Thanks I appreciate it. I really just wanted to make sure I went up to the court prepared. I am not trying to get away with anything, just trying to make things right. I don't believe it is right that I should have to pay alot of money I don't have just because an officer "saw" my truck smoking.

 

Depends on the judge. If the officer FTA's and does not call in, then a judge may be more inclined to throw the case out. But the judge makes that call.

 

I doubt the officer is required to use a stop watch in order to enforce this violation. With his testimony and his experience, he’ll more than likely be considered an expert witness and the judge will probably rely on his testimony more than the defendant.

That being said, I think it’s better to try to get the citation deferred and move on. Life isn’t always fair, but a lot of time/money and resources can be wasted trying to beat this ticket. But that’s just my two cents.

 

Timmy, I was leaving an intersection so I was upshifting. It was 9 at night so it was dark, but there are street lights. It was also right about the time the cold front blew in so it might have been windy, I don't particularly remember. Point is he most likely did not "time" the event and offered nothing to prove that he did. Also, he says that he saw it coming from my truck, by the time he had his lights on he was driving through the smoke and it was pretty dissapated.

 

I agree he is probably not required to use a stopwatch. It is sad to say that it is not worth fighting because it will cost more money than the ticket. It is true for the most part. Basically an officer can give you a ticket for no reason and get away with it because he is the law, and it will cost you more money to fight it than to just pay it......one heck of a moneymaking machine right there!

 

If your right your right.It might cost ya a little more than a ticket,but you can win it.Dont know about where you live,but around here even if you win ya still gotta pay court costs Theres a small town near me that has been confiscating peoples cars for driving without a dl and selling them at auction(its been stopped by the alabama supreme court,but never should have happened to begin with)the same town is also known to charge kids with,get this....SUSPIECION of minor in possieon of alcohol...no beer cans,bottles or nothing,fine is 75 bucks.Can ya beat it? Sure,but I can assure you Itl cost ya more than 75 bucks to do It.Do what ya want to,but if I wasnt guilty Id come off the cash to win.....sorry so long Rooster

 

Yes, sad but true.

It's not worth the fight, When It comes down to your word against the cop, you know who's going to win. especially If they see any traffic violations on your record. just bring your checkbook, oh and buy the way, the cort probably takes American Express now.

i never could find where in the law it says that if they found you guilty for something else unrelated to the matter at hand, you probably are guilty for the matter at hand. judges do this all the time.

I can see it written like this:

Section 67 Part56c

If the individual(s) has been guilty for something before, The individual(s) is/was guilty for anything else He/She is blamed for.


Keep track of what it costs you... you can get it back later.

 

Don't mean to be argumentative here but YES he can be arrested.. Look at the section it is a Misdemeanor for the 2nd offense... Infractions you can not be taken to jail (except under special circumstances like no good ID, refusal to sign etc.). and yes the truck can be stored if you are taken to jail.. Storage incident to arrest.

Gerry

 

It was very windy and the smoke blew away from the street lights into an unlit part very quickly so there was no time for the cop to really see it. Not to mention that the cop was a block or two back on a different street than us and had to turn on to the street we were on before he could even get to us. I'm gonna stop right there before I start saying what's on my mind.

 

Its just one of those shoulda been somewhere else at the time.


One thing that counts for alot of points is the nighttime subject.

What is barely visible during the day looks like a huge cloud at night when headlights hit it.

But if you try to defend any of the thought of the 10 second rule, how much smoke there really was, the cop couldn't have seen it... youre admitting guilt.

So youre gonna have to pick one or the other.. no guilt, wasnt me, and play dumb about quantity of smoke like you have no idea what the regulations are... or take the blame for the smoke and argue how much smoke there really was.

However, i do believe that if a diesel in front of you smoked enough to get an officers attention... i hardly doubt most any diesel enthusiast could resist rolling into the throttle themselves......... did you feel the urge to push the go pedal a little yourself as you ate his smoke cloud? Did ya!? Sir remember you are under oath.

 

Oh I'll admit that, yes i did roll onto it. But here is the thing and I'll be more than willing to prove it, if I am at 2000rpm and roll into it, there is a haze but not smoke. Nothing to merit a ticket.

 

Go get an emissions test done before going to court.

Present it as evidence to the judge that your truck complies with the emissions standards and the Judge will have no other option than to throw out the ticket.

If you make your truck pass emissions, their argument, and your ticket get's thrown out.

End of Story.

 

Problem with that is that they don't do emmisions testing here.

 

My advice was tried and true. you want to ask me 'what ifs' and 'give us'?
read it again. The DTR good guy member had a situation, and asked a question- like so many before him and after we're gone when Jack is a trillionaire from all of our donations. Best of luck to ya BigNasty and pick your advice, you experienced it, trust you gut and keep the head cool. Never heard of a ticket getting 'deferred' per 03, but you can call the Assistant district attorney who handles that Court and ask for a reduction to a violation (parking ticket), that is an agreement you and he both sign.
Again, this is Texas.....if you broke a ball joint , do they shoot the truck?

 

I would have a mechanic in town check your truck for smoking and that it is running properly. Then you can show the court your truck is runing right and not smoking along with your story of the guy in front of you would go a long way to beating the bad rap.