[Inky24]

I got pulled over a couple weeks ago and i started thinking about different situations. One question came to mind so here it is:

Lets say your riding a wheelie down the street, or speeding, or weaving it and out, or any other type of riding that can get you a ticket. If a passanger in a car grabs your plate and gives it to the cops can they mail u a ticket? Or lets say it's an off duty/undercover cop. I would assume an under cover cop would pull you over, but what about an off duty cop? Can they get you a ticket to? whats the deal? I'm just curious to what can happen. I heard they got cameras up in some areas that take pics. I don't like that idea, it's to "big brother" for me.

 

[Punkwood2k]

Off-duty cops cannot write tickets as far as I know.. However, I have heard of them calling one of their on-duty friends to pull you over..
If someone in a car gets your plate #, the cops cannot mail you a ticket.. or even pull you over unless they saw you themselves.. Its called heresay, and not admissible in court.

 

[04Kanotuna]

A private citizen can call and report a reckless driver with license #whatever. That in itself won't get you a ticket, but it may get a cop car in the area to look for you and give you a ticket if they witness the reckless driving themselves (or maybe get you a "random" stop to check your paperwork).
The last time I saw a ticket here it had a box for "not witnessed by myself but witnessed by ________, but I am sure that is reserved for other police and not just Joe Blow who is mad at you, say, an airplane cop would witness the violation but another cop on the ground would write the ticket (or, maybe as you say, an off duty cop that really, really, really didn't like what you did enough to waste some of his day off to teach you a lesson).
We have the camera deal going here now and I don't like it for the simple fact that as best I can tell it doesn't take into consideration extenuating circumstances, for instance as the light turns yellow you see a semi-truck behind you and are not sure he can stop in time, do you run the yellowish red light and risk the ticket or stop and cross your fingers? An officer that witnessed all of those circumstances would probably let you slide in that case. But, the city needs money, no, wait, I mean it is for our safety, so we live with it just like we live with the gauntlet of radar-weilding motorcycle cops we must pass through to get across town now.

 

[fengler]

after my reckless ticket, i now drive like a grandma on the streets. if im going to stunt ill just take it to an empty parkinglot/warehouse. if i need speed/twisites, ill go out of town a ways.

 

[shuriken]

Around here the local government put up cameras on busy intersections and sends tickets to offenders. So yeah if they have hard evidence they can give you a ticket.

 

[Colch636]

Punkwood you are completely wrong. Off duty cops can easily write tickets and issue through the mail, and if a private citizen gets your tag you can be issued a ticket by mail and the witness will testify in court. Most witnesses don't show up but the ticket can still be written. Also a cop can pull over anyone if a vehicle description or tag is given. You only need probable cause to be pulled over. Example if a cop gets a call that a green motorcycle and a yellow motorcycle are stunting on Wherever Ave and the cop shows up and observes a motorcycle fitting the description, he can pull them over even if he doesn't see them stunting.

 

[Inky24]

But, the city needs money, no, wait, I mean it is for our safety, so we live with it just like we live with the gauntlet of radar-weilding motorcycle cops we must pass through to get across town now.

:lao

Good info, i figured they can't do anything unless they have hard evidence. I mean, if anyone could call in a plate number i bet there would be a rediculously large amount of tickets being handed out.

I have definatley calmed down since i got pulled over. Im still wiating for my summons to come in the mail. Kind of sucks cause all sumer long i will be riding with that hanging over my head. I could just see something stupid happening to me, like im with my friends and we get pulled over and i get a ticket for something random. I just want to get this over with ASAP

Anyway, thanks for the info. :cheers

 

[Desp]

Punkwood you are completely wrong. Off duty cops can easily write tickets and issue through the mail, and if a private citizen gets your tag you can be issued a ticket by mail and the witness will testify in court. Most witnesses don't show up but the ticket can still be written. Also a cop can pull over anyone if a vehicle description or tag is given. You only need probable cause to be pulled over. Example if a cop gets a call that a green motorcycle and a yellow motorcycle are stunting on Wherever Ave and the cop shows up and observes a motorcycle fitting the description, he can pull them over even if he doesn't see them stunting.

I don't think so. if a cop witnesses you, they have to pull you over to give
you a ticket, they can't just mail you one. It goes back to the whole having
a right to face your accuser thing. Which also makes cameras taking a pic
and being mailed a ticket illegal. (they do that though)
Are you crazy, you think a private cit can call the cops with your tags, and
they will actually look you up, write you a ticket off of what some random
person said, and mail it to you? Do you have any idea what you're talking
about?
Sure if they get a call about you doing something they can stop you, but they
can't write you a ticket unless they witnessed it, or it was caught on camera.

 

[Inky24]

Are you crazy, you think a private cit can call the cops with your tags, and
they will actually look you up, write you a ticket off of what some random
person said, and mail it to you? Do you have any idea what you're talking
about?
Sure if they get a call about you doing something they can stop you, but they
can't write you a ticket unless they witnessed it, or it was caught on camera.

Thats what i was thinking. I mean lets think about it. Lets say you get some person who hates sportbikes and is having a bad day. They could just drive around, find a bike, grab the plate and call it in and say they were riding a wheelie or weaving in and out speeding around and then you get a ticket? Then just goes to court to be a dick and says you were flying around riding wheelies and speeding? Doesn't sound right and if that was the case i think there would be a shit load of tickets getting passed around.

 

[Young]

Think of it as any other violation of law. Can the police enforce other laws that were not broken in their presence? Of course they can. The burden of proof still remains. And depending on locality an "off-duty" officer can DEFINATELY enforce laws.

 

[Inky24]

Think of it as any other violation of law. Can the police enforce other laws that were not broken in their presence? Of course they can. The burden of proof still remains. And depending on locality an "off-duty" officer can DEFINATELY enforce laws.

