so i was coming home from the lake today, way too many people there, i was agitated, put my rods and gear in the back, hopped in the passenger seat, and left... i was litterally 1/4 mile or less from the lake, crossed Meridian, into the mall parking lot, and then the lights came on from the Stater behind us... we pull over, and he walks directly to my door, not my girlfriends door whome was driving... we were in a parking stall, so there is no reason to not have gone to her side for safety reasons, but thats irrelevant... what is relevant, is he walked directly up to me, said "you are being recorded by audio and video, do you understand sir?" i replied "yes sir"... then, he said, "is there any reason you arent wearing your seatbelt?" my response, "i just left the lake, and kinda forgot for a second, as my phone just rang while pulling out"...124 dollar ticket.. no warning, just here, see ya later....

so, ive scoured up a little info so far, but, i always thought that police didnt have the right to pull you over for not wearing a seat belt, i always thought they needed a primary infraction that they could do that, what ive found so far, says exactly that... the article was written by some news paper, and not the police, and i understand that, but, i cannot find anything in the RCW that states that they can pull you over for that infraction alone...

heres the article
http://www.federalwaymirror.com/opinion/letters/19927549.html

heres the RCW
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.688

is there something im missing? or am i correct in thinking that it technically wasnt "legal" for him to do what he did? i appreciate cops very much, am always respectfull, never been arrested or taken to jail, but this is kinda messed up...i dont have an extra 124 dollars right now and cannot pay, so my only option is to go to court, and see what happens there....

so, was he in the right? do i sell a rod or 2 to pay for this? or should i go fight it in court because he legally couldnt have done what he did?

any help is greatly appreciated, no stupid comments please... thank you...

oh, and he hit the lights in the mall parking lot, NOT on SR 161 which is Meridian Ave in Puyallup... is that even legal in itself?

Washington State Seatbelt Tickets




Under Washington law, failure to wear a seatbelt is a primary offense. This means a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle if the driver or an occupant is not wearing a seatbelt.

Drivers and Passengers Sixteen Years and Older
Failure to wear seatbelt infractions are not limited to drivers alone. Any driver or passenger who is sixteen years of age or older may be issued a failure to wear seatbelt infraction. Any person who is issued an infraction will be responsible for the fine.

thanks RvW, did that become primary after July 1st 2002? i cant find any RCW law that says they can or cannot do it?

is this worth me even going to court? will they even cut it in half like usuall, or should i just eat it?

Perfectly legal on his part.........

I've been pulled over solely for no seat belt.

3X

They're $94 down here...

yea your right ASSu, ill keep the Berkelys and sell the Sages...


when did it become a primary infraction tho? is that article i posted not relevant? i know cops are cops, and can do what they like, but when has it been legal for a cop to pull you over in a private parking lot, for a traffic violation? like i said, we crossed 161, didnt travel down it, its 4 lanes wide, and out of nowhere, 150 feet from the street, he appears behind us... in a parking lot... if i have to pay, i have no problem doing so, it was my fault for forgetting for 1 minute... i just dont see how its fair, there are people speeding down that road all the time, and you NEVER see people pulled over really... it just seems to me like he was looking to write a quick ticket, and i was the lonely sheep that wandered out in the open... ive given enough of my damn money supporting the WSP and KC police departement in donations, my girlfriends uncle was Norm Maleng, as if he didnt do enough for the state... i cant even get a warning in a god damn parking lot?

The way I see it, just pay the ticket and move on. If you bend the rules, you have to be willing to pay up if you get caught.

her other aunt and uncle are FBI agents, so its not stretching it in any way... the cop didnt even want to see her lisence... uhhh, she was driving, how would you know if she was legit, had warrants, was a killer, or anything?

i was singled out, for some reason, and it doesnt seem fair to me... and i CAN pay the ticket, i just dont have 124 bucks to be throwing around like im in Vegas...

as far as your other idiotic comments, she goes to school full time, and wanted to go to the park there, so i said sure, i can mess around and throw some spinners... i also have only kept 2 trout from there, both 5 pound trout, and they ate just fine, on the BBQ...

obviously your mother didnt teach you to respect people, i dont need your stupid comments, as if i didnt already say that in my original post...dick...

do they still cut in in half if you go to court, or would i be wasting my time with this? i have roughly 12 days to decide, just weighing out my options... the state doesnt need any more money from me to line pockets of Governors and such that dont give a rats a$$ about the people...

i have ZERO debt, just not a ton of money... must be nice being you, and since when does me just going messing around for some stupid fish that will bite have anything to do with it? cant a person just fish anymore? cant you just not be an a$$hole? i asked for advice, not your retarded interpretation or opinion of me and my life, or what i do during my life, its none of your buisiness... so you keep on catching your puffer fish, and ill fish for the same old Salmon and stocker trout as much as i want... jesus your arrogant...

