Ordered New Blower Pulley today.. Then got reckless ticket

T

turbogt

Member
May 1, 2003
723
16
19
Montana
#1
I was at a 4 way stop turning left.. It was my turn to go.. As I start to move forward and begin to turn left, this ******* in a silverado comes barreling thru the intersection (coming at me head on) so I have to hit the breaks and keep going forward... If I would have kept turning he would have t-boned me so I"m pissed and punch it as I turn and I know he heard me..

Unbeknowing to me... Theres a sheriff directly to my right... Hears my car (which is ungodly loud) and pulls me over..

He asked me why I did that right in front of him and I asked him if he'd seen the jerk that almost t-boned me... No.. Of course he didn't..

SO he wrote me a reckless driving ticket for "spinning tires on dry pavement"..




NOW...... My tires DO NOT SQUEAL OR LEAVE MARKS... period...

It is only the officer's word against mine.. I do have to see the judge for this..

I believe it is Montana law that the officer has to show up to testify or the case gets dropped.. So I plan to plead not guilty and go from there..

What are my options here?

There is no hard physical evidence.. I wasn't speeding.. No radar.. No marks.
 

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#2
turbogt said:
I was at a 4 way stop turning left.. It was my turn to go.. As I start to move forward and begin to turn left, this ******* in a silverado comes barreling thru the intersection (coming at me head on) so I have to hit the breaks and keep going forward... If I would have kept turning he would have t-boned me so I"m pissed and punch it as I turn and I know he heard me..

Unbeknowing to me... Theres a sheriff directly to my right... Hears my car (which is ungodly loud) and pulls me over..

He asked me why I did that right in front of him and I asked him if he'd seen the jerk that almost t-boned me... No.. Of course he didn't..

SO he wrote me a reckless driving ticket for "spinning tires on dry pavement"..




NOW...... My tires DO NOT SQUEAL OR LEAVE MARKS... period...

It is only the officer's word against mine.. I do have to see the judge for this..

I believe it is Montana law that the officer has to show up to testify or the case gets dropped.. So I plan to plead not guilty and go from there..

What are my options here?

There is no hard physical evidence.. I wasn't speeding.. No radar.. No marks.
Click to expand...

Sounds to me like you did what you had to do in an emergency situation. Your situational awareness and proactive maneuvering prevented an accident. :nice:
 
#3
cusp said:
Sounds to me like you did what you had to do in an emergency situation. Your situational awareness and proactive maneuvering prevented an accident. :nice:
Click to expand...

Welllllll....... NO...

The guy had already passed me when I punched it and turned left..

If I wasn't in a rage because that ******* came barreling out of nowewhere, I would have seen the sheriff to my right and never gotten on it..


So, thanks to my temper and mr. Chevy douche, I get to go to court.
 
#4
I graduated with a Criminal Justice certificate out of high school... I learned the law quite well, specializing in it for those 4 great years. The cop rarely loses. If your record is good, and at least relatively clean for the past few years or so (depending on how long you've been driving), then you should plead no contest. You'll still pay the fine, and maybe $30 or so in court costs (big maybe), but the points will be wiped clean. It sucks to pay the fine, but your license will have no added points onto it. It's sad to say in today's society, but when its an LEO's word vs. yours, they normally win. :shrug:
 
#5
302GTS said:
I graduated with a Criminal Justice certificate out of high school... I learned the law quite well, specializing in it for those 4 great years. The cop rarely loses. If your record is good, and at least relatively clean for the past few years or so (depending on how long you've been driving), then you should plead no contest. You'll still pay the fine, and maybe $30 or so in court costs (big maybe), but the points will be wiped clean. It sucks to pay the fine, but your license will have no added points onto it. It's sad to say in today's society, but when its an LEO's word vs. yours, they normally win. :shrug:
Click to expand...

I've been driving 8 years..

If I plead no contest I'm positive I still get the 5 points... I can afford the 300 ****ing dollar max fine, its the points OR jail time I don't want lol...


here's the code..

