I used to like cops now i hate them

[The Stigenator]

The DOT law on school buses and passing school buses is this: A variation of this is in every states DMV rule.
<layman terms>
You cant pass school bus if the yellow or red lights are flashing. If they arent flashing and the bus has just stopped you can pass them. The speed limit is 25Mph unless stated to be lower.

You can only pass a school bus if your on the opposite side of a divided highway (dont confused with a double yellow line highway - where you got to stop).

The other thing here in CA that is a new rule (not sure though when it came into effect). but if your on a multi lane road (3 or more)and the yellow bus is flashing its lights, the left most lane can continue to move at a slower pace.. dont quote me on this.. check the DMV handbook on the laws.. its like 3 bucks to buy it..


By the way if your friend wasnt wearning his seatbelt.. have him pay for the ticket. My rule in my car.. if you arnet wearning your seat belt.. I am not going anywhere,and if I catch you not wearning it when driving or have taken it off I am going to pull over and not budge until you put it on. No amount of screaming and other stuff will make me budge. My car, my rules. If I am a driver in another car that is not mine.. the rule applies there too.

 

[bunker]

Ninja, set a date with the magistrate to have a hearing about the matter. I have a feeling you may be able to get off on this one since you do have a witness and it doesn't really sound like you did anything wrong. I think the cop pulled you over for "unsafe passing" so he could give the seatbelt ticket. You didn't say what state your from, but in the majority (not all) the police have to have a reason other than not wearing a seatbelt to make the initial stop.

 

[NinjaGnome]

in from indiana and i just read the drivers manualand it said nothing about what i did. well i thank you all for the advice a bunch if everything goes well you guys just saved me 110 bux that will go towards my computer.

 

[NinjaGnome]

where do i go about finding this magistrate?

 

[NinjaGnome]

<< Ninja, set a date with the magistrate to have a hearing about the matter. I have a feeling you may be able to get off on this one since you do have a witness and it doesn't really sound like you did anything wrong. I think the cop pulled you over for "unsafe passing" so he could give the seatbelt ticket. You didn't say what state your from, but in the majority (not all) the police have to have a reason other than not wearing a seatbelt to make the initial stop. >>


I told my friend that i probably got my ticket cause of him he got one and i got one

 

[NinjaGnome]

<<

<< Ninja, set a date with the magistrate to have a hearing about the matter. I have a feeling you may be able to get off on this one since you do have a witness and it doesn't really sound like you did anything wrong. I think the cop pulled you over for "unsafe passing" so he could give the seatbelt ticket. You didn't say what state your from, but in the majority (not all) the police have to have a reason other than not wearing a seatbelt to make the initial stop. >>


I told my friend that i probably got my ticket cause of him he got one and i got one >>



oh and how do i find out if i had to be ticketed in order for him to get the ticket

 

[Logix]

<<they gave me a ticket for "unsafe passing">>

Did you use your turn signal before moving to pass the school bus? If not, it's grounds for a police chit-chat.

 

[NinjaGnome]

<< <<they gave me a ticket for "unsafe passing">>

Did you use your turn signal before moving to pass the school bus? If not, it's grounds for a police chit-chat. >>



yup i used signals and if i didnt he wouldnt be able to see them but i did use them and when i moved back into the lane

 

[rgwalt]

First, check the statute that you were ticketed under. If the law says that you have done something wrong, then do this:

Call the court clerk and ask if this is a moving violation (sometimes things like this aren't). If it is, ask about a diversion program or something of the sort. If it isn't, then just pay the fine. Regardless, the court clerk will tell you what your options are from there. You will probably have to appear in court on the date on your ticket. Make sure you can get off work or out of school/class on your court date now. You will probably plead not guilty, and go see the prosecutor to make a deal of some sort. Even if you have to pay more money, it is the best thing to do to keep the ticket off your record.

If the statute doesn't say that you did something wrong, then bring a copy of the statute with you (photo copy) and show up on your court date for processing. You will likely enter a plea, and then be assigned a new date. Make sure you can have this date off as well. Regardless if the judge assigns you a new date or takes your case then and there, show them the ticket, and offer (politely) to refresh their memory regarding the statute. Don't make excuses, just stick to the facts and point out that the statute you were accused under doesn't apply.

The second situation isn't likely. What is likey is that you broke a law that you weren't aware of regarding passing school busses. Dumb law, but there isn't much that can be done. Be straight and up front with everyone you deal with. I repeat, do not make excuses. Explain that you didn't realize what you did was wrong, and you would like to keep the ticket off your record. Good luck.

Ryan

 

[NinjaGnome]

anybody know where i can find what all these statutes mean?

 

[bunker]

<< oh and how do i find out if i had to be ticketed in order for him to get the ticket >>


You don't have to be ticketed. They just have to have a reason to pull you over other than just not wearing a seatbelt. Like I said, that's not the case in all states so it could very well be that in Indiana they can pull a car over simply because someone isn't wearing a seatbelt. However, since he pulled you over for "unsafe passing" when it sounds like there was nothing unsafe about it, it looks like he simply used that as a reason to pull you over. I've been scouring the Indiana State Police web site for info on this, but can't find it. I've also checked several other sites from Indiana's gov't.

