In trouble, need help!

[Merzbow]

My neon switch was somehow turned on and I just happened to driv eby a cop before I realized they were on. He gave me a ticket, so I called the courthouse to see how much it was for and it is for $105 and 2 points on my liscenes...looking at the back of the ticket it shows that burning out doesnt give you and points so it is beyond me why you get points for having neon lights on your car.Anyways, if I get those points insurance will spike and I probably wont be able to keep the Vibe so maybe someone could give me some ideas on how to solve to problem, please don't be toooo harsh with the "well you had neons they are your responsibility" b/s, I already know my mistake please just give me some pointers.

[Merzbow]

No, but two of the girls I was with got curfew tickets...I only got an unothorized lighting ticket. According to the back of the ticket it says burning out doesn't give you any points.

[joatmon]

can't help you with the ticket, and I'll spare you the "we told you so" since that doesn't help. No idea what the laws/couts are in Michigan, but maybe it would help you with the judge if you could prove to him that you removed the offending lights from the car. try to be calm and repentant if your mom goes ballistic over it.

[nismo]

Just remove em and if sometimes they'll send a baliaf with u to check. So, make sure you take em off when you get there. So, yeah. Inder Singh

[Merzbow]

Yeah, I'll go to the court house tomorow, maybe the lady answering the phone mis-understood what the ticket was for when I told her. I just have a hard time believing that neon lights can give you points. I'll ask her in person. And then I'll take hte kit off before court and ask if that helps, thanks everyone

[Kari]

Isn't this like the third time you've been ticketed for those neons though? All of that goes in your record; maybe that's why you're getting points this time -- for being a repeat offender.

[nismo]

Yeah man. You gotta watch what you're doin man. Seriously. I got lucky with my tickets. Been tryin to calm down, but it's kinda hard. I love drivin for some odd reason. I think it's the car Inder Singh

[Mavrik]

well... what ppl do here is take the case to court if they don't want to pay the fine and plea before the judge. If the cop who gave you the ticket can't show up plead not guilty. Without any evidence your cleared.but thats Ontario court...

[Kari]

That's how it works here in Tennessee too. The cops usually don't show up to court, either. All you have to do is show up and you don't have to pay.

[Merzbow]

Yeah taht's how we do here too, or so I've heard. I've gotten pulled over 5 times for neons, once because I didn't know they were illegal...got a ticket that time but didn't have to pay it. Two were just random and they didn't give me tickets. One was because I accidentally flipped the switch with my foot so to solve that problem I moved the switch into the dashboard soI wouldn't kick it. Finally this time I still hav eno idea how they got turned on, it's not like I could have hit it with my knee...it's a toggle switch after all with a cover So for all the police know this is my first offence, this is only the second time getting pulled over in that city anyways.The first one I got in my city was for $75 and no points...so i dunno what the deal is here lol. Although, Roseville, the city the ticket was issued is probably the most strict and anoying city in the country lol. They are one of the only cities that does not participate in the Gratiot cruises for all you that know what that is!I accept the consequences to my actions but before I surrender I wanna see if I can find a way around it

[Mavrik]

well go to court with it and see what happens, worst case the cop does show up and you say you were not in motion with them on and flicked them on for the girls in your car to see with the intent to turn them off when the light turned green.and if the cop isn't there, plead not guilty.

[Merzbow]

ok thanks, it helps when people give me advice in court cause neither of my parents do I'll tell them I turne dit on to check the conection to my new exhaust and forgot to turn them off, you think that'll work?

[AKLGT]

well, i'm a believer in honesty. i'd recommend telling the truth. you don't know how they turned on. maybe you bumped the toggle switch or not but they were on. you've been warned before and are very careful when to have them on and when not to have them on. and for whatever reason, they came on unbeknownst to you. whenever you lie, it's easy to get caught in it and then you will be facing perjury which is far more serious than having your neons on!

[Kari]

Yes, if you get caught in a lie under oath, then you won't stand a chance of getting out of it. But, being that this is the 5th time you've been pulled over for the neons (and it doesn't matter if you were ticketed or not...they call in your license number before they even get out of the car), I'm willing to bet that's why you're getting points this time. Because you've been warned and they think you were bucking the law. So just be honest and tell them you don't know how the switch got flipped and it wasn't intentional. It also might help to assure them you'll take positive action to ensure it won't happen again. If you get points and have to pay, so be it. If not, consider yourself lucky and take some action to make sure it doesn't happen for a 6th time.

[Stang2Vibe]

Again, I really feel very strongly that this is a very stupid law designed not to protect anyone except the pocketbooks of police departments and to give the police another reason to mercilessly harrass the decent members of the general public. But anyway, if it was me, I guess I'd remove them as others have suggested before showing up for court. I'd tell the judge that I was very sorry that the whole incident happened and that my wiring was malfunctioning for the lights because I'm sure that I had them switched off, but they were on anyway. I'd say that I removed them because they were too much trouble and that I brought the car and they are welcome to inspect it for themselves. How tough they go on you depends on how big of an a-hole the judge is that day.It's hard to give you any specific advice without knowing exactly what the charge against you is and without being able to access the written laws of MI that govern motor vehicles and their usage. Here in PA, all the laws for vehicles and traffic are part of Title 75 of the PA Code. I don't know what the MI equivalent is, but I'd be looking for it online if I were you. I've found that the cops and judges really push the limits sometimes and often cross the line of what the law allows. You either have to hire a lawyer who knows how to combat this or look up the actual laws yourself to see if you can construct an arguement to defend yourself. Often, "the system" is banking on the fact that the general public knows rather little about the fine points of the law and abuses that fact in order to make money.

[03VibeGT6Spd]

In Michigan if the cop doesnt show at court and the ticket is dismissed, he can rewrite the ticket and it start's all over again.There is one way to keep it off your record!After the judge finds you guilty and he tells you how much your fine is.Send in a money order for $5.00 more then your fine is, They'll issue you a refund check.Now take that refund check and burn it, don't cash it!They will leave your file open until it's cashed, after I a few years of your file sitting around they'll send out another check. by that time it will be so old it won't matter.Don't be a dumby and over pay at the window they'll give you a cash refund and all hope is lost!Now you can send me $50.00 for that advise,It really work's at least in Michigan.

[Merzbow]

(removed), That tip sounds like some kind of video game cheat code lol. I'm sure it would work, but I wqent to the court house today and asked her about it. She said the ticket was for $95 ($10 less than the lady ont he phone said) and she said she wasn't sure about the points but they will proabbly be points. I asked if I could take the lights off and have it dismissed and she said yea, her son got busted for his Blue neons, and he did that.It was funy because her and I were talking and she was telling me about how she thought the neon light law was a bunch of b/s and she is a courthouse official!!! She told me to tell the judge "I thought they were legal and it was a mistake"So I'll probably take the neons off a couple days before and tell the judge that it was a mistake and they are now off. As I said, I don't care about the money I just don't want any points. Thanks for your advice though everyone.I still can't beleive they make such a big deal out of simple solid colored lights under the car, what a bunch of b/s. If you think an underbody kit resembles anemergency wehicle or if you cant tell the difference between the neons and a set of headlights than you have no buisness on the road to begin with.

[sloth]

You said you were ticketed once before and didn't have any points removed. I don't see how this would be any different, even though you were ticketed in a different city. It should be a State law and there for the same no matter what city you are in.

[Merzbow]

I was thinking that too....but we all know how retarded the city of Roseville is lol.