got pulled over in the carpool lane today
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got pulled over in the carpool lane today
over at my apartment we have this casual carpool where you can pick up ppl to cross the bay bridge into the city. i've been picking up one passenger in my truck (w/ an xtracab) for nearly 2 years and i havent gotten $hit for that until today
the officer pulls me over and glances at me and my passenger. i asked him whats the problem officer. he then says i need you license and reg and ins. i asked him what was the problem, again. he said only buses can pass by in the carpool lane. I was thinking " no **** sherlock, im in a truck. i kindly said, yes i agree but this is a two seater truck. he said i needed one more person. I said this is a two seater truck, again and His reponse, "Technically, its a four."
I dont know if i was more pissed at his "techical" response or at the hassle that i have to deal with when i fight this ticket. I mean gimme a break. its a 2 door truck with a storage area in the back. happens to have lap belts and cushions. They are jump seats. there is no way i can fit 2 full size passengers in my truck. The entire time i was waiting for his slow *** to finish writing my ticket, my passenger kept on telling stories about cops and end of the year quotas. Its cool he' supportive of the protesting and im sure he felt bad for me but shuddup man, you talk to damn much.
the funny thing was on the otherside of the freeway, another tacoma was pulled over for the same thing i guess.
you guys think i have a good chance of fighting or lowering my fee? its an extracab. my arguement is that yes it has seat cushions but you cant fit 2 fullsize adults in there. there are no head rests nor chair backs. also too, i did make an effort to pick up passengers. had i known, i'd pick up more. And the signs do say TRUCKS okay, but i guess trucks with extracabs are the grey area of the law.
i just hope he was fulfilling a quota. If i had to ride thru the traffic masses everyday, im either going to go crazy or move
the cost of the ticket is 351. my girl got busted for that last week when she got off the wrong exit and ended up at the same exit. i guess i have a date with my girl at the alemeda court house next week.
the officer pulls me over and glances at me and my passenger. i asked him whats the problem officer. he then says i need you license and reg and ins. i asked him what was the problem, again. he said only buses can pass by in the carpool lane. I was thinking " no **** sherlock, im in a truck. i kindly said, yes i agree but this is a two seater truck. he said i needed one more person. I said this is a two seater truck, again and His reponse, "Technically, its a four."
I dont know if i was more pissed at his "techical" response or at the hassle that i have to deal with when i fight this ticket. I mean gimme a break. its a 2 door truck with a storage area in the back. happens to have lap belts and cushions. They are jump seats. there is no way i can fit 2 full size passengers in my truck. The entire time i was waiting for his slow *** to finish writing my ticket, my passenger kept on telling stories about cops and end of the year quotas. Its cool he' supportive of the protesting and im sure he felt bad for me but shuddup man, you talk to damn much.
the funny thing was on the otherside of the freeway, another tacoma was pulled over for the same thing i guess.
you guys think i have a good chance of fighting or lowering my fee? its an extracab. my arguement is that yes it has seat cushions but you cant fit 2 fullsize adults in there. there are no head rests nor chair backs. also too, i did make an effort to pick up passengers. had i known, i'd pick up more. And the signs do say TRUCKS okay, but i guess trucks with extracabs are the grey area of the law.
i just hope he was fulfilling a quota. If i had to ride thru the traffic masses everyday, im either going to go crazy or move
the cost of the ticket is 351. my girl got busted for that last week when she got off the wrong exit and ended up at the same exit. i guess i have a date with my girl at the alemeda court house next week.
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Uhm...you need to learn to tell stories, or anecdotes...there are a buncha glaring holes in your story...for instance...
1. Is the carpool lane where you were driving 2 or 3 person in a car?
--If three then the number of seats in your vehicle is just a lame excuse on your part. (BTW thats how the story seems to be that your defending your seat number versus what is allowed)
2. You drive a pick-up truck. When it says Trucks OK it means semi's, because they need to meet time requirements to get to a stop, also some semi's are air cooled and thus need to continue moving (hence reason why carpool lane was created)
The carpool lane allowed motorcycles, buses, and semi's to continue moving during congested traffic in order to prevent overheating and ruining of the engine. As an added bonus people with 2-3 or more people in the vehicle (legally) can also enjoy that wonderful lane.
At this point I babble skip to bottom if you don't want to read details.
If your carpool lane where you got pulled over asks for 2 passangers minimum (driver and passanger) then you are within your legal limits.
If the carpool lane calls for 3 people in the vehicle then your ticket was legit because you only had 2 people.
Again the amount of passangers you car can handle (legally) doesn't come into play. If you have the min. amount of people in the car then you are safe....
So either your explanation of this scenario is lacking in details, or your ticket was given in error (which is doubtful since police will nitpick tickets rather then give out completely bogus tickets, especially when there could be a witness), or you need to do what the rest of the drivers in California need to do READ THE SIGNS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, it will clearly say NUMEROUS times the requirements etc....
About the only thing you can do is take it to court and ask for a lower fee...admit you were in error of the rules for that lane, but that the fine would put undo stress on your already stretched budget.
Because if you walk in there saying you have this many seats and you tried getting more people yadda yadda then you will get your *** laughed out of court. Kuz like I said, putting the effort into doing something and actually having the results are two different things, especially when it comes to what the police can prove.
Everyday in traffic court they hear stories from some schmuck who got nailed for something. They don't want to hear your pathetic story. The judge will be more fair to you if you admit your fault and ask for a lower fine, or community service instead of paying. They love that sh*t.
Judges love people who take accountability, they will favor you and treat you better.
At least you wont have to do traffic school, since last I checked just driving in the carpool lane isn't a moving violation. If you illegally crossed the double yellows then it is a moving violation...depending on which penal code he put it under...
