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VMI77 wrote:I think they even have a name for it: "testilying""

That's just wrong... funny, but wrong.

For the record, I don't believe the trooper is lying; that would require him knowing he was making a false statement. I believe he is mistaken, and is firm in his belief that I did not stop. The dash cam, if it was running when he first saw me, would show either I was stopped, or that he could not see me until I was already moving which would show he could not have known if I was stopped prior to coming into view.

If the video was not running, it would be a "he said/he said" deal and since he is a "friend of the court", it would be what he said.

I still don't have a clear idea if the video would have been running, looking at google maps, he would have been about 25 seconds away from were I entered the road before he could see me. Add to that I went about seven tenths of a mile before he turned on his lights so I calculate that to be about another minute due to accelerating from a stop. So if the video was running 75 - 100 seconds prior to his lights coming on it would be on the video.

All this is accidemic anyway, it was only a warning ticket... this time.

Jumping Frog wrote:

Jaguar wrote:When the judge asked the officer about the event, the officer stated he could not remember any details, so the judge dismissed it.

Have you ever noticed how a cop will give a traffic ticket, and then after the driver pulls away the cop continues to site there for a few minutes?

I had a cop friend of mine explain he did that because he took a few minutes to jot down his notes about the stop on the back of ticket. Since the notes were made at the time of the stop, he was allowed to refer to them during his testimony.

Maybe the cop was feeling extra generous. That would be my BIL's luck.

I understand the the system TAM and C-dub, and I really don't like it but it is what it is.

On the other hand, my brother-in-law was ticketed late one night for an illegal u-turn and was guilty, but since he didn't want the ticket on his record decided to try and fight it. When he went to court he saw the officer there, remembered him clearly and figured he was done for. When the judge asked the officer about the event, the officer stated he could not remember any details, so the judge dismissed it.

Win some and lose some I guess.

sjfcontrol wrote:

Excaliber wrote:You handled the situation in the best way possible, and I think what actually happened is a bit more complex than you realize.

I suspect that the officer saw you beginning to pull out as he topped the hill and assumed you had not stopped at the sign and stopped you on that basis. When you told him you had waited at the sign for the truck to pass, he had an "oops" moment. At that point it dawned on him that you must have stopped and waited as you said because there would have been no other way for you to know if there was a vehicle was that far in front of him or whether it was a car or a truck.

A bit of ego likely came into play here, and instead of admitting he stopped you for a violation he now knew you didn't commit he issued a warning to save face without hurting you.

This obviously wasn't the best way to handle it, and he'll likely reconsider the wisdom of stopping folks under ambiguous circumstances, but the good thing is he wasn't willing to falsify a citation that might have gone to court and given him a choice between admitting a mistake there or committing perjury.

This was a learning experience for the officer and a confirmation for you that behaving properly during a stop, even when the officer is wrong, pays off in the best possible outcome more often than not.

According to the story, the officer says he's issuing a warning before the OP mentions the other vehicle.

Correct, the conversation started, "know why", "no", "you failed to stop, I'm issuing a warning"

But you are correct, he probably saw me pulling out as he topped the hill and thought I didn't stop. When the mind's eye sees something, it sees it, and it is hard to tell the mind that it did not happen the way it thinks. I believe the trooper believes he saw me roll the stop sign, and would testify in court that I did, it is how the mind works sometimes.

Maybe his dash cam, if it was running as he was traveling down the FM road, could be used had it gone to a ticket. At the very least it would show he could not see me until I was pulling out, at the most it would show me stopped. I don't know if they keep the dash cam on full time or not.

I need to vent a little tonight.

About 6:30 this evening my wife requests that I rent a DVD for us and pick up some fast food. So I hop in my car and head towards town. As I get to a stop sign for a FM road, about 1/2 mile from my house, I stop and look to the left and see a vehicle topping the hill about 1/2 mile down the road. The speed limit on the FM road is 60, so since my car isn't fully warmed up and I'm turning right I sit there and let them go by. As the truck goes by, I see another vehicle just topping the hill so I go ahead and pull out, going down hill my Chrysler 300 accelerates to 60 with plenty of room to spare for the vehicle behind me.

As I start going back up hill, I noticed the car behind is gaining on me rapidly. I take a closer look and it is a cruiser with a light bar on top. I check my speed, only doing about 58, and since the speed limit slows to 55 ahead, I start slowing down. By this time, the trooper is on my bumper and he hits his lights. I pull over in a area where there are piles of gravel stored for road work, and roll down the window and pull out my wallet.

The Trooper steps to the window and asks if I know why he pulled me over and honestly answer I have no idea. He tells me that when I pulled out on to the FM road, I did not stop at the stop sign and he was going to issue me a warning for that. At that point I hand him my DL and POI (I wasn't armed) and as an afterthought I hand over my CHL and he says "thanks for that" as he hands back my CHL and POI without asking anything about a weapon. I then look at him and say, "Sir, I did come to a complete stop, the truck in front of you was topping the hill when I got to the stop sign and I sat there for 15 - 30 seconds waiting for him to go by." He tells me that is not what he saw and he could issue a citation for the infraction. I replied, "I know the side of the road is not the place to argue, I'll take the warning." He walks back to his car and within a few minutes brings back my DL and a warning ticket I had to sign.

What bugs me about this whole thing is if he was in the citation issuing mood there would be no recourse for me. I could fight it in court, but really, my word against his, who would the judge side with? I know for a fact that I did not violate the law, I was wondering if I had a tail light was out when he got behind me.

Anyway, I was flabbergasted by the whole episode. What would you guys do if issued a citation for a law you know didn't break, plead your case in front of a judge and hope for the best? Pay up - and then keep paying higher insurance? This really bothers me.