, and a no-click-it violation is clearly preferable to a speeding violation, especially if it was fast enough to be considered reckless driving (80 MPH or 20 over the posted limit in many states).

The cop probably DID give you a break. From now on, slow down.

kt22cliff

The cop already lied at least twice by pulling him/her over without radar reading and then giving OP the ticket for seatbelt. This was obviously the late month quota related "pullover and see if anything sticks" traffic stop. If you think the cop is not gonna lie about this traffic stop in order to keep up his ticket quota AFTER he thinks he gave OP the break by not writing up a moving violation ticket, you are way mistaken. If you have a moving violation, the court/judge will let you plea down to non-moving IF you pay enough $$ to cover original moving violation+court cost. With non-moving violation like seatbelt, you can swear and testify and bring 10 witnesses, they are not gonna let you off unless you have video of yourself wearing the seatbelt while getting pulled over. Just thank the lucky stars that you weren't WAY over the limit where he could've wrote you off for reckless driving etc and pay the seatbelt fine and move on.

USCRugby

Accept seat belt and move on

TJW98LS

iTrader: (1)

Exactly. Thats a good break

luxury1

Thanks for all of the replies. I thought it was a nice break too and I was definitely speeding (10-12 over) even though I wasn't intentionally speeding.

I didn't have one for a while so I guess I was due

tex2670

Trying to challenge the seatbelt violation is a bad idea. You don't think the judge would ask if you told the cop your seatbelt was on when he wrote the ticket. Then, you would either have to perjure yourself, or tell him why the copy gave you the seatbelt ticket. At that point, you aren't getting any breaks from the judge--and even if they threw the ticket out, they'll charge you court costs, when added to travel and lost time, will be more than the ticket.

Och

iTrader: (3)

When I was young (20 or so), I got pulled over for speeding.... and I actually wasnt just speeding, I was racing and I left the other guy so far behind that the cop didn't realize I was racing.

Anyhow, the cop was nice enough to let me get away with a seat belt violation (I actually wasnt wearing the seatbelt) and a violation for having a parking permit hangling off my rearview mirror. No points, around $150 fine for both violations. Needless to say I happily paid it, and I'm wearing my seatbelt religiously ever since.

Choas

Take the seatbelt ticket. Its a luck break prob. a lot better than what the DA would have gave you as a deal.

5gears-IS

iTrader: (5)

Dont feel bad bro, I was once pulled over by a state trooper for speeding heading to Newark airport. I came up with the excuse that my speedometer needle was all over the place and I could not tell how fast I was going (this was on a rented van), he looked at me and said the best he can do was a seat belt violation which I took with a big smile

trust me you dont want a speeding ticket because not only is the fine higher but your insurance will also be jacked up most likely....

He gave you a break so take it and run with it...

My 2 cents........

Magellan

This reinforces my belief that most radar detectors are worthless. With modern police radar, by the time a detector goes off it’s too late.

mmarshall

I agree....especially with "Instant-On" radar. That's why I just don't see why so many people keep on trying to "beat" the system....not to mention the fact that detectors are illegal in some states, and can be confiscated. Just slow down and you don't have any worries.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I agree for the most part. In my State they don't have any radar guns so a radar detector is completely useless. We use Laser exclusively. Anyway, radar detectors are still useful since the majority don't use Instant On radar so you will be saved a lot of times throughout your driving career if you are a speeder.