Driving the car today, stopped at the gas station, filled er' up and drove away. Went down the road about a mile to an intersection, noticed city cop in median of intersection and realized I hadn't put my seat belt on. Took the right turn, put on my seatbelt and next thing I know blue lights and I get pulled over.
Gave the cop my drivers license and found my proof of insurance card---expired as my policy renewed yesterday and is paid up. So he goes back to the cruiser and 5 minutes later comes back, asks me if I know why he pulled me over of which I asked "why" he says because you weren't wearing your seat belt, hands me 1) a ticket for not wearing my seat belt and 2) a ticket for no proof of insurance which he said they would waive once I produced the documents to the police department. Asked him what the fine for the belt was and he claimed he didn't know. So I looked up the law:
MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972
As Amended
SEC. 63-2-7. Offenses and penalties; recording of violations.
(1) A violation of this chapter shall be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) upon conviction; however, only the operator of a vehicle may be fined for a violation of this chapter by the operator or for a violation of this chapter by a front-seat passenger and no fine shall be imposed against the operator for a violation of this chapter by any person unless at the time the operator was charged with a violation of this chapter he also was charged with some other offense and he is convicted of both offenses. The maximum fine that may be imposed against the operator of a vehicle for a violation of this chapter by the operator or for a violation of this chapter by one or more front-seat passengers shall be Twenty-five Dollars ($25.00) in the aggregate.
(2) A violation of this chapter shall not be entered on the driving record of any individual so convicted, nor shall any state assessment provided for by Section 99-19-73, or any other state law, be imposed or collected.
SOURCES: Laws, 1990, ch. 436, Sec. 4; 1994, ch. 567, Sec. 1, eff from and after July 1, 1994
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So you tell me WTF is going on here other than a "fishing expedition"??
Dull day. Probably just going through the motions to prove to his superiors that he was actually doing something. The old "no seat belt on" is impossible for you to refute without a carload of witnesses.
It's really simple. I work out in your area and it seems while the City PD is a real good department, their officers are not at all familiar with the law. A lot of their stuff gets thrown out of cort because of this lack of legal knowledge.
Same bunch told me that it was still illegal to cary a concealed weapon in my vehicle. I keep a copy of our " Castle Law" in the center console. I pulled the highlighted copy of the statute for him to read and asked him if he really wanted to write that ticket. He declined.
Nice young man, but they are not totally trained in what is a violation and what is not. Those items are LIGHTLY covered in the training centers. In depth training is supposed to happen in their training as a rookie with the department. Evedently that is not happening.
You may also want to check that statute that you quoted for updates. The "Click it, or ticket" thing is being pushed real hard throughout the entire state. The statute may have been revised last year.
Sorry to hijack, but can anyone explain how this works...
cptdent,
Yes, this happened in the "oyster" of our community.
As far as I can find out, the "Click-it or Ticket" thing is nothing but a campaign to get people to wear their seat belts. I have found nothing where the law has been changed. Given that 99.9% of the time I do wear my seat belt. This time it just escaped me.
It's kind of like Frank Zappas' "Dynamo Hum".....the $25 don't matter, it's the principle of the thing. And how many people in the same situation just go on and pay the fine. Is it worth the $25 to just go on and be just another motorist in the community, or bring it to their attention, argue with them and be "marked"? When the same hand that pays the cops pays the judges, where is there justice?
Interesting link JB. I find it odd that when I lived in MI they ruled DUI check points unconstitutional, but ruled that you could be pulled over for no seat belt. Including the passengers not wearing one. Then everybody gets a ticket in the range of $250 or so.
Here in AZ you can't be pulled over for no seat belt (yet) but DUI check points are a regular and seeming constitutional procedure. Oh, and so are camera traffic tickets. Oh, and any passengers are also subject to search for no reason once the driver has been deemed "guilty", or maybe not guilty, but maybe so, perhaps in the judgement of the officer....
Big Brother is alive and well and coming to a state near you. It is ALL about the MONEY!! As far as profiling bad guys, I fully support it. Just leave us regular hard working geezerized folks alone and do your job to go catch bad guys fer chrissakes.
