Very Bad day (long)

[Red98GT]

Today started out horrible...and ended pretty **** bad too

We got back from vacation last night and went to the kennel this morning to pick up our dogs. Come to find out one of them died Wed. and they failed to call us.
So tonight I'm coming home from dinner with my girlfriend around 11. And another Mustang decided he wants to f*** with me. I'm not really in the mood to be playing games...but he decides to follow me anyway. I'm driving 70ish like I normally do and this guy keeps pacing...I mean literally following me home...waiting for me when I jump into slow traffic. So finally were side by side at a red light...where I turn to go home...and rather then let him follow me to my house, I fein a race with him hoping I could turn around and head home. Well we take off and I go hard thru 1st and into 2nd and let him move away fast...I slowdown and hit the first turn around. I pull into the 7-11 trying to cool off and drive sane...and the cop comes rolling in behind me.
Now, I'm not upset with the cop...just a lil mad that I didn't even really do "anything" and the other guy got away scott free. I have a long conversation with the cop, and explain what happened and he swears up and down that I know the guy. Then he pulls my girlfriend aside and talks to her...she tells him the same story. And the he asked her if I beat her? WTF? Yeah, she was a lil upset that I acted like a jackass and gave in to the other guy..but come on


__________________

[Red98GT]

So by this time there are 2 other cops there, and I know I'm taking it up the ***...and rightfully so...I broke the law.
The cop ended up giving me a $275 5 point ticket. Now the fine I don't mind so much...but the points I can't do. My record is clean and I don't think I could afford my insurance with 5 points.

Now my question is...what should I do?

I can either go to trail or send in the ticket marked as guilty with explanation..which just means I go and talk to the judge. I'm gonna try Monday to go down and see about Community servce and see how many points theyll knock off. I'm just worried the judge is gonna think I'm feeding him a bunch of b/s and just not care...

Sorry about the long post...I just really needed to vent..

[Themeneea]

i think guilty with explanation is a scam. you still are guilty, it doesnt matter what you say.

[Night Wolf]

first, sorry to hear about your dog, man, that would kill me if that happened

second, if you get the 5 points, then take defensive driving, besides 10% off insurance, it'll take 4 points off your record.....

[Red98GT]

I definately agree with u.....I broke the law...but theres definately a reason why I did it.....Its so uncool to have someone follow you to your house...It's happened twice before to me...and it was simply because ppl were jealous of what I drove. The cop did his job, but discretion falls into the judges hands too....I don't expect nor do I really want him to completely let me off.....
I'm in college right now, studying criminal justice so that I can become a Cop....and if this is on my record then I've wasted the past 2 years of my life..

[Red98GT]

Originally posted by Night Wolf
first, sorry to hear about your dog, man, that would kill me if that happened

second, if you get the 5 points, then take defensive driving, besides 10% off insurance, it'll take 4 points off your record.....

I did comm service and some b/s class a few yeras ago...when I was 16 I think...that was the last ticket I got before this one. I gotta go down and talk to the clerk and see if I'm eligible...

At least this taking my mind off of my dog for the moment...

[Jordon'sGrandAm]

I fail to see the part where you boke the Law? I mean the dude past you and like you turned arround. dude i so fight this, for 1 you where not racing or doing anything stupid. 2 the cop was an @hole. and you have a witness that says you don't know the guy and you where driving home. i don't get any of this but i would fight it. i mean if the speed limit was 40 and your doing 70 i can understand. but if the speed lmit was 70 then ok.

[Red98GT]

I can see why the cop thought I was racing tho....I took 1st out to about 6k and shifted hard...just so this guy would think i was racing him...well he did...and evidently so did the cop...I guess there are better ways that I could have handled the situation

[stevenr2185]

I would fight it too, did he clock you? There is no way he can "prove" you were racing, you even have a witness who would say that you weren't. And that beating your g/f thing, I just think he wanted to arrest you.... I hope you haven't wasted the past two years of your life, and money.... Sorry about your dog, good luck

[1mean99grandam]

man, atleast you got a good attitude about it. if anything is going to help you in this situation, it's going to be your attitude. Good luck.

[GA1999]

If you had really been smart, you would have pulled to the side of the road and let the jerk go by. Who cares who's car is faster than whos? Save that for the drag strip. Let the other idiot get the ticket and don't let your testosterone get the best of you.

[99SEDude]

I've heard that if you do take the ticket to court and the cop fails to show up for the hearing that the judge will dismiss the charges and you can walk away from it. I'm not sure how it works but I guess the trick is to get the cop not to show up. If you got stopped at night then try to set the appointment for the early morning. There is no way the cop is gonna get up that early just to go to court. Besides, he may not even remember what the heck happened that day, so he might not even want to deal with it, specially if he's got to go to court after working all night. Anyways, sorry about your dog man.

