Yesterday I got pulled over buy a Tennessee Highway Patrol Officer and he charged me for

Reckless Driving
Improper Passing
Following Too Close
No Turn Signals
Failure to yield to blue lights


I have court in September, what's gonna happen to me?

 

Did u give him attitude?

 

I don't know the law in Tennessee, but in some states, wreckless operation is a felony. You better get a lawyer.

 

no, i literally broke down

 

What the hell did you do!?

 

they will probably drop the following too close, no turn signal, improper passing, and failure to yield and lower the speed u were traveling then u will have to pay a fine. thats if you get a nice judge and go in there and act respectful and remorseful. if u go in there acting like a bad *** that thinks he did nothing wrong and only wants to argue about the officer did this or that then u will be screwed.

best thing to do is dress nice go in there stand in front of the judge he is gonna read everything off when its your turn to speak say you are very sorry for your actions and plead guilty. or you can get a lawyer and possibly get everything dropped or lowered.

 

well i was driving home from picking up a videogame, i never realized that the cop was behind me...

 

Run, don't walk to a lawyer that specializes in traffic law. You are in big trouble and will probably loose you license. Then for the next 6 year, you will have to get car insurance from substandard company's that specialize in insuring the uninsurable. Paying rates that are substantially higher than the average driver.
You will pay a lot for the services of this lawyer, but in the end it most likely will be worth it.

 

So you were weaving in and out of traffic at high speed? Was there tire squeal involved?

I don't know whats doin' in TN but I'll wager you can get it reduced to a fine. As others have said take it to court and act respectful and it'll very likely get reduced as they usually don't have time for traffic nonsense.

Also, as another has said, you should put some serious effort into discovering the severity of those charges so you'll know to consult a lawyer or not.

 

well that explains everything.


cops hate video games.

 

Story please...

 

Some details woud probably be a little helpful for speculation

How fast were you going and what was the speed limit?

Where were you driving, interstate, highway, school zone?

Improper Passing and No turn signals are usually the same thing so they will often drop one, Unless you were passing on the right, speeding dramatically, not signalling and driving like an ignoramus.

That failure to yield to blue lights is another one that often will get dropped, I mean you did pull over right? They didn't have to use stop sticks or anything did they? If the cop was behind you for just a minute or two, you should be good, or if he was using grill lights, msot reasonable judges will admit that those are hard to see some times.

From the sound of things, you were driving like a bat out of hell and the cop wanted to toss the book at you. I think your best bet will be to throw yourself at the mercy of the court and tell them how sorry you are for having driven wrecklessly and the potential cost of your actions (loss of life and limb)

If you were going 20+ over the speed limit combined with the other moving violations it might be worth it to hire an attorney and suck up the expense to try to save some points and mitigate the amount of the fine. If you are a local Tennessean, have a job, dress respectably and throw yourself on the mercy of the court you might get lucky and have a lot of those things reduced and thrown out. If I were you I'd find out what you can about the judge (reputation) you are going before and give consideration to hiring a lawyer just in case you get boned with a judge who wants to make an example out of you.

 

btw:

Reckless Driving: Class B misdemeanor: "not greater than six (6) months in jail or a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500), or both, unless otherwise provided by statute"

Improper Passing: $80 fine

Following too close: Class C misdemeanor: "not greater than thirty (30) days in jail or a fine not to exceed fifty dollars ($50.00), or both, unless otherwise provided by statute"

Can't really find anything on the last two. (I was bored but not that bored).

Found the other stuff from title 55 of the Tennessee Code and An overview of Criminal Offenses Under Tennessee Law.

 

there's a lot to this story that needs to be told in order to give any real advice.... for real.. what'd you really do?

 

I bet it was rated M too.

 

Just explain you were so excited to play your new game - NeedForSpeed: Most Wanted - that you were practicing on the way home.

Get a lawyer and stop driving like a retarded monkey, not necessarily in that order.

Did you tell your parents yet?

 

Hope it works out for you. All I have to say is that when in doubt get a lawyer.

 

not totally true i got popped for speeds in excess of 100 (not in my 8) and a few other charges, went to court was respectful and the judge dropped it to below "reckless driving" speeds i paid a fine it was over.

 

how old is he? if hes under 18 its even easier for him if its his first offense lol he can just say he didnt know what to do when he saw the cop behind him and was looking for a safe place to pull over for the failure to yield charge

 

i'm 23

 

No - don't post any more details here. I'm not a lawyer, but the first thing a lawyer will tell you is to keep your mouth shut.

I vote with everyone else who says you should consult a lawyer.

Ken

 

Was it on fire?

 

Just tell us what you did already.

 

I had worse than that, gave my ticket to my lawyer and he took care of it. Never went to court, never got any points on my driving records, and best of all i still had my license!

 

Why won't you be a little more open with us? I know cops can have their bad days... but no one gives out that many charges without some reason...