tunerwannab

iTrader: (1)

I love how you say you would never pass someone like that or drive aggressively at all. But your sig has a pic of the worlds only rally 8?

And I know your gonna say either thats not mine or I would only do it on the track because I am a better person than all of you.

Learjet_Pilot

Zero: I say fight! Learn all that you can about Law. You're a student? There's certainly a law library close by. Within the body of law in your state is a definition of "careless driving." Pick that definition apart like you're Bill Clinton redefining "sex." Argue against the infraction like you're Captain of the Yale debate team. At the same time, be humble and likable and respectful to the Court. Be a likable, young guy who also knows what he's talking about. "With all due respect to the Officer, your Honor, I was not being careless..." (Don't be a smart-***, but be smart.)

Capitalize on the fact that the Officer only saw a small part of your highway exit, and that you have every right to change lanes around slower traffic. (Don't admit to the word: "aggressive.")

Then make the argument that the officer saw a flashy car making a "precise" move around a stopped car, and he simply didn't like the "character" of the move. There's nothing illegal about passing a slower car. (I assume you signaled. That will bolster your case.)

The key to this is whether you have time to do your homework. This includes going to sit in traffic court one day, so you know what you're up against. If you have time to educate yourself in the law library; and if you have some debate skills, I give you better than 50/50 on this. Good luck. Fight!

Zerotide

iTrader: (1)

You guys are gonna love the story of my meeting with one of the city attorneys. It just so happens that out of the 3 that were in the office at the time I got the one who has owned 2 rx-7s in the 80s and 90s. Once he saw my car on the ticket we chatted for a little bit and he lowered my citation to negligent driving. I am now enrolled in stop class. I don't even have to go to court now.

CyberPitz

Haha, awesome. Good to see a fellow rotor head doing some good :P

endowdly

iTrader: (2)

i will say cops will pull you over if they feel like you're endangering lives or property or yourself, but i will also say not everyone is perfect, and not all facts are known. sometimes people will make snap judgments and default to a decision that is safer and more cautious for other people--which is what i think happened to you. the cop was just trying to do his job; maybe he thought he saw you make a reckless move; maybe he saw a part of your maneuver and erred on the side of safety. it happens.

but, i don't understand some of the negative comments in this thread. example:



who are you to judge? where you there? are you the best damn driver in the world? the omnipotent and all knowing driver judge? you've never driven like a dick either intentionally or unintentionally in your life? i just don't get it. here's why:

no one is hurt by apply some brake... agreed (unless you're going down the high way and you decide to apply some brakes for no reason and get rear ended). but no one is hurt by controlled driving either. and the level of control is completely individual to the driver. the good driver knows his limits, can analyze the situation around him and make safe and controlled maneuvers. the more control a driver can exert, the more aggressive the maneuvers can be. from what i have gathered and what zero explained repeatedly, he was in control and within his limits. no reason to flame him, period. i am an aggressive driver. but i know my limits because i try to track my car once in a while and learn my limits and skills. i use this knowledge and analyze traffic situations on the road to control my maneuvers. sometimes i can make more aggressive maneuvers, sometimes i can't--it depends on the situation. i have never been in an accident, and due to my aggressive defensive driving i've avoided three, one potentially fatal. the worst i've ever done in 6 years of driving hard, is curbing my new rims.

so give the kid a break and give him the benefit of the doubt.

and congrats on the good news, zero.

Zerotide

iTrader: (1)

Thanks. It's a big load off my shoulders. I can't get a ticket in the next three years in this county now. Time to drive like a granny.

I can understand why people would feel the need to flame me. I think I may have been a little misunderstood. I didn't come here to brag about my awesome driving or complain about bad cops I came here for some advice. Thankfully many of you guys were great and rendered really helpful suggestions. I still think the RX-8 community is one of the best car communities out there.

blackenedwings

Congrats... I'm sure thats a weight off your shoulders. I don't think anybody in this thread (who wasn't a complete moron) thought you were bragging or anything like that. Most if not all of us have landed tickets for various things over the years from both stupidity or sometimes just bad luck. The only person who can judge what the cause of your ticket was is you. Hopefully it will be a positive experience because you will be even more alert than you were before. Best of luck!

Zerotide

iTrader: (1)

Definitely more alert. Its just so hard to not wind up that tach to 9k... I think everyone can agree with me on that.

SX-Tech

i honestly think 100% of the people in this thread would have done the same exact thing as you when it came to passing that person just starting at the light. You did nothing wrong there.. only wrongful doing was speeding, but who doesn't when you can rev up to 9k, everyone does once and a while, it's such a thrill.

JantzenRX-8

iTrader: (9)

Seriously, i think you're getting flak from way too many people here. I'll give everyone who thought this was dangerous the point that slowing to a stop behind the guy at the light would be less dangerous/careless than going around him but come on... you sound like a bunch of frail, scared, soccer moms with 7 kids in her mini van who's scared of life. I can think of a number of situations that are more dangerous that would never warrant a ticket.

• signaling on the highway and not changing lanes because you're too ******* scared and don't know the size of your car.
• Driving 50 in a 60 and refusing to move over for traffic
• Entering a highway and thinking that it's the end of the world if you don't get as many lanes to the left as possible, right away.
• Texting while driving
• talking while driving
• fooling with the radio while driving
• Hesitation! Constant hesitation in every action!! Get some ******* ***** and do what you plan to do, get where you want to get.
• Refusing to use turn lanes for their intended purpose
• refusing to get your *** end out of traffic when you enter a turn lane
• lolly-gagging your *** into flowing traffic - completely inconveniencing everyone

I see so many **** poor drivers out there making more dangerous situations than this every day. If they're going to ticket this guy for making a dangerous situation they should at least crack down on all the idiots that make my driving experiences miserable.

I spent 2 weeks in Thailand this summer and by our standards they drive insane. There is no rhyme or reason to anything they do but it works! My friend has lived there for 2 years and he's never seen an accident. They don't follow lanes, stop signs, traffic patterns, speed limits -- nothing. It's organized chaos and no one ever gets road rage, never gets ticketed, there is never traffic, and you can take a cab 2 hours and 100km across Bangkok and it'll cost you less than 20 bucks -- just thought i'd throw that in there.

"The best driver is the one who impedes the least drivers"

rant done

alexmantell

It sucks that your parents have any power over your car. That is why I didn't let my parents have anything to do with my 8 financially. I rarely drive the speed limit. I have an Escort 8500 x50 and I always pay heavy attention for cops. Not sure how you didn't notice the cops before it was too late, but what you did was definitely typical, despite the legality. I don't understand why you replied to the cop with, "because I'm stupid", maybe all that adrenaline got to you and you thought you were on a Comedy Central rerun.

Razz1

Plead your case and get it dropped to speeding.

Good Luck.

risky business

actually the cops like it when you respond with answers like that. so long as you mix it with the truth of why you were doing it. it makes them feel powerful and they like that a lot. i've used that line before and gotten out of a ticket, but it's not my first choice. usually i do have a good story to tell and they don't feel morally right giving me a ticket, thats why i have talked myself out of 8 tickets and only received 1!

EDIT: actually it was more then 8 but some violations were paired in 1 pulling over. EX: took my muffler off for a day and had expired tag- 2 tickets but i count as 1 because i got pulled over for them both at same time

always.anthony

best way to get yourself out of a ticket...is to ACCEPT THAT YOU ARE GOING TO GET ONE. twice a cop had started writing me the ticket, seen my sad accepting face, ripped it out, and told me to drive safely and have a good night/day.

mrinno

Its really had to "beat" the cop in court.
Best way is to plead not guilty, and hope the cop doesnt show up in court.