Traffic Ticket for passenger seat belt violation
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Posted on: 22-05-12 13:02:46
Contest it - you got nothing to lose ... who knows what happens before the trial ?? If nothing else happens , you cannot get more penalty than the original ticket .....
Either the ticket may not come up for trial ( some times they have a back log ) OR the prosecutor may offer you a discount OR he may with draw the case OR worst case - you can still plead guilty and request the Judge to take a leneient view ... he may reduce the charge ...
I don't see no harm in contesting ....
What Web2000 says about Police Offiers not needing evidence is wrong ..In fact there needs to be undoubtable evidence to convict any one .... and a Police Officer's word is not enough if it is contested .
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Fido.
A vital point in such a case can be -- was the vehicle in motion when the Police Officer saw you not wearing a seat belt ... OR was the vehicle stopped when the Officer approached you and caught you not wearing a belt ??
Its a valid argument that you took off the seat belt immediately upon stopping the vehicle to turn around or ease yourself before the Officer approached you .... this happened in our case when our child was crying .... the Officer flashed at us -- when he appraoached us he asked my wife as to why she was not wearing a seat belt and she explained that she had just taken it off when the car stopped to ease the child .... and that was true and valid ....
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Fido.
As a best practice , I always wear a seat belt ...... even when in India and one is available .... Remember the air bag is still the secondary restraint system ... the primary under all cases is your seat belt .
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Fido.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
Contest it - you got nothing to lose ... who knows what happens before the trial ?? If nothing else happens , you cannot get more penalty than the original ticket .....
Either the ticket may not come up for trial ( some times they have a back log ) OR the prosecutor may offer you a discount OR he may with draw the case OR worst case - you can still plead guilty and request the Judge to take a leneient view ... he may reduce the charge ...
I don't see no harm in contesting ....
What Web2000 says about Police Offiers not needing evidence is wrong ..In fact there needs to be undoubtable evidence to convict any one .... and a Police Officer's word is not enough if it is contested .
Police Officers have enough experience to make the statement undoubtable.
All statements are doubtful till they are supplemented with evidence ..... if the Officer's word was final , there would have been no need for a Trial 
...
A Police Officer testifying does not have any more credibility than the defendant testifying .... You should attend some trials to understand this .
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Fido.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fido
All statements are doubtful till they are supplemented with evidence ..... if the Officer's word was final , there would have been no need for a Trial
A Police Officer testifying does not have any more credibility than the defendant testifying .... You should attend some trials to understand this .
I have experience of attending the trials and I wrote based on my own experience.
Let us say that police officer gives a ticket for not making a dead stop at the stop sign. He can tell a long story in the court but other than his own statement/observation he has no other evidence. In such scenario police officer's statement is considered right. In this case, can you tell me what evidence the police officer can provide other than his own observation?
Police officer's statement is much higher weightage than the defendant. It is not the same.
I have seen it happening in the court.
That is NEVER the case ..... If the Officer's word was a finale , there would have been no option of disputing the charge .....
If you say , you did stop at the sign and he says you did not .... chances are - in absence of any evidence or photos or witnesses , you are free ...to be convicted you need to be proven guility without a doubt ...an Officer's testimony is no more important than a defendants ......... that s the reason why the Prosecutor drops the charges most of the times .....
As told to me by the Prosecutor her self :
' The Officer was here this morning but since we do not have evidence , the Crown is withdrawing the charge ' ..... Heard on another occassion in case of a speeding ticket ..
Defendant to JoP : Just because the Police Officer says this and I say that , would you give more weight to his opinion because I ain't an Officer ...........
JoP : No ... but I am looking at the evidence ............
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Fido.
