I attended a party this past New Year's Eve on the other side of town. It was in MADISON, which will mean something to local drivers.
I got stopped on one of the local 4-lanes as I was turning left in a lane that ONLY turned left (a T-intersection with TWO left turn lanes). I had seen the officer approaching me in the opposite lane and also saw him pull up behind me at the light.
He pulled me over after I turned left. I need to add the detail that it was POURING DOWN RAIN. He asked for my registration and I could not find it and he stood there and got soaked. Then he went back to his car.
He then wrote me THREE TICKETS. One for not having my registration, one for "failure to dim high beams" and one for "failure to use turn signal" as I executed the left turn (in a lane that ONLY turned left!!!).
Let me add that I had been at a Church party, and had not HAD A DROP of alcohol, and was proud to tell him so.
It was immediately obvious that he was simply pissed that he had to stand out in the rain early in the AM of New Year's Day (about 12:15 AM to be exact...it was a CHURCH PARTY, lol, everyone went home right after New Year's.) and was taking it out on me.
I disputed all three tickets. First, on the registration, it's standard that you simply show up on the court date, show them your replacement registration (which is free at the courthouse) and they dismiss the charge. Let me say though, that he had radioed in my license plate and KNEW my registration was okay! This law is a relic of a bygone era and should be modified, IMO. But whatever, either way it was no big deal.
On the failure to dim it was written on a four-lane road in POURING RAIN and I felt the high beams were necessary to even see the road! This one was fun. I actually bothered to read the law, and there was a LEGAL DEFINITION of what high beams constitute in the state of Alabama. Specifically, your lights have to illuminate something no less than TWO HUNDRED FIFTY FEET down the road in NORMAL ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS and IN TOTAL DARKNESS. The place where the ticket was written had VERY BRIGHT STREET LIGHTS and it was POURING DOWN RAIN! Furthermore, I had been involved in an accident in November (FTR, not one that was my fault
). Someone pulled out in front of me when they should not have and I hit them (forutnately at a low speed), but my point is that there had been work on my car in early December at a body shop, and MY BRIGHT LIGHTS WERE NOT EVEN ADJUSTED properly. LOL! There are actually bubble levels on the headlights themselves that showed they were pointed way too far at the gound. I even took my car out and tested it, and the high beams only went about 150 feet. It was a SLAM DUNK. That one was dismissed.
As for the turn signal, I thought I DID use one. But even if I had not, I was prepared to argue that I didn't need one under the circumstances (no where to go but to the left!). The officer stated that he had video evidence, so I asked to see it, and if it had showed that I did NOT use my turn signal then I *probably* wasn't going to fiight it (I doubt the judge would buy the "didn't really need it" argument, no matter how true it was). Plus, the prosecutor had the other two tix to use as leverage. He offered defensive driving for the turn signal and outright dismissal of the other two. I took it.
I might not have bothered with the defensive driving, but I am looking for a new car and don't want my rates spiking up.
Okay this is very long...sorry for that, but it was complicated. But here is what I think. THe cop was an ahole abusing his authority, and I have HONESTLY thought about suing him AND the City of Madison for violating my Constitutional rights. There is in fact an Amendment that says we are not to be subject to "unreasonable search and siezure". I think the officer was VERY unreasonable. I could decide to be unreasonable and SUE THEIR ASSES OFF. So far I have not, but I am keeping my options open.
