4 Tickets...what's up?

[CleanCar]

Hello all Officers & Troopers,
I

[jakflak]

I'd say pay them and fix the problems.

[CarCop]

This may not be the majority view but, let's just go with what you said being all true. Are there times that officers look for cetain violations, sure! Are they targeting YOU or your CAR (or style= race car). More than likely it's your car. (Unless you were sleeping with the chief's daughter or something like that :D )

Anyhow, here is what I would do. First take your vehicle to a tire shop and the PD station. Have the tire tread measured and documented. Take it to get the exhaust checked and verify that it is within vehicle code requirements. Take it to court, show the judge and if all is on the up and up, you walk. Now I know your out a few buck (maybe) for the paperwork but now you have it for the potential next time. (granted tread wears) As for the speed, your on your own for that. I don't know how fast you were going and you may have been over. That's for you, the officer and the judge.

Now what to do after the ordeal is over. Initially nothing. If you continue to get pulled over then you may want to take a trip to the local station and talk to the watch commander or sergeant. Don't file a complaint unless you actually have one against a specific officer. Just ask as to why you keep getting pulled over and if it has anything to do with YOU. Getting to know them will also aid you because now they know you and your vehicle and are less likely to bother with it. AS for your CAR, just face the fact that if it looks fast and looks "beefed" up, you are going to draw some extra attention. You "beef up" your vehicle and work on it so that people will notice, only seems fitting that "cops also notice". :cool:

[CleanCar]

Thanks CarCop. That is THE wisest advise I've gotten and exactly how I want this to play out. I get being hassled a bit due to the car. I've always had od cars and have managed to keep my record spotless(because I know people maybe watching a bit more closely).
The problem with the speeding is two fold. This is the only one I'm really worried about and I'm worried that because I've got 3 other tickets to worry about...that the judge WILL NOT cut me a break on this. It's going to be a 'his word vs. mine' type of thing. (55mph 4 lane, no divider, we were headed in opposite directions and he didn't use radar).
To exasurbate the problem...there was an off duty officer next to me where I was alledgedly speeding. Now I'm not sure if I was or not. My friend who turned out to be behind all of us was behind me said that when the off duty officer pulled out(she recognized him because he's marrying her friend!) that everyone was going slow and I just pulled out to pass.
It's tricky in a small town. Everyone knows everything and everyone sees everything.
It looks like I'll be taking a points reduction course at my uncles driving school soon, huh?

[hemicop]

I agree with CARCop completely. However, if NY State has a decibel level for mufflers, (they didn't when I grew up there),know what it is & how it's measured. Since we're kinda talking cars here, NHRA lays out their muffler requirements for race cars so you know what's allowed. If you don't have that luxury there, you're at the whim of the off as to what he considers too loud. Personally, I had 3-chambered Flowmasters on my '68 Hemi Dart & they sucked! Check the aftermarket manuf., many have the decibel rating for their mufflers so you can know first hand what's the quietest & best performing. If your exhaust only goes as far as the rearend, that can be considered inadaquete as the gases may go into the passenger compartment & create a potential poisoning situation. Hence the "inadaguete exhaust"ticket. AZ. law specifically says the exhaust cannot enter the passenger compartment. If it ends at the rear, this may also be aiding your noise problem as the sound is simply reverberating off the floorboards & ground, amplifying the noise. Many States require the exhaust to exit outside the body of the car(verbage varies). I believe NY IS one of those States....Good Luck

[Bigg Dogg]

Thanks CarCop. That is THE wisest advise I've gotten and exactly how I want this to play out. I get being hassled a bit due to the car. I've always had od cars and have managed to keep my record spotless(because I know people maybe watching a bit more closely).
The problem with the speeding is two fold. This is the only one I'm really worried about and I'm worried that because I've got 3 other tickets to worry about...that the judge WILL NOT cut me a break on this. It's going to be a 'his word vs. mine' type of thing. (55mph 4 lane, no divider, we were headed in opposite directions and he didn't use radar).
To exasurbate the problem...there was an off duty officer next to me where I was alledgedly speeding. Now I'm not sure if I was or not. My friend who turned out to be behind all of us was behind me said that when the off duty officer pulled out(she recognized him because he's marrying her friend!) that everyone was going slow and I just pulled out to pass.
It's tricky in a small town. Everyone knows everything and everyone sees everything.
It looks like I'll be taking a points reduction course at my uncles driving school soon, huh?



