Scott,
I've heard they have toughened the rules relative to driving school; e.g.,
don't they also fine you now as well as the $75 or whatever for the
"school"? Also, I don't know why I would know this ;-) but on your first
appearance in court you plead "guilty" or "not guilty" and then a second
appearance date is set. This second appearance is the only time the officer
would appear. It may be that in Allan's case he has a very good chance of a
"no show" since the citing officer was not a witness, which means that two
of them would have to be there. Maybe a bunch of us locals could show up as
"expert witnesses" to testify that 0-60 in five seconds is just normal
acceleration in a Tiger. Didn't someone post something about a special on
Speed Vision with a Tiger laying about two blocks of rubber? Now that's a
"display of speed"!! We'll just show that tape in court and rest our case.
As for Mark's comments about procedures and cops doing their jobs, I
understand that and, moreover, I try not to paint them all with the same
brush. However, we need to be aware that, once we run afoul of the law,
"cooperation" may no longer be in our best interests and we need to know
our rights and exercise them to the fullest, regardless of the behavior of
the particular officer. Of course, the best bet is to stay out of trouble
in the first place
Well, TTFN guys,
Bob
At 03:41 PM 7/17/99 -0400, charles paul wrote:
>Tough Luck Allen:
>What I did in a similar situation here in California is post bail, and then
>go to court. If the cop (both cops) are there, plead guilty and ask the
>clerk for traffic school. If you wait for the judge, he may not give you
>that option. When you apply for traffic school, sign up for the "at home
>school". The court house where you go will have a complete list of the
>acceptable schools in California. Believe it or not, the home school is
>just as acceptable as the ones that you have to sit in class for 8 hours.
>The home school gives you a study book and a test to complete at your
>kitchen table. Takes about 30 minutes. Then you send it in to them, send
>the coupon they give you to the court showing you have taken their class,
>and you are out only alittle time and $75. However, you still have a clean
>driving record. No points, no tickets on the insurance ...etc. Without the
>driving school you could be screwed with higher rates for three years. Most
>Classic Insurance companies will (or could) drop you. Good luck!
>Scott
>MkI
Robert L. Palmer
UCSD, Dept. of AMES
619-822-1037 (o)
760-599-9927 (h)
rpalmer@ucsd.edu
rpalmer@cts.com
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