Yea thats a good point to. Just because there not there doesn't mean they can't enforce it. But so many people break traffic laws every day and if everyone was telling on one another then we would all be screwed

 

[04Kanotuna]

I believe for the camera tickets to be valid the driver's face must be recognizable, not just plate #. It must show who is driving, or else you could say you loaned the car.

 

[OFFICER737]

Ok, will try to explain this it may take a sec because there are a lot of different issues.

1. An off duty cop CAN write a ticket. In this job we are on duty our regular shift and on call at all other times. Most times an off duty officer isn't going to get involved in "small" stuff unless they feel it endangers someone's life. Minor traffic stuff we try to avoid.

2. If a person gets your tags they have a few options: they can simply call and report the infraction, they can request a written report. If they choose to prosecute the offender they can file a written report and go to a judicial commissioner or judge and either have a citation issued or an arrest warrent issued for the offender. Depts. will do this but the affiant is made fully aware that they are prosecuting the case and not the officer and that they are responsible for showing up to court and prosecuting the case. If an officer arrives on scene he can issue a citation on behalf of the affiant as well and list the affiant as the prosecutor.

3. Traffic violations are misdemeanors and if they happen outside the officer's presence then they cannot make an arrest. There are only a few exceptions to this, in DUI cases, shoplifting( and the suspect caught on scene) and domestic assualt.

4. Citation by camera? Yes a citation can be issued by camera if the cam catches the tag number and it matches the vehicle seen on the video footage. The camera does not have to catch the driver's face. The reason for this is that the registered owner is reponsible at ALL TIMES for what their vehicle does no matter who is driving. This can be a little complicated though because there are a few exclusions also.

Anymore?

 

[Inky24]

That clears things up officer. I just have a couple more questions. In #2 you said a person can call in and do a written report. Then can chose to prosecute the person. Basically what you are saying is they can play the cop and take you to court right? Because in number 3 you go on to say that an arrest for a traffic violation cannot be made unless an officer is present so im kind of confused. Does that mean an officer must be present to make an arrest/give you a ticket?

 

[OFFICER737]

That clears things up officer. I just have a couple more questions. In #2 you said a person can call in and do a written report. Then can chose to prosecute the person. Basically what you are saying is they can play the cop and take you to court right? Because in number 3 you go on to say that an arrest for a traffic violation cannot be made unless an officer is present so im kind of confused. Does that mean an officer must be present to make an arrest/give you a ticket?

Yes they can take you to court and even have you arrested, depending on the charge. It's the same as if someone assualts you, you can procesute and have them arrested/charged and you play the cops role and deal with the court system. If a cop sees a violation that has been called in then the cop does the work, if a "private citizen" takes action then either have to get a cop there or go about getting a report and filing it with the court system. When it comes to felonies and officer doesn't have to be present, he just has to have proof that a crime has been comitted and he charge someone. On minor stuff like traffic, he has to witness it or the person that does witness it does the work. Did this help any? It's kind of complicated but as a citizen you have more rights to prosecute than we do as cops.

 

[Inky24]

Ahhh i got it. It clears things up. I was a bit confused because u went from assults to traffic violations so i was getting things mixed up. So basically when it comes to traffic the person has to play the cop and go to court. But when it comes to felonies or something more serious like a robbery then the police can get involved right? And when it comes to traffic can the citizen write a ticket or have a cop write a ticket, or all they can do is take them to court and they figure it out there? Basically what im wondering is if a citizen can just get you a ticket mailed to you without having to go to court first.

Sorry for all the questions i'm just being curious. Thanks for the info though :cheers

 

[DepWraith]

Yes, an off duty cop in Florida can give you a ticket/mail you a ticket if they witness the infraction. As for somebody calling the tag number in...they will send a cop to the location, but cannot write for traffic infraction unless witnessed by a LEO. Hope this helps.

 

[Bomb300]

I've had this happen to me before. When I first got my bike, I rode it around my neighborhood. It's just one big circle. Well, I guess someone wasn't thrilled with my riding and called the police. I got stopped. I told the officer I was just riding around to get comfortable on the bike I just purchased, nothing more. No ticket or anything.

 

[04Kanotuna]

4. Citation by camera? Yes a citation can be issued by camera if the cam catches the tag number and it matches the vehicle seen on the video footage. The camera does not have to catch the driver's face. The reason for this is that the registered owner is reponsible at ALL TIMES for what their vehicle does no matter who is driving. This can be a little complicated though because there are a few exclusions also.

Anymore?

I am still researching this for validity, but:

"4.9 Controversies and Legal Issues
4.9.1 To whom is a citation issued?
Four states–Arizona, California, Colorado, and Oregon–require that RLC citations
be issued to the driver of the vehicle at the time of the alleged infraction. In all
other states using RLCs, the citations are issued to the registered owner of the
vehicle no matter who is driving when the camera records the event. It is then up
to the registered owner to identify the driver, or pay the fine."

That is an excerpt from an Orange County Grand Jury report.

 

[OFFICER737]

Ahhh i got it. It clears things up. I was a bit confused because u went from assults to traffic violations so i was getting things mixed up. So basically when it comes to traffic the person has to play the cop and go to court. But when it comes to felonies or something more serious like a robbery then the police can get involved right? And when it comes to traffic can the citizen write a ticket or have a cop write a ticket, or all they can do is take them to court and they figure it out there? Basically what im wondering is if a citizen can just get you a ticket mailed to you without having to go to court first.

Sorry for all the questions i'm just being curious. Thanks for the info though :cheers

Yes the person complaining can have an officer write the ticket at the scene as long as both people are there, if not then they have to go through the court system. A citizen can not have a ticket mailed to another citizen.