 

[NinjaGnome]

here is the statute

IC 9-21-8-5
Sec. 5. The following rules govern the overtaking and passing of vehicles proceeding in the same direction, subject to the limitations, exceptions, and special rules stated:
(1) A person who drives a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass to the left of the other vehicle at a safe distance and may not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.
(2) Except when overtaking and passing on the right is permitted, a person who drives an overtaken vehicle shall give way to the right in favor of the overtaking vehicle on audible signal and may not increase the speed of the overtaken vehicle until completely passed by the overtaking vehicle.
As added by P.L.2-1991, SEC.9.

 

[bunker]

Just found this on the state police web site:

What is the Indiana law concerning seat belts?
Indiana has a standard or primary seat belt law. You can be stopped and ticketed for failing to wear your seat belt

 

[rgwalt]

Yeah, that statute is nice and vague. Sounds like you will need to go to court. Oh, and BTW, going to court is free unless you hire someone.

Ryan

 

[NinjaGnome]

i sped up but i didnt break the speed limit and i went back into the lane at a safe distance. so im pretty sure i did nothing wrong

 

[NinjaGnome]

<< Just found this on the state police web site:

What is the Indiana law concerning seat belts?
Indiana has a standard or primary seat belt law. You can be stopped and ticketed for failing to wear your seat belt >>


thanx
oh and the staute i posted has to many big words.
I dont overtake things i pass them

 

[NinjaGnome]

oh and this law also has nothing to do with busses so you can pretend that it was a regular car

 

[Maetryx]

NinjaGnome,

Request suspended imposition of sentence aka SIS from the judge if you get "convicted" or you just decide to plead "no contest" ("no contest" is treated just like "guilty" by the courts, but you're not admitting you did anything wrong). SIS means that the sentence will be on your record for x (where the judge says x = 90 days, 6 months, 12 months or whatever) and if you don't get another ticket in x then it vanishes from your record as if it never occured.

Two points:
1) it will still cost you $110 right now (unless the judge reduces it)
2) your insurance premiums will NOT go up this way

The judge may ask you to justify the request. Tell him what you said here. I was trying to obey the law, I'm a poor student, and the insurance premium increase will impact my ability to save money for college.

P.S. I'm not an attorney, and although I believe this is good advice, don't forget the value of talking to a real attorney in case I'm all screwed. But take my advice.

 

[NinjaGnome]

<< NinjaGnome,

Request suspended imposition of sentence aka SIS from the judge if you get "convicted" or you just decide to plead "no contest" ("no contest" is treated just like "guilty" by the courts, but you're not admitting you did anything wrong). SIS means that the sentence will be on your record for x (where the judge says x = 90 days, 6 months, 12 months or whatever) and if you don't get another ticket in x then it vanishes from your record as if it never occured.

Two points:
1) it will still cost you $110 right now (unless the judge reduces it)
2) your insurance premiums will NOT go up this way

The judge may ask you to justify the request. Tell him what you said here. I was trying to obey the law, I'm a poor student, and the insurance premium increase will impact my ability to save money for college.

P.S. I'm not an attorney, and although I believe this is good advice, don't forget the value of talking to a real attorney in case I'm all screwed. But take my advice. >>





thanx now i have a chance to reduce the ticket if i do get convicted which hopefully wont happen

 

[NinjaGnome]

hey what about the thing on the bottom of the ticket it says that i have to have a court appearance on 10/17/01?

 

[NinjaGnome]

well im going to bed ill be back in 6 hours

 

[rgwalt]

That means you have to show up in court on Oct 17 unless you pay the fine before that time.

Ryan

 

[veryape]

It is not really a good idea to pass a school bus,lights flashing or not,but its not illegal in most states that i'm aware of. I don't know what a lot of you guys who say its illegal are talking about.

The only reason that cop gave you that ticket is because he cannot pull someone over just for not wearing a seatbelton that cause alone,he needs to have some other justifiable reason to pull you over. In many states the law states that he can only write you up for the seatbelt thing,but not pull you over solely for it. So he needed to give you a citation for something else to make himself look good.

Look into the laws in your state. You may be able to beat it,but try not to pass school buses in the future,because kids lives are more precious than your time.

 

[JonnyDuke]

Gnome,

Unfortunately it sounds as though the cop was having a bad day... and that's bad because they're only human and sometimes take it out on the people they deal with. Unfortunately it's also very likely that the judge will favor the cop's interpretation of the event, that you were passing unsafely. Why? Because he is a cop and has supposedly seen these things and should know if someone is driving unsafely. Whether or not you really were is, unfortunately, irrelevant... the cop says you were so therefor you were. It sucks big time I know but that is just how it works. Unless you have a credible witness to back you up (the other driver who didn't get pulled over) you have very little to argue your point. You should mention his attitude just as a reference that perhaps he wasn't completly impartial. You may not have broke the law but unless you know why the cop thought you were being unsafe... not much you can do about it.

 

[p0tempkin]

In Oregon, you can be pulled over and ticketed for not wearing your seatbelt.

However, as I remember the law, it is only illegal to pass a stopped bus going the same direction, or to pass a stopped bus going the opposite direction on a road with no middle divider, in our state.

What NinjaGnome did is NOT illegal, nor is it irresponsible. 20MPH? I don't care if its a school bus or a tractor, if its moving you have every right to pass it in a safe manner. Some of you guys are complaining like there is an NFL halo rule for moving school busses. Get real.

NinjaGnome got shafted by a POS cop, and now has to worry about paying the ticket or going to court, and if he loses will pay even more through his insurance premiums. This is basically a lot of uneeded stress that could have been avoided had the cop paid more attention to reason than his quota.