No hijack intended either, just answering JB 🙂
Great post! I have seen the same videos dealing with "Open Carry". If you are not doing anything wrong they can't arrest you, but they can and will lie to you; the Supreme Court has ruled so. The minute they talk to you and you answer they have you.
Although anyone with any brains will wear a seat belt, all that law is, IMHO, is an opportunity to exercise "Probable Cause" and go on a fishing expedition looking for something to really get you for. I didn't mean to be negative about people who forget to buckle up. I occasionally forget myself for maybe the first 1/8 mile.
Asking if you know what they stopped you for is only a ploy to get you to admit to a crime of some sort.
So It Must Be A Secondary Offense ?
You can be written up for no seat belt without another infraction only if the law says it is a Primary Offense. Well at least it is not Tertiary.
Paul in PA
>I occasionally forget myself for maybe the first 1/8 mile.
Last year I pulled out of my driveway and as I was backing out I saw police a about 300 feet up the street, I pulled up on them and they gave me a ticket for no seat belt.
Other than that I have a squeaky clean drivers license...I personally thought it was BS but if push comes to shove, I broke the law.
Yes it pissed me off, I went to court and asked them to drop it, they did not, I moved on.
That stinks.. i would fight it if he really couldn't pull you over just for that.
I've found that not reaching for the seat belt if you've forgotten it is the best way to go. I also don't slam on the brakes if I roll past a radar runner since I figure a few miles over isn't going to get him too excited, but if I look nervous enough to brake it draws attention.
Well, I stand corrected
Spoke with a home town police officer whom I've helped in the past, he told me to dig a little deeper into the law and I'll find where the MS Legislature changed the infraction to a primary offense. Sho' nuff, back in May of 2006.
http://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/2006/pdf/history/HB/HB0409.htm
Maybe if you didn't look EXACTLY like the Big Lebowski you would have gotten off with a warning. 😉
Show Me the Evidence!
After stopping a car for speeding, I asked the driver why she wasn't wearing her seatbelt (It's the law for driver's to wear seatbelts in Ohio). The driver (a very attractive young lady) said "I'm an exotic dancer, and the seatbelt pinches my nipple rings and hurts. So I don't wear a seatbelt 'cause it hurts if I do. If you don't believe me, I'll show you." She also told this story in court. The judge found her guilty and told her he didn't need to see her evidence. ....... Submitted by...John Ferguson, North College Hill P.D., Ohio
pretty sure I was "profiled a few years back. I was driving south on the 4lane with traffic in my old pickup, when I was pulled over for speeding. I think he figured I was without insurance, because his grin disappeared when I handed over the proof of insurance.
What if you're working?
On a typical day of surveying we get in and out the truck how many times? 5, 10, 20, 50 on a good day. A couple times an hour is normal. Maybe even including 15 or 20 miles of project travel distance on that given day.
Personally, I wear my orange vest under those conditions and do not take it off until my day is completed. It includes an array of pencils, a 60# nail, a chaining pin, majic marker - all in my upper left slotted pockets intended for such use. Taking it off would modify my work mindset karma and I'd likely FUBAR on something. Not good.
During the days of plumb bobs (before seat belt laws), I always wore mine on the right side. Pouches, machete's, even a side arm on occassion, etc. always were on the left side so they could hang over the seat. Never took that stuff off either. Same work mindset juju concept.
A seat belt under such conditions was not, and still is not - an option. Just like that poor stripper. It's about one thing and one thing only - revenue. They pass it off as public safety, but it's really about the money.
What if you're working?
Commercial drivers are exempted in certain circumstances such as delivering newspapers.
What if you're working?
Dave -
So are Police Officers !
DGG
Derek
they are exempted from most things such as:
*talking on the cellphone
*texting
*typing on a laptop computer
*stopping at stop signs
*stopping at red lights
*speed limits
etc.
What if you're working?
In cases such as that I just pull the belt over my shoulder.