[MagusXIII]

You DO have his name and badge number, right? heh, we need to create a website where we can blast these cops. It is people like them that, sadly, give the law enforcement community a bad name. Just like those hicks in Cookeville Tennessee that shot a person's dog.

That cop was looking for trouble. You were totally cooperative with him and posed no threat. Yet he decided to abuse his badge. People like that do not even deserve to have a job.


Don

[1995grandam]

I've heard that if you do take the ticket to court and the cop fails to show up for the hearing that the judge will dismiss the charges and you can walk away from it. I'm not sure how it works but I guess the trick is to get the cop not to show up. If you got stopped at night then try to set the appointment for the early morning. There is no way the cop is gonna get up that early just to go to court. Besides, he may not even remember what the heck happened that day, so he might not even want to deal with it, specially if he's got to go to court after working all night. Anyways, sorry about your dog man.

thats true, but cops are gonna show up, cuz they get paid overtime for it. because when i got my ticket (the cop was on my side and told me to go to court and fight it) he said he would be there and that cops will most likely always show up because they get paid extra for showing.

[Red98GT]

Oh, this guy already informed me that he never misses a court date....but I'll see him there...just gotta get myself prepared, If I plen on going to law school..I might as well start somewhere.

I've been thinking....how can I actually be charged with racing...there was no effort to stop the other vehicle....I was just a convient ticket...he was working as security at the McDonalds next door...and just so happened I stop next to it to cool off....I think the more fitting charge would be something along the lines of exhibition of speed...time to go look up my laws

[Travis]

Man what a sucky day. I don't know what to tell you but you can probably talk to the DA about it and get it dropped off if you go to defensive driving and what not :D

[GA1999]

Hey...if someone is on my ass.....or trying to race me, I pull to the side of the road or into a busy parking lot if I think the other driver might be hostile. At least in a busy place there will be witnesses. Usually someone being hostile at someone else behind the wheel doesn't happen just out of the blue without some provoking. I'm 6'3" tall and 245.....not many people mess with me, nor do I provoke or egg on anyone on the road. He can say whatever he wants in court......but here's the facts:

#1 He's got the ticket for the feigned race
#2 The other guy was nowhere to be found
#3 He's a 19 y/o kid with a Mustang.....like a judge is going to believe any story other than the cops.

Guess he'll be paying the ticket and taking point reduction classes. Use some common sense guys, don't drive stupid.

[Red98GT]

Originally posted by GA1999
Hey...if someone is on my ass.....or trying to race me, I pull to the side of the road or into a busy parking lot if I think the other driver might be hostile. At least in a busy place there will be witnesses. Usually someone being hostile at someone else behind the wheel doesn't happen just out of the blue without some provoking. I'm 6'3" tall and 245.....not many people mess with me, nor do I provoke or egg on anyone on the road. He can say whatever he wants in court......but here's the facts:

#1 He's got the ticket for the feigned race
#2 The other guy was nowhere to be found
#3 He's a 19 y/o kid with a Mustang.....like a judge is going to believe any story other than the cops.

Guess he'll be paying the ticket and taking point reduction classes. Use some common sense guys, don't drive stupid.

I'm not saying he was being hostile...I'm saying I've had people follow me home before only to have my car f***ed within a couple days. #2...I guess he didn't exist...I was "racing" myself
#3...find another 19 y/o "kid" paying for his own $30k car and tell me how he feels about being followed
I never looked at the guy...as soon as you look at someone trying to race u, its sort of an acceptance of the challenge..yes, i was driving fast...but thats not uncommon....I do go 15 over at 1130 at night quite often...the guy literally ad to wait for me and find me numerous occasions....
I'm so tired of all the bullshit about peoples age...if youre raised correctly then it doesnt matter how ****ing old you are...so youre 28...I guess that means ur a fat balding "middle" aged guy that sits on the couch with his hand down his pants

[GA1999]

Whatever dude....have fun fighting your ticket.

[Red98GT]

Originally posted by GA1999
Whatever dude....have fun fighting your ticket.

Please don't refer to me as dude, you ultra-hip 28 year old guy...

[TA^Guy]

This is the ONLY warning you two will get.

Keep it civil, the both of you.

[Red98GT]

This is the ONLY warning you two will get.

:???:

[Gimli]

If anybody follows me around the only place I'll stop at will be the police station... or doughnut shop (same difference :D). If I have my cell phone with me I'll even call ahead to make sure someone's waiting for us there.

Besides that I really can't comment on the rest of your little adventure, I wasn't there to observe it. I've been around law enforcement for a while now and it's amazing how some circumstances can be interpreted differently depending on who's looking at it. It's all in the eyes of the beholder.

I'm really sorry for your dog too, that really blows...

[Red98GT]

yeah, I told the cop there that I was stupid and that I should have done something else. I wasn't really looking to narc on the guy, I was just hoping by the time that I got close to home he would have been gone. He wasn't and I got rid of him and stopped at the first place there were people. Theres no one here to blame but me...I just should have handled it differently..