I got a speeding ticket, went to court and because I hadn't had a ticket for over 7 years, I got a deferment for a year. If I got another ticket, the speeding ticket would be enforced. If not, the speeding ticket would be removed from my record. What they would do with a no belt ticket, I have no idea but if you do go to court, the judge may cut you some slack, cut the fine or dismiss it. The only thing you know for sure is if you don't go to court, you better pay the ticket. You might be able to make payments if you do have to pay.

Fawking legislature started the deal out as a secondary offense, then made it a primary offense, same as cell phones. Give them an inch, they take a mile.

Stater has you cold. You were on a public road before you got into the parking lot. Where teh stop occured isnt the issue He got you.

Got pulled over for a dirty license plate on my utility trailer in McCleary by the new cop in town yesterday. Really? Mud from a pothole Hunter gets to fix got on it. He did the usual license & registration, verbal judo, etc., like the new guy trying to make a point. I asked him if he was going to carve me a ticket, and he said "no". I told him, "Nice pretext stop." Attitude go a little more stern at that time. I Iaughed at him, told him to relax, and then told him to talk to the other officers (friends of ours) so he would we were not the bad guys in town.

I did clean off the license plate when I got home.

i know this isnt a big deal, but i mean come on, in a parking lot? i would have put the phone back in my pocket, and seat belt on... its not like me not wearing a seat belt will hurt anyone else anyways... but it is the law, and i know that, but how far do you push the law? because guarenteed some fat titted blonde chick got pulled over 5 minutes ago by the WSP on the god damn free way, and got a "this is a warning maam, please put your seat belt on"... but no, this dipsh!t that thinks too much about stuff he shouldnt think that much about, forgets something, and since i dont have any [Bleeeeep!] that are relevant to him, i get the ticket... its all good, cops are cops, and are just doing their job... they dont write the laws, and theres no reason for me to be mad at them, what im mad about, is how it went down... just dont make sense...

Blue, when around people that can screw your life up (law), and are worth more money than everyone you knows family combined (clients), im the most respectfull person on the planet... what im planing to say, is :

i was in a rush, my phone rang, and i just didnt think... im sorry your honor, it will not happen again...

Redhook,

If you go to court and don't say anything but what is in the last line of your last post, you might get cut some slack. But if you bring up any of the other irrelevant sh!t you've been filling this thread with, the judge might see if he can raise the fine just for you being as stupid as Abu is calling you.

Learn the difference between relevance and irrelevance. It will save you a lot of time, and you won't appear as stupid. BTW, life isn't fair. Get used to it. Oh, and wear your seat belt dipsh!t.

Sg

nah, you didnt make anything seem less than it is... im saying its not really that big of a deal, but still, lol, i mean come on man... seriously? the driver of the damn car you just pulled over doesnt get checked? he looked at her lisence, and handed it back... kept mine to run my name and sh!t...

i bet if i shaved, and my hair was high and tight, and my earrings were out, i could have gotten away with a warning...needless to say, ill probably not get another one...

lol

lol... some of you fVckers are funny as hell...

Salmo, im far from stupid, and can prove that any day, any time ..

and screw seatbelts.. might help you when you flip a 8000 pound Suburban over, but aint gonna help you when you flip that shiny new convertible Mustang.... so who are they protecting?

























their pockets....

Last time I was stopped was for no front plate. I asked why the camera man and sound man were filming, cop says for training purposes only and not to worry about it. When he was done with me the camera guys said they were crew from the Cops TV show, but they did not need me to sign a release as there was nothing worthy of putting on TV. Damn, missed my big chance to go down/up in flames.

If you go to court there is no gaurantee that your fine will be reduced. The Judge could raise it to accomodate your immature attitude. If you really want some decent advice I would check with proper legal aurhority. Some lawyers will give you a couple of minutes on the phone.

little old for me.... so im thinkin this one...



then again, theres another one of my all time favorites by NWA... but like i said, i dont mind cops so i wont post it