Racing On the Highway?

[EIXVO]

Spotted myself! In front of a cop car....
I was pulled over tonight in West Chester, and then told it was for racing? I dont know how that possible considering the fact that I was just driving around? The officer said another officer saw me doing it earlier? Does that make sense? I wasnt racing I was driving the speedlimit all night? If I take the matter to court arent they goin to believe the police officer over me? The ticket simply says, "Racing on the Highway." No speeding, careless driving, etc. What? Do I get points or is it just a fine? What did I do!?

I WASNT RACING!!!!!!!!!

WTF!

( no i did not give anyonethe finger)

[WhiteXFire]

Woops, just PM'd you because I can't reply to the other thread, then I saw this one.

It's 5 points and an automatic 6-month suspension of your license.

So, go to court and hope you get it dropped or lowered to something else.

[EIXVO]

I thought that was for the second offense. Section 3367 says the penalty is simply a $200 fine for first time offenders. Check it out, I posted the Racing on the Highway section from penndot, in the ask the law section. They dont have anything on me, they said they saw me earlier. No speed, no plate, etc.. They just felt the need to profile me. WTF!

[WhiteXFire]

Originally Posted by PT350

I thought that was for the second offense. Section 3367 says the penalty is simply a $200 fine for first time offenders. Check it out, I posted the Racing on the Highway section from penndot, in the ask the law section. They dont have anything on me, they said they saw me earlier. No speed, no plate, etc.. They just felt the need to profile me. WTF!

No, if you're convicted of three serious offenses within a certain amount of time, you can lose your license for 5 years.

Racing, first or any offense, is:
http://members.aol.com/StatutesPA/75PA1532.html
(b) Suspension.--

The department shall suspend the operating privilege of any driver for six months upon receiving a certified record of the driver's conviction of or an adjudication of delinquency based on any offense under the following provisions:
Section 3367 (relating to racing on highways).
Section 3734 (relating to driving without lights to avoid identification or arrest).
Section 3736 (relating to reckless driving).
Section 3743 (relating to accidents involving damage to attended vehicle or property).

And, I'm not saying it based on the website, I called Harrisburg in February and asked.

[EIXVO]

I dont understand how they can claim that they saw me racing earlier that night, and basically just make something up. They have no proof?

[EIXVO]

I wasnt racing, thats why Im so pissed off, I was just driving around and all of a sudden lights.... They made up all this ****. Of course it will be there word against mine.

[iso]

take it to court, if there is no proof of you racing, what can they do? i would advise going for a free consultation to see a lawyer.

[1988 Olds]

That sucks dude, I got the same ticket about a year ago for cruising up and down the parkway and oxford valley road. I never knew they were Highways anyway. I didn't even get pulled over. They sent me and my buddy a ticket in the mail. Luckily we got away with only a small fine and no-suspension because no-one that had ratted us out showed up in court.

[xfsasx]

i got the same thing in Philly a couple of my buddys and I went to the street races and we were on holestien and just pulled off to the side to shoot the ****. There was no racing going on there was no one on the road but me and my buddy's cars. Some cop came outta no where and "pulled us over" (we were already parked on the shoulder) and gave us tickets for "Drag Racing". I was like this is bull**** but he said that its gonna be hard to prove i wasnt cause i have gauges in my car or some **** like that! Mother ****er impounded the car too! I think its a ****ing bull**** ticket, but im going to court with all my friends that were with me (4 of us got tickets). I hate cops!

[WhiteXFire]

Originally Posted by 1988 Olds

That sucks dude, I got the same ticket about a year ago for cruising up and down the parkway and oxford valley road. I never knew they were Highways anyway. I didn't even get pulled over. They sent me and my buddy a ticket in the mail. Luckily we got away with only a small fine and no-suspension because no-one that had ratted us out showed up in court.

It's not the classical definition of "highway" that you're thinking of...it simply means a "road".

Definitions, "Highway."
The entire width between the boundary lines of every way publicly maintained when any part thereof is open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. The term includes a roadway open to the use of the public for vehicular travel on grounds of a college or university or public or private school or public or historical park.

In other words, any surface anywhere maintained for the purposes of public vehicle travel...

[Scapegoat]

just remember to ask the cop, where exactly were you spotted racing, at what time of the day, have them describe the car you were seen racing against, have them describe your car, ask the officer there if HE or SHE was the one that spotted you racing, if not request that the spotted officer be brought in for questioning and go over it again with them.

Take your time, be calm, draw it out. Have a list of questions to go through. Consider hiring a lawyer if you don't think you have a chance by yourself. Cops and Judges are tough cookies, the cop thinks he is right no matter what, and the judge agrees with the cop till you prove him wrong.

If you've been around during the day buying stuff, or working, bring receipts or a time card from work. If they say "we saw you racing at 3:49pm an highway ***" and you pull out a receipt with a time that says you were buying something at that time, they're screwed.

If you used a CC or Check Card, call your bank up and ask them to send you any receipts from that day. If they're BS'ing the ticket they may just make up a number and you might have proof that you were no where around that area at that time.

In all likely hood, they saw someone racing in a car similar to yours. But it is still a BS call on the cops part. fight that ticket.

[Gorilla Unit 33]

take it to court end of story. plus they would have to prove who/what you were racing

[05Accent]

Yea he was definitely not “racing” all we were doing was driving in a “pack” you could say, it was about 4-5 cars driving close together, so im sure they when they saw him earlier that night that he was driving with someone, so they might of thought he was racing, but still he did nothing wrong. I saw the cop he came out of no where. And pulled him over. There was NO speeding involved. So everyone was like WTF!

[teh DIRT]

when you drive a car that has "racing" equiptment on it....your bound for trouble.

These include:
a lowered car
a car with aftermarket wheels
a car with huge fart cans
a car with a HUGE wing
a car with graphics
a car with a young kid driving

take these outa the equation and you will never be harrassed.

[05Accent]

i like how you Emphasized on the Huge wing.
I hate when police profile.. which i think it was in this case!!

[EIXVO]

Oh yeah, for sure this was all profiling.

[05Accent]

yo i called u pick up! we need to go down to westchester.. i need to settle some things also

[2point4DSM]

Originally Posted by 05Accent

i like how you Emphasized on the Huge wing.
I hate when police profile.. which i think it was in this case!!

It happens all the time. My wife's colleague got pulled over cause he was driving aggressively. Not necessarily weaving in out of traffic, speeding, or blowing stop lights. He was rushing to the hospital cause he is a cardiologist and one of his patients was in trouble. Unfortunately, being a black man and driving a nice car got him noticed. Eventually, he convinced the officer of this fact and was let go.

How many times have we heard similar stories.

Profiling sucks but in fact cops are trained to do this. It's part of the job. It's how they get the bad guys. Unfortunately, it's not perfect. That is why we have lawyers and courts.

And cops aren't the only people that do this. When you you take a math test or are put on a scale to see how much you weigh guess what they are doing....

[Raven18940]

Get a lawyer, take it to court, dress nicely, and then it's on them to prove that you were in fact racing. However, this isn't trial by jury, it's the judges decision, and if he doesn't like you he could find you guilty. So make sure you look respectable and be well mannered.

[EIXVO]

Thanks guys, noted.