pulled over in bethlehem township, pos encounter

[uniballin]

driving to my buddy's house on saturday night. stop light was broken... the area was so dark i didn't even see that it was a stop light until i was right in front of it. i yielded abruptly and then kept going through it (if i would have came to a complete stop i would have smacked my head on the steering wheel due to the fact that it was a 45 mph road). he flashes his lights and pulls me over. says i had to treat it like a stop sign and that what i did was dangerous to the workers (who were no where to be seen). he said that he was there to make sure that people didn't blow through it. he is full of shit because he was sitting by the side of the road with his headlights off. if he wanted people to be careful, he would have had his beacons going, or his headlights on at least. i ended up getting a ticket equivalent of that of going through a stop sign... he kept reminding me that he was giving me a "break." so that sucked, but overall, it was a positive encounter because he didn't disarm me or check my gun against the illegal database. you know why? because i didn't tell him i was armed because i'm not a complete idiot, only a partial one because i fell for their money trap.

[HiredGoon]

Sounds like maybe it's something you can beat at a hearing...(?)

[Exbiker]

75 § 3111 §§ A S Obedience to Traffic-Control Devices


Bogus ticket. At least it carries no points so it comes down to it is worth your time and money to fight it.

[uniballin]

i currently live near washington dc (i was home for spring break) so i don't know if it would be worth the gas money to drive home just to fight it. even if it gets completely dismissed... that's like $60 in gas gone right there.

but the real reason i made this thread is because my last couple of police encounters have ended with either my firearm being stolen and not returned to me, multiple guns trained onto my head, or having my serial number recorded. only one of them was preventable, and all i had to do was shut my damn mouth. so the moral of the story is: don't ever talk to the police.

[DaveM55]

I'd fight that ticket.

[CenterTree]

This cop sounds like an ass. He tries to tell you he is there for safety reasons (with his lights off) and then hands out a ticket because you didn't see the broken light?? WTF??


It is ALWAYS,,,,ALWAYS, ALL about the money.


That is >> unless it's about sex. (which I hope it wasn't, was it?)

[Exbiker]

Why not get a postponement until you're home for break or summer. It really is a BS ticket. Was it BT or Colonial Regional?

If the light is out he should have been there either direction traffic or with the emergency beacon on until the township could make repairs or place a temporary 4 way there. Send an email to the chief.

[zlaya]

Just because a traffic light is broken doesnt mean you just drive through it. It becomes a "stop sign" as the officer correctly stated. You are in the wrong there. Pay the ticket and move on.

[Exbiker]

What was the intersection and your travel road and direction? I know the township pretty.

[CB57]

I should have fought my last traffic ticket, especially since I had money, at the time, for a lawyer. I wound up paying in increased insurance premiums. It also still give me bad flashbacks, even after 13 years, how I allowed myself to be screwed.

I'm not sure if it's always directly about the money. Don't cops have to do a productivity timesheet? If they give out some bogus tickets, it makes it look like they are doing something, to justify their existence on the payroll, so indirectly it is money.

But it's great that you didn't get harassed about an arm.