Bike Ticket - Fight or Pay?
The other week I got pulled over for running a red light on my bike. However, the cop accidentally (?) wrote down violation number 19176-B, which I believe is riding on a sidewalk. Riding on a sidewalk is a much lesser offense, fine wise, than running a light. Should I fight this, since he wrote…
The other week I got pulled over for running a red light on my bike. However, the cop accidentally (?) wrote down violation number 19176-B, which I believe is riding on a sidewalk.
Riding on a sidewalk is a much lesser offense, fine wise, than running a light.
Should I fight this, since he wrote down the wrong code? Should I consider it a gift? If I fight it, could the judge or cop adjust the ticket to the proper violation and then charge me for running a light?
MM — yes, I was probably a bit harsh. HOWEVER, I think everyone would appreciate it if the parking/traffic agents actually did their job *correctly* and *consistently* — and not just targeting low hanging fruit.
Thankless, sort of. I would be thanking these folks if they enforced double-parking, bike lane parking, and all of the other things that BLOCK the roadways. INCLUDING their own vehicles! (Is there no irony there? They ticket expired meters while creating a dangerous bottleneck with their own improperly stopped vehicle?!)
Whores? OK, no. How about, Bad at their jobs?
Tybur6 wrote: “If you stab someone, you can’t be arrested for vandalism. That’s not how the law works.”
Sadly, Ty, there are too many occasions when anyone can be arrested at any time for any reason—truthful, reasonable, valid or not. That’s the unfortunate reality of how differently the law sometimes “works,” vividly illustrated by this video of an incident that started as a bicyclist-on-sidewalk violation: http://bit.ly/ggiFL6
According to the NY Times Local, the passerby was charged with harassment, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest: http://bit.ly/eqUaOF
Tybur, I understand being pissed by meter readers, everyone is. But calling her a “parking whore” is really uncalled for. It’s a thankless job, but a legit and legal job that someone has to do it to feed themselves and their families. I don’t think they need to be referred to as a “whore” in order to do it.
I also don’t care if I get called a hall monitor for this, either.
” However, the cop accidentally (?) wrote down violation number 19176-B, which I believe is riding on a sidewalk.”
The cop did that so the ticket would be thrown out. This will cost you a day at court, that’s all.
I suggest you check these resources before deciding whether to fight your ticket:
Record your ticket here: http://bit.ly/eFOUVn
Bicycle Laws that Apply in NYC: http://bit.ly/h1Z54h
Summons: http://bit.ly/gUcj6M
Also — if you do have a hearing to contest the summons. Try to avoid admitting guilt about what you were doing. Just say, “I was not on the sidewalk. I was *always* on the street.” If the judge asked why the cop stopped you, simply reply “It was for a different reason that had nothing to do with riding my bicycle on the sidewalk. This summons is for riding on the sidewalk, I was not doing that.”
If you stab someone, you can’t be arrested for vandalism. That’s not how the law works.
Fight it!
I got a parking ticket for fire hydrant once — I brought out my tape measure. I was parked 14′ 6″ from the hydrant. Did I break the law? Yes. Is the parking whore being unreasonable, especially when I have watched her (on several occasions) walk by double-parked cars to write an expired meter ticket… one time for the car blocked in by the double-parker.
I fought the ticket. I “contested” online and blatantly lied. “I was definitely not within 15 feet of the hydrant. The parking agent was clearly mistaken.” Dismissed!
It’s all bullshit selective ticketing. It’s about low-hanging fruit and nothing to do with safety or traffic congestion.
I’m sure the parking meter ticket is much easier to write because there’s a meter number. You don’t have to type in an address (“Opposite XXXX”) like the double-parking. And I’m sure they regularly skip the douchebags with out-of-state plates because they don’t have a barcode to scan on the windshield.
I’m into spanking in case you need one.
yeah if the ticket was wrote out wrong it’s an automatic dismissal of the ticket, BUT you have to show up to fight it (but it wont be much of a fight) it will def. be dismissed.
*rob*