61-8-715. Reckless driving -- reckless endangerment of highway workers -- penalty. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person convicted of reckless driving under 61-8-301(1)(a) or (1)(b) or convicted of reckless endangerment of a highway worker under 61-8-301(4) shall be punished upon a first conviction by imprisonment for a term of not more than 90 days, a fine of not less than $25 or more than $300, or both. On a second or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days or more than 6 months, a fine of not less than $50 or more than $500, or both.
 
#6
"61-8-715. Reckless driving -- reckless endangerment of highway workers -- penalty. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person convicted of reckless driving under 61-8-301(1)(a) or (1)(b) or convicted of reckless endangerment of a highway worker under 61-8-301(4) shall be punished upon a first conviction by imprisonment for a term of not more than 90 days, a fine of not less than $25 or more than $300, or both. On a second or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days or more than 6 months, a fine of not less than $50 or more than $500, or both."

WHAT? First of all..Were you in a work zone? :shrug: Where were the highway workers? :scratch:

Second of all, JAIL time and 5 points for that??????????????? Is this Montana, Cuba? I am shocked and appauled that you get 5 points AND jail time for something minor like squealing a tire that BTW didn't even squeal.. WTH!! :mad: I was in a car with someone recently that did a "Bullet" movie burnout, smoke the tires up a road in front of a cop and only got 1 point.

Maryland Criminal Traffic Charges & Penalties:
Charge Penalty Points on Insurance Rates
Driving on a Suspended License Maximum of 1 year in jail & $1000 Fine 12 points
Driving Without a License Maximum of 60 days in jail & $500 Fine 5 points
Driving Without Insurance Maximum of 1 year in jail & $1000 Fine 5 points
Leavin Scene Accidt w/ Injury Maximum of 1 year in jail & $3000 Fine 12 points
Leavin Scene Acci w/ Property Dam Maximum of 60 days in jail & $500 Fine 8 points
Reckless Driving Fine—$500 6 points
Negligent Driving Fine—$140 1 point
 
#7
turbogt said:
I've been driving 8 years..

If I plead no contest I'm positive I still get the 5 points... I can afford the 300 ****ing dollar max fine, its the points OR jail time I don't want lol...


here's the code..

61-8-715. Reckless driving -- reckless endangerment of highway workers -- penalty. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person convicted of reckless driving under 61-8-301(1)(a) or (1)(b) or convicted of reckless endangerment of a highway worker under 61-8-301(4) shall be punished upon a first conviction by imprisonment for a term of not more than 90 days, a fine of not less than $25 or more than $300, or both. On a second or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days or more than 6 months, a fine of not less than $50 or more than $500, or both.
Click to expand...
Pleading no contest lets the court "withhold adjudication" as it's called. In English, that amounts to "pay the fine, no points".
 
#8
Pokageek said:
"61-8-715. Reckless driving -- reckless endangerment of highway workers -- penalty. (1) Except as provided in subsection (2), a person convicted of reckless driving under 61-8-301(1)(a) or (1)(b) or convicted of reckless endangerment of a highway worker under 61-8-301(4) shall be punished upon a first conviction by imprisonment for a term of not more than 90 days, a fine of not less than $25 or more than $300, or both. On a second or subsequent conviction, the person shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than 10 days or more than 6 months, a fine of not less than $50 or more than $500, or both."

WHAT? First of all..Were you in a work zone? :shrug: Where were the highway workers? :scratch:

Second of all, JAIL time and 5 points for that??????????????? Is this Montana, Cuba? I am shocked and appauled that you get 5 points AND jail time for something minor like squealing a tire that BTW didn't even squeal.. WTH!! :mad: I was in a car with someone recently that did a "Bullet" movie burnout, smoke the tires up a road in front of a cop and only got 1 point.
Click to expand...


I KNOW!!!


He could have written me a careless which would have been more applicable..

No one was around.. I never exceeded the speed limit.. I was only going about 20 mph..


I think I might try to speak to the City Attorney and get them to knock it down to a careless.. which is 3 points on the record instead of 5 :notnice:

I'm still waiting for my lawyer friend to make a recommendation..


