Ridiculous Hood River Citation

WindLogik · Since 09 Feb 2009 95 Posts Hood River

All,

I was pulled over about a month ago by a stater on my way down from a cruddy day at meadows. It was foggy and icy. I received two citations totaling $450 for silly reasons

Improper use of auxiliary lights

Obstruction of license plate

As to the first point, I had my fog lights on because it was foggy. My fog lights shine down on the roadway to illuminate the fog line and to help the driver detect ice. I see people driving with fog lights on every day around here (Hood River). Damn near every Sooby in town has its fog lights on.

As to the second point, I was cited because of using a Thule bike rack that plugs into my trailer hitch. It is the common type that everyone uses. I bought it locally and in no way feel that it prevents "plain view" of my license plate.

The officer was rude and gave me a $450 ticket - I'm pissed. I went down and set a court date today. If anyone has any constructive information I can use to help my case, post it or PM me. I am especially pissed about the bike rack. I am unwilling to let some fascist cop set a precedent to extract money from everyone in this town that puts a bike on their car.

I'll post the results of this waste-of-time. At the very least, be watchful of the cops around here and hang on to your wallet!!

quenyaistar · Since 21 Oct 2011 416 Posts Cougar, WA Obsessed

I got pulled over by a stater who said he pulled me over because my brake lights were not RED enough. Mad

forrest · Tue Jan 24, 12 10:21 am

Was it day time? I'd read the law you were cited as braking and see if it states anything about night time only, or day time only.

The bike rack thing is unfortunate, but I think you can argue that it's the fault of the bike rack manufacture.

jackZ · Since 13 Apr 2008 355 Posts Devon Alberta ca. Obsessed

A polish man of 50 ish came to Canada (Vancouver ) to visit family .
He could speak no English . He did not conform to the security rules that change as the RCMP-security officers mood changes . He was held in detention while his family waited not knowing any of the events unfolding behind the scenes .
At one point in his frustration he dared to lift a stapler off a desk and held it up to the RCMP , 4 police trained officers , they opened fire with the taser multiple times .
He died of cardiac arrest and his family was told after a year long tax payers cost investigation that they did no wrong .
2 Plain clothes officers ( RCMP ) went to a duplex to arrest a oriental dude . they went to the the door kicked it in , beat the resisting individual to where his face bones were broken and other damage done . then they found out they had the wrong house but those orientals all look the same so he is at fault regardless . No foul RCMP .
IT goes on and on .
In comparison $450 was a small price to pay for MR authorities bad mood , your lucky, it could have been much worse . Imagine if his wife had burnt the toast .
Good luck with the court appearance . You may need to spend money on a lawyer too tho Arrgh !

beech · Since 21 Aug 2010 486 Posts Longview, WA Obsessed

At your court hearing be calm and courteous, dress respectfully, do your 'splainin' and at a minimum I bet you get the amount cut in half if not more.

Go in red faced cussin' with your hat on backwards and it will not go well for you.

Laughing

Windance Crew · Since 18 Apr 2008 473 Posts Hood River Kite Shop Obsessed

I asked a cop about this instance after Dave told me about it. Right away he said the cop was a "bleeep" . Seriously. Then this cop asked if it was a young rookie. Clearly cops have a fair bit of discretion as to how and what laws to enforce.

I wish you good luck in court and agree that a calm & courteous manner will get you the best results.

corey4x4man · Since 13 Jun 2011 134 Posts Beaverton, OR Stoked

I looked all over and all i could find on this issue was this
http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/TS/docs/VehEq/Revised2fog_lights.pdf

eric · Since 13 Jan 2006 1861 Posts XTreme Poster

I'm good friends with two Staters. One is a windsurfer and surfer, the other an avid skier and boater. Both get, and live the Hood River life. My point being, this sounds like an outlier situation. Young officer? Really, really bad day? Regardless, go to court, and calmly and respectfully state your case. My guess is it gets thrown out assuming the officer shows up, which may not happen, then it's tossed regardless

Nak · Tue Jan 24, 12 7:16 pm

Plead innocent. Dress in a suit. Be clean shaven and well groomed. Show the judge you take this seriously. See the D.A. about dropping the case before it even gets to court. DO NOT BE ANGRY! Be calm, rational and convincing. Do not base your arguments on what is right, base them on the law. Practice your argument beforehand alone, in front of a mirror, then in front of others. Have them try and poke holes in your arguments. Hold a mock trial with friends acting as Judge, DA and Officer. Sounds stupid? How much experience do you have at this, and how much do the people you're facing have? A little experience can go a long way. Consider sitting in on a similar hearing if you have the time.