BEGIN READING THE FOLLOWING. IT CUTS TO THE CHASE.
Either way. Drop the excuses and do the following....
1. Double check the rules for that carpool lane. If you need three people in the vehicle to drive in the lane you are screwed, and do number 2. If it requires 2 people in the vehicle including the driver, then you are within the rules for driving the lane and you have a defendable case.
2. If number 1 fails then ask the judge for a lighter sentence. IE a lower fine, or trade the fine for community service. Or lower the fine and do community service. If you definatly broke the law take accoutnability for it and don't make any excuses. The quickest way to lose any options in court is to start making excuses....such as the number of seats your truck has....
90% of the time you will get what you ask for. Details can be found in the part you may have skipped....yeah I know long post but I'm bored.
1. Is the carpool lane where you were driving 2 or 3 person in a car?
--If three then the number of seats in your vehicle is just a lame excuse on your part. (BTW thats how the story seems to be that your defending your seat number versus what is allowed)
2. You drive a pick-up truck. When it says Trucks OK it means semi's, because they need to meet time requirements to get to a stop, also some semi's are air cooled and thus need to continue moving (hence reason why carpool lane was created)
The carpool lane allowed motorcycles, buses, and semi's to continue moving during congested traffic in order to prevent overheating and ruining of the engine. As an added bonus people with 2-3 or more people in the vehicle (legally) can also enjoy that wonderful lane.
At this point I babble skip to bottom if you don't want to read details.
If your carpool lane where you got pulled over asks for 2 passangers minimum (driver and passanger) then you are within your legal limits.
If the carpool lane calls for 3 people in the vehicle then your ticket was legit because you only had 2 people.
Again the amount of passangers you car can handle (legally) doesn't come into play. If you have the min. amount of people in the car then you are safe....
So either your explanation of this scenario is lacking in details, or your ticket was given in error (which is doubtful since police will nitpick tickets rather then give out completely bogus tickets, especially when there could be a witness), or you need to do what the rest of the drivers in California need to do READ THE SIGNS ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, it will clearly say NUMEROUS times the requirements etc....
About the only thing you can do is take it to court and ask for a lower fee...admit you were in error of the rules for that lane, but that the fine would put undo stress on your already stretched budget.
Because if you walk in there saying you have this many seats and you tried getting more people yadda yadda then you will get your *** laughed out of court. Kuz like I said, putting the effort into doing something and actually having the results are two different things, especially when it comes to what the police can prove.
Everyday in traffic court they hear stories from some schmuck who got nailed for something. They don't want to hear your pathetic story. The judge will be more fair to you if you admit your fault and ask for a lower fine, or community service instead of paying. They love that sh*t.
Judges love people who take accountability, they will favor you and treat you better.
At least you wont have to do traffic school, since last I checked just driving in the carpool lane isn't a moving violation. If you illegally crossed the double yellows then it is a moving violation...depending on which penal code he put it under...
BEGIN READING THE FOLLOWING. IT CUTS TO THE CHASE.
Either way. Drop the excuses and do the following....
1. Double check the rules for that carpool lane. If you need three people in the vehicle to drive in the lane you are screwed, and do number 2. If it requires 2 people in the vehicle including the driver, then you are within the rules for driving the lane and you have a defendable case.
2. If number 1 fails then ask the judge for a lighter sentence. IE a lower fine, or trade the fine for community service. Or lower the fine and do community service. If you definatly broke the law take accoutnability for it and don't make any excuses. The quickest way to lose any options in court is to start making excuses....such as the number of seats your truck has....
90% of the time you will get what you ask for. Details can be found in the part you may have skipped....yeah I know long post but I'm bored.
Last edited by MisterTinkerTrain; Jan 1, 2004 at 05:32 AM.
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Rep Power: 0 High Occupancy Vehicle aka Diamond lane aka carpool lane are among the nastiest tickets you can get.
If you contest some other moving vehicle violation, you ask for a court date and on that date, a representative from the DA may offer you a reduced fine in exchange for the uncertainties of going to trial. But in CA, HOV tickets are different.
These tickets are, to the best of my knowlege, non-negotiable. The price on the ticket is what you are stuck with and neither the judge nor the DA has to ability to reduce the fine.
The only way you can have it eliminated is by winning at trial.
For the future, HOV violations are very expensive. If you cross the double yellow line to enter that's your 1st violation. Travelling in the diamond lane is your 2d and crossing the double yellow line to leave is the 3d. $351 times 3 is a lot of money but don't fret over these numbers.
If you commit a 2d HOV violation the fines are very expensive. A first violation is, I believe, $100 plus penalty assessment and other costs equalling $351. The 2d violation is $500 and add the same 250% increase puts this puppy at near $1,500.
If you commit the 3 violations I mentioned earlier that could turn out to be up to a $4,500 fine.
Nasty tickets.
If you contest some other moving vehicle violation, you ask for a court date and on that date, a representative from the DA may offer you a reduced fine in exchange for the uncertainties of going to trial. But in CA, HOV tickets are different.
These tickets are, to the best of my knowlege, non-negotiable. The price on the ticket is what you are stuck with and neither the judge nor the DA has to ability to reduce the fine.
The only way you can have it eliminated is by winning at trial.
For the future, HOV violations are very expensive. If you cross the double yellow line to enter that's your 1st violation. Travelling in the diamond lane is your 2d and crossing the double yellow line to leave is the 3d. $351 times 3 is a lot of money but don't fret over these numbers.
If you commit a 2d HOV violation the fines are very expensive. A first violation is, I believe, $100 plus penalty assessment and other costs equalling $351. The 2d violation is $500 and add the same 250% increase puts this puppy at near $1,500.
If you commit the 3 violations I mentioned earlier that could turn out to be up to a $4,500 fine.
Nasty tickets.
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