This blows.. I won't go to jail... But I could face up to $300 fine and 5 points on my driving record... 1 month before I turn 25 :nonono:


I could tear the guy in the chevy's head off right now..




When the cop asked me why I did that right in front of him, I was still too mad to even explain anything to him, so he just went back to his explorer and wrote me the nastiest ticket he could.


He didn't write me a seatbelt ticket though.. he said he could, but he didn't.. I don't know if that was his way of trying to be nice or what.. I would have taken an $85 seatbelt ticket and careless over a reckless ticket


oh.. Reckless carries the same points as DRAG RACING!!!!!!
 
#9
no good, I went to court in Boz for getting in a fight in the hardys drive through. But the judge was cool, I plead guilty and got deferred judgment and paid the restitution and had to write a letter to the court after 90 days(irc), so just ended up with restitution and court fees and the assault charges were dropped. So the judge wasn't completely heartless.

If your lucky you will receive reduced charges, I would definitely talk to the PA. But if you plead not guilty, they will probably offer you some sort of reduced charge to prevent it from coming back to court.
 
#10
I had almost the exact same situation happen to me. A jerk cut me off and I did just as you did when a cop saw me peel out. He told me he could give me a reckless driving ticket but he was nice and gave me a disorderly conduct which is like nothing more than a parking ticket here. I was lucky. Good luck.
 
#11
Wow man, I didnt realize there was that big of a difference between reckless and careless. I just got a careless driving ticket after telling a guy at work that I havent had any problems with our local police. I "took a left turn too fast" by not applying my brakes. I just rolled around the corner at the speed limit, and was stopped. My tires never even made any noise, the police out here are just that picky. I know I can fight it, but not sure if it is worth the cost, plus its my word against his. To add insult to injury, the same cop pulled me over 3 days later and gave me a tint ticket for my tint being too dark on the front windows. He even said that he was going to give it to me at the same time as the careless, but thought that one was bad enough for one day. I guess thats what I get for jinxing myself.
 
#13
95BlueStallion said:
Wow man, I didnt realize there was that big of a difference between reckless and careless. I just got a careless driving ticket after telling a guy at work that I havent had any problems with our local police. I "took a left turn too fast" by not applying my brakes. I just rolled around the corner at the speed limit, and was stopped. My tires never even made any noise, the police out here are just that picky. I know I can fight it, but not sure if it is worth the cost, plus its my word against his. To add insult to injury, the same cop pulled me over 3 days later and gave me a tint ticket for my tint being too dark on the front windows. He even said that he was going to give it to me at the same time as the careless, but thought that one was bad enough for one day. I guess thats what I get for jinxing myself.
Click to expand...

wow....:nonono:


They have better things to be doing than giving people a hard time for bull**** like that.. I feel your frustration..


I'll be talking to a lawyer on Monday about it..

I have too many vehicles to insure to just let it go..
 
#15
turbogt said:
wow....:nonono:


They have better things to be doing than giving people a hard time for bull**** like that.. I feel your frustration..


I'll be talking to a lawyer on Monday about it..

I have too many vehicles to insure to just let it go..
Click to expand...

Good luck with it man. Hopefully your luck turns around a little bit and you can get it dropped down a little. Let us know how you turn out.
 
#16
It sucks that you didn't tell him why at the time. It likely wouldn't have made a difference on the outcome, but at least if you stated that to the judge the officer would likely verify and you would have some explanation as to why, but without that any reason you say in court will probably just sound like something you fabricated.

I wish you good luck however. I highly doubt you'll see any jail time in this, so unless you have a good friend somewhere I would just go in and explain that you made a bonehead decision after avoiding an accident and hope for the best.

Let us know how it goes.
 
#18
Had my share of tickets and it sucks! I think I paid for a street or two...nothing serious...just speeding but enough that I had my license revoked. It's hard to keep the horses in the corral. Some folks are able to charm their way out and that's always the easiest. Maybe the court date will land on the officiers family vacation.

Hey maybe ya can find the CHevy douche bag and he could be your witness.

Here's wishing the best.
 
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