How do you know he wasn't using Radar?

[CleanCar]

Hemicop- Thanks, that's good advice as well. I'll check with Flowmaster (Great guess!) and get a decible count.
I've checked everywhere and the only answer I've found on the NYS Traffic Law website was (I'm para-phrasing):
You cannot alter an exhaust system in any way to make it louder than as it came from the factory.
Kinda nebulous huh? I'm not sure I can get decible readings on a stock 35 year old car.
Thanks again.
(it's an 442 with the cut outs on the bumper, the exhaust goes all the way threw the bumper)

BiggDogg- I'm not 100% sure. It doesn't say radar on the ticket and I was in a tight group of cars. But I can't answer you honest as to attest he didn't use it.
I'm assuming...and I know what they say about that! :-)

[hemicop]

If you had a buddy following you, why not subpoena him to testify as to your speed. Since he was going in the same direction as you & maintaining his distance (aka pacing) his word MAY sway the judge since the off. was going in the OPPOSITE DIRECTION and admittedly ONLY ESTIMATED the speed you were going. It seems to me,that given those facts the "preponderence of the evidence" would be in your favor.

[hemicop]

NOW we're onto something here. If the State code doesn't allow the car to be louder than factory, & assuming the off. isn't a trivia minded gearhead, how does he know your exhaust is louder than stock? How many '70 Cutlass's has he pulled over? Were they stock? Chances are your car is older than he is, so he doesn't even have a clue what a "stock" '70 Cutlass is! You can see whee I'm going with all this. I think that perhaps you were a victim of a slow work day or, let's face it, he thought you needed some "attitude adjustment" tickets. The only time I write those kinds of tickets is at the street races or a GROSS infraction. Sounds like your car is more of the "resto-mod" variety than a real street racer. so I wouldn't have worried about such things.

[CleanCar]

You had a Hemi in a Dart! Man, that's gotta be a ride!
Yeah, it's half resto half strip project. There's no stickers on it, there's no tint, there's none of the stuff I thought was cool when I was 17. It's just an old car I cruise in and take to the track.

[Bigg Dogg]

BiggDogg- I'm not 100% sure. It doesn't say radar on the ticket and I was in a tight group of cars. But I can't answer you honest as to attest he didn't use it.
I'm assuming...and I know what they say about that! :-)



Don't ever assume something.Especially when it comes to something like this.

[SgtScott31]

[QUOTE]He made mention of the 4 other times I

[CleanCar]

SgtScott, I understand completely what your getting at. And that's what I'm getting frustrated with. You asked which is it? It's ALL of them.
I've had 4 older cars, falling into muscle car classification. I've been pulled over many, many times. (once for speeding when I was 21 and he was super cool about it) Most of the time the officers just wanted to check things over and make sure liscense and insurance was on the up & up.
But lately...I'm getting pulled over by the same 3 officers out of a force of 15-20 guys. All in my town. All have been citing things that ARE within regulation, like tires, dim liscense plate light, and also just saying I was swerving(followed by DWI tests, which of course I passed).
I drove the car about 2500 miles this year in 3 states, a dozen counties and only here do I get pulled over.
I'm trying to figure out why.
I'm a very good, very responsible driver. I drove professionally for 3 years, I was taught by the best(my father was a trooper '68-'75). I'm not a goof ball kid anymore running around town in a hopped up death trap.

[SgtScott31]

Muscle cars will draw some attention. As long as it is street legal, and you can prove it, you have nothing to worry about. If you go to court and the charges are dismissed in front of the officer(s), and they still continue to pull you over and cite you for infractions they know are legit, then it's time to take it to a supervisor, and possibly the chief.