Licence plate: Take as many pictures as you can of cars around with similar bike racks. Claim common usage. The State clearly knows of this usage and accepts it as legal. Contact biking organizations in Oregon. Contact the manufacturer of the rack, indeed contact the manufacturers of ALL such racks. Get help in fighting this. They have a big financial interest in seeing this ticket fail. Were it to hold, they could lose millions. Mention that European countries provide drivers with the option of getting a third License plate to mount on the rack. Since Oregon does not, and Oregon clearly approves of the common usage of these racks, you can not be held to be in violation of the law. Also, Oregon does not--at least they used to not, check this out--require license plates on small trailers, which also block the clear view of the license plate. Make your case about the law, do not impugn the officer, even though his actions clearly mark him as an asshole.

Fog lights: Claim it's a safety issue. The lights are allowed by the State, and you were using them in a reasonable manner to protect the safety of yourself and other drivers on the road. Be very clear on what the weather conditions were. Do not call the officer a liar when he contradicts you, claim he is mistaken. Dig up information on the weather conditions at the time. The Officer may claim it was completely clear. If you can prove the weather was worse than what he says, you go a long way towards winning your case.

Good luck man! Believe it or not, this could be an important case. Do we really want Oregon banning bike racks, which is what this case could do by precedent?

I want to re-emphasize this: Get help from Oregon Bicycle associations and rack manufacturers!

D-Krep It Kiter · Since 18 Jul 2011 417 Posts Obsessed

Some great suggestions here... the only thing I'll add is that we tend to think that the cops & the court are one in the same. That the judge is going to look at you and say "hey, this is a fine, upstanding police officer we are talking about..." Not all. A good judge will be impartial. They know that cops can be dicks, and will hear you out as long as you keep it brief and respectful. If the cop swore at you, raised his voice, made any sarcastic remarks, or was belligerent (cutting you off, not listening to your explanation), those things are worth mentioning.

I got a speeding ticket cut in half right before we went in front of the judge (I still wonder if I'd held my ground if I might have gotten the thing thrown out). A friend of mine turned down the same offer, cop wanting to settle for half just before they went in front of the judge. Instead, he told the judge how the cop had stepped out in the road and waved him to the curb (speed trap) and when he rolled down his window the cop said "pull on over there and let's see what we can get ya for!". Judge threw it out, right then, right there. Fight it. You might get the whole thing tossed out. After all, the cop probably writes up a whole bunch of people to meet his quota, and then just counts on the people who are too busy or can't be bothered to contest it.

Good luck man!

dangler · Since 26 Feb 2006 1780 Posts WINDY SPOTS XTreme Poster

Or just realize that a lot of laws are stupid, enforcement is often arbitrary, all systems set up by man are flawed, and THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS JUSTICE!

Twisted Evil

sORRY, not very helpful or constructive. I was surprised to learn that fog lights are to be operated same as high beams, turning them off when approaching cars 500 ft. away, or following someone 250 ft. Taking your hand off the wheel constantly to operate a switch in dangerous low vis conditions seems an example of the stupidity of some laws.

I'd be curious if anyone else has been cited for the fog light thing.

I was cited on the same stretch for passing in a no=passing area, when the ONLY indication of said zone ( double line) was buried under the snow.

I think tickets MORE OFTEN THAN NOT are for revenue generation, officer quotas, than any public safety issue.

Nak · Tue Jan 24, 12 9:26 pm **Re: stupid laws**

scartch · Since 10 Feb 2008 29 Posts

what i have learned is that police officers are of two kinds...the kind that use "petty" laws to "get into" vehicles (ie, look for things like pot, dui or warrents. if you are clear of those then your attitude usually determins if you get a ticket. the other kind are looking to prove something (ie, rookies, people having a bad day, competative people)

WindLogik · Since 09 Feb 2009 95 Posts Hood River

Thanks everyone for the comments...

Nak, do you know of any localish bike organizations that would be bothered by this?? Contacts perhaps?? This is the citation that is problematic due to the precedent that it could establish. I think your idea here is great. Specific info on bike organizations would be useful.

Keep the comments flowing, this is great!

genek · Since 21 Jul 2006 2165 Posts East Po KGB

dancingwind · Since 18 Jul 2007 321 Posts Obsessed

It's complete bullshit that you get cited on operating and using equipment that you can legally purchase and hence use "legally", right? in the state of Oregon. It is common sense to conclude that if you can buy something legally then it is legal to operate it for it's function. I've come to the conclusion that cops sometimes use us to balance their States budget, especially when the economy is in dire condition. All the suggestions are great and right on the money. Do your homework and state facts. Dress neat and address the judge with due respect, sometimes that's half the battle. Try and stay calm and collected and don't get angry, it's not personal! The Judge knows only half the story, the troopers, now it's your turn to fill in the other half.

Hein · Since 08 Mar 2005 1314 Posts Possessed

Sounds like this officer is getting his strategy from Obama's prosecutors:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204616504577170853989728824.html

But there is hope...
SCOTUS won't let the cops put a GPS on your car just to keep track of where you've been.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577178811800873358.html

Sorry to piss on your thread with semi-relevant, political BS. Flames welcome.

I'd like to see some pictures of the offending driving lights and blocked plate so I can assess my own degree of compliance.

Good luck in the courtroom. Neither are moving violations so that's good.