Here's the deal...
I was driving over to my old apartment when I jumped on Hwy 77 north from Capital Parkway. It's a 4 lane Hwy. I was on my Honda VFR. I nailed it from the stop light and drove the 1/2 mile stretch till I got to the West O exit. I don't know how fast I was going but it was very very brief. Anyways, just as I'm turning off of O street...I see cherries behind me. For a second I thought he was after someone else because he hadn't come off Hwy 77 like I had but from further down west O street. But then he turned and followed me. So i immediatly pulled over. The cop(trooper) gets out and comes up to me. The first thing he says is..."do you know what the speed limit is on Hwy 77?" I didn't know for sure so I said "no." Then he says he saw me going much faster than the speed limit but he "didn't have a clock on me". So he then got all my info and went back to his cruiser. Right as this is happening...a civilian suv pulls up behind the cop and the guy gets out and it looks like an off duty State patrollman(he was wearing an NSP wind breaker). So the cop and this new guy start talking back behind the crusier. Then after a little while, the new guy just leaves. I think the off duty guy had something to do with me getting pulled over because i saw no cops on 77 which leads me to believe that this guy called me into his on duty buddy that just happened to be nearby. This may be a long shot but I smell something fishy. Then the cop jumps back in his car and begins to write the report which took forever. When he was done, he came back and tells me he's giving me careless driving and failure to stop at a stop light. He says, "this is the least I can give you". I'm thinking....ouch...this isn't good!!! I was completely expecting a speeding ticket. So I talk to the county attourney's office and try to setup an appointment to talk about this. But they don't have the time/staff to talk about every petty traffic violation so they tell me to piss off. Then i talk to diversion services and they say they can't do anything for me cause the failure to stop violation plus the careless driving disqualifies me for any kind of diversion. So i'm feeling like I'm getting screwed here. Other than going to my court date and pleading not guilty and asking for a public defendant...I don't know what else I can do. I'm in college and don't have much cash right now. It seems like the ticket is a little too harsh. Plus, I have a clean record too. No violations ever before this and I'm 22. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing? Advice? PS. Please save the lectureing about "driving responsibly". I'm looking for advice, not a father figure. Thanks
My bike's FOR SALE: 1991 Honda VFR 750  
Looks/Runs Great---$3500
Email me if your interested or have any questions. |
