I got pulled over and given a ticket b/c, in the city? I was in, you must have working license plate lights. Makes sense.
I’ve read the DMV manual, but that doesn’t tell you all the little laws you wouldn’t know. Let’s name all the minor car laws that you’ve been ticketed for, so I don’t have to learn this crap the hard way.
I mean, this is like an f-ing game, isn’t it? Let’s enforce little laws no one knows about so we can make revenue. The state should send a copy of their little freaking laws to every driver in their state :D. I’m about to switch to Libertarian, darn it!
Or even, let’s list non-traffic laws you wouldn’t know either.
I saw an episode of cops where a guy got a ticket for not having electric headlights on his bike- everyone knows you gotta have reflectors, but you also gotta have battery-powered headlights.
A lot of people don’t know that you are required to turn on your headlights when going over a bridge- even in broad daylight.
Cutting through a parking lot to avoid a light or sign is illegal.
If you let off the brake and roll forward a little at a light, eager to drive, you can get a ticket.
You gotta stop when turning right on red- seems obvious, but a lot of young drivers (including myself) don’t know it, and a female psychiatrist I spoke to didn’t either.
Parking with my car facing the wrong way. Residential street, 2 way traffic, his house was on the left, I parked in front of his house. A bunch of cars got ticketed that day in that neighborhood (screw you, Parkside PA!). I don’t know about other states, but here people do this all the time on residential streets.
I got a ticket for running a stop sign on my bike. :dubious:
I was once cuffed, thrown over the hood of a sheriffs car, frisked and ruffed up a little for walking across the light rail tracks in downtown San Jose, CA.
Then they gave me a citation.
So, yea…now that you know, try not to do that.
While there is consistency of traffic laws, there are certainly exceptions from state to
state.
A full stop at a stop sign is probably universal, but the headlights w/ wipers is not,
although it should be, IMHO. I’m referring to needing headlights in rain or snow, not
cleaning your windscreen.
Most people never think to periodically check the operation of all the lights on their
vehicle. It’s fairly easy to knock loose a taillight, brake, or backup light while loading
your trunk. Many newer cars have indicators on the dash to indicate an inoperable
light, but they seem to get ignored.
Generally any factory equipped lights must be in working order. I was pulled over for
a trailer ball blocking my rear plate, it was an just excuse because I was going to the
post office at about 3 A.M.
If you think traffic laws are tough you should try driving an 18 wheeler, especially in
interstate commerce. Lane restrictions, no operating on certain roads and streets,
weight restrictions by axle, quarterly safety inspections w/ three levels of scrutiny and
w/ a long list of items that put the truck “out of service”, meaning it can’t be driven
until repairs are made and reinspected. An interstate driver must maintain a log book
which accounts for all their time, on or off duty, as long as they are employed in
driving. Most states require passing through a Port of Entry and many have
scales/inspection facilities at interval within the state. If you own the truck there are
different permit/taxation procedures for almost all states. Then you must belong to an
alchohol/drug consortium and be subjected to random testing as well as testing after
an accident that meets a minimum threshold. There’s more, but I guess this kinda’
qualifies as a hijack, so I’ll quit.
BTW, trucking once provided a good living, but industry and government pressures have severly eroded that.
Me too, and the damn ticket cost $123!!! So, I went to court, figuring that the policeman would never show up. Well, he did. I told the judge that I might not have come to a complete stop, but I thought the price of the ticket was outrageous. The judge reduced the fine to $28, which I paid happily.
In 1971-72,Waukegan, Illinois, had an ordinance that required that cars parked overnight onthe street had to have parking lights or a dome light on all night. A lighted flashlight on the dashboard also sufficed.
My landlord decided to pave our apartment house’s driveway and parking lot. We all had to park on the street for a couple of days.
Since we all had beaters with weak electric systems, we opted for flashlights. Since alkaline batteries were not common and LEDs unheard of, our flashlights all punked out in the might and we all got tickets the first night.
Since the fine was only two bucks, we all just said to Hell with getting up in the middle of the night to change batteries the second night. That night, we weren’t ticketed.
AHunter, my husband got a ticket for something very similar (rolling through a stop sign in the dead of night with no traffic for miles). Police must get bored, eh?
My bogus ticket was for making an illegal right turn on a residential street. Yes, the sign was clearly posted, but it is a bogus sign (ie there for no good reason), which makes it a bogus ticket.
sleeepy, we were nearly hit head-on by a car pulling out of a parking space where he was parked the wrong way on a street. There really is a reason for that law.
Remember 15 or 20 years ago when fake animal tails hanging out from the trunk lid was popular? I was pulled over on a freeway because mine was blocking my back up light.
About 10 years ago, I got ticketed for doing 69 in a 65 on I-40 in northern Arizona. Cop claims he clocked me at 71 even though I was polite, respectful, and readily admitted up front that I had my cruise control set at 69. Being the nice guy that he was, he wrote the ticket for 69 so I would have the smallest fine allowable, $60-something.
Thanks cockbag. Hope you made your quota that week.
Ticketed for having window tint that was too dark. Around here, the law was 50% window tint. What they neglect to tell you is that most windows already carry a slight tint to them and by putting on 50% film, you go over. I had a cop actually bring out a gauge and measure it.