i just got a ticket the other night..well i was unaware driving around with a burnt out head light and i got pulled over..the cop cited me for having a burnt out headlight but he also cited me for driving with no lights on?! how does he come to that conclusion...cause he said when i pulled around the corner my lights were off but when he seen the whole front of my car he said i turned my one light on..i said officer the angle made it seem like i had my lights off cause one was burned out and you just seen that one side..but he still wrote me up for that!? any way i can fight it?

 

you should be able to fight it because technically you were driving with your lights on. only one headlight is off. unless there's a law somewhere stating that you can get charged with it.

that's pretty messed up though. good luck.

 

I wouldn't call him a stupid cop, I would call him doing his job. Reguardless of the scenario, you had a burnt out headlight. It's YOUR car, and therefore it's YOUR responsibility to keep your car legal.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDM-EJ1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldn't call him a stupid cop, I would call him doing his job. Reguardless of the scenario, you had a burnt out headlight. It's YOUR car, and therefore it's YOUR responsibility to keep your car legal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

but come on giving me a ticket for something i didnt do?! well at least he didnt write me up for modified engine he asked what the big thing in the front was and told him it was a radiator..so theres some room for calling him a stupid cop

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboEKcoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but come on giving me a ticket for something i didnt do?! well at least he didnt write me up for modified engine he asked what the big thing in the front was and told him it was a radiator..so theres some room for calling him a stupid cop </TD></TR></TABLE>

If you feel you didn't do it, take it to court. In all honesty we can't help you one bit. More than likely, this thread will turn into a flamefest. After the fire has settled, you'll more than likely be wondering why you made this thread in the first place. I hope everything works out for you though, I really do.

 

your right..thanks ej

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TurboEKcoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your right..thanks ej </TD></TR></TABLE>

Best of luck. Have a safe New Year.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BuilttB18C5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Best of luck. Have a safe New Year. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Whoops, was on my brothers name. Tell us the outcome of this.

 

I went to court for the exact same thing, except I was driving with my lights on ( no burnt bulbs ) and when i stopped for getting pulled over I turned them off because I didnt want my battery to die ( it had been doing that ). He cited me for no lights. It sucks because thats a moving violation that adds a point to your record and adds $ to your insurance...


The best you can do is be as detailed as humanly possible. It wouldn't hurt to take pictures from the spot that the cop saw you to show that he couldnt see your other headlight on. Take pics, be extremely detailed and very professional with your argument and you might win. Also, if you can avoid a Pro-temp judge, do it. Last time i was at court you had to sign a waiver to see one, I'd advise you not to.

Only if your very precise with your info and have pics that prove he couldn't see your lights because of his angle will you get off. If you go in court and it's just your word vs. his, you know who's going to win.

 

you should be able to fight it in court

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JDM-EJ1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I wouldn't call him a stupid cop, I would call him doing his job. Reguardless of the scenario, you had a burnt out headlight. It's YOUR car, and therefore it's YOUR responsibility to keep your car legal.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have to call the cop misinformed and possible stupid. The fact that the cop went off of information that he wasn't even sure of is a mistake that happens all too often. As an officer it's his responsibility to ensure that he knows the facts. If police officers write citations off of false information and it's acceptable to the public then they can get away with anything else. Such as shooting a killing someone for pulling out a wallet cause they thought it was a gun. As long as assumptions are acceptable the police officers can do whatever they want. I'm not sure if it's going to change but these are the facts.

 

seriously the cops are untouchables becoming an officer is the best thing u can do in southern california u make bank (not with ur salarly) in my town there rich greedy and crooked give em 500 bucks here and they "forgot what happend"

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1993civicex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">seriously the cops are untouchables becoming an officer is the best thing u can do in southern california u make bank (not with ur salarly) in my town there rich greedy and crooked give em 500 bucks here and they "forgot what happend"</TD></TR></TABLE>

That's exactly what I mean

 

Idk what the law is in CA but here in NY if one of your bulbs is burnt and you get pulled over they give you 24hrs to fix it then you just go to any police station and they will cancel the ticket. Regardless you cant say hes stupid since hes just doing his job and you should have noticed one of your headlights was out.

 

How did you not notice your headlight was out?

Anyways, bring a recent receipt for a lightbulb to court, that'll help

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 93civicsedan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Idk what the law is in CA but here in NY if one of your bulbs is burnt and you get pulled over they give you 24hrs to fix it then you just go to any police station and they will cancel the ticket. Regardless you cant say hes stupid since hes just doing his job and you should have noticed one of your headlights was out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Reading oWnZ yOo!

He's not complaining about the fix-it-ticket part of having a burnt out bulb, he's complaining about the fact that he got a ticket for not having ANY headlights on when he did have one working.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FuNkDrSpOt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Reading oWnZ yOo!

He's not complaining about the fix-it-ticket part of having a burnt out bulb, he's complaining about the fact that he got a ticket for not having ANY headlights on when he did have one working.</TD></TR></TABLE>

haha omg thank you Funkdrspot you seem to be the only one who knew what i was talking about you get a

 

ya bring that point up man say if i was driving without my headlights how did the officer know 1 of the lights were out? if i was drivng with no headlights he had no reason to pull me over also write down the tme if it wasnt too dark u can get away with it...bring up the point AFTER hes says y he pulled u over

 

tell me about it, I got pulled over once for not having my headlights on at 4p.m. in cali during the summer time. He claimed that it was begining to get dark and that I should have turned on the lights and at the same time there had to of been 6 or 7 cars that passed by with there lights off. I guess it was a good thing I was still considered a minor at the time so I just showed up to court and played the it was my foult role and got it removed from my record. You should also think about fighting it because most of the times when you do fight it the cop who gave you the ticket is too busy to show up to court so they just tear the ticket up and let you go.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EKhatchFREAK &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">...most of the times when you do fight it the cop who gave you the ticket is too busy to show up to court so they just tear the ticket up and let you go.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't count on it. I would do your homework just incase. Ca police officers are getting better at going to court because the tickets are for a LOT higher amount since ****-***-swartzenegger (sp?) was elected.

I had a seat belt ticket about 2 yrs ago and it was about 2 mo. after the new rules were taken into effect. Instead of the regular $30 ticket, it's now a tiered seat belt system. First offense is $100, second is $200, third is $400. I had 7 so they tried to charge me $400. Mind you, this actually wasn't my ticket but my passengers... .

I used to ride a Chevy S-10 lowrider with HELLA tinted out windows. It was semi-dark and the cop was behind me on the freeway. He said he saw me put my seatbelt on after he put his lights on but i knew that was a lie because I put it on about a minute before he put his lights on . Anyways, to prove that the cop was full of **** I took pictures of the exterior of the car in the same light i was in before. It showed without a doubt that from the angle the cop was looking at he couldn't have seen inside. Do your homework...

 

ive been pulled over here in chicago for the same thing, one headlight out, funny thing was.... i had changed them a few days beforhand and had the box with me and receipt still in the car. i showed the cop the box and said it must have just blown, im sorry i didnt notice. he gave me a 50 BUCK ticket on the spot........ worthless.

 

heres my trick..... take it to court, 2 days before court date call the court and say that u cant make it because of a family death or something important. have it rescheduled as soon as possible. alot of the times the officer that gives u the ticket wont be notified of the reschedule date till its too late and since the officer that wrote the ticket doesnt show up u automaticly win the case