Originally Posted by BlackScreaminMachine

I have always been respectful and shook their hands especially if they handed me a Promise to Appear, Having not help. I went in and was told exact words....

"The officer said you had an excellent attitude, I am not prosecuting you, have a great day"

It pays to be honest, forthright, and respectful.

Originally Posted by BlackScreaminMachine

If you get the option to plead, then you get a court date and see the Prosecutor, and then from there they decide if your going and what date. OR they have sometimes offered to throw out the ticket for a Donation or outright Nalli Or Nally (sp).

With my Promise to Appear, I do not have that option. I have to show up.

Originally Posted by HottestZ28

well i just called and found out the disorderly is going to cost 357 and the carless driving is 110 and 3 points which when my insurance finds out will make the prem. go up 25%. I just really have no words of this situation. I was extremely polite to the cop, did exactly what he wanted, he even asked me what was done to the car, original paint, sounds good- then he goes and tells me to fight it. How can you fight something you actually did but feel the punishment is way to harsh?

Originally Posted by multmigs

This isn't at all how it works in PA, since that's where he's got the tickets how bout not adding to the confusion...

If you get a citation in PA you have 10 days to respond to the citation by either paying up in full via mail or in person or going to the listed District Court and putting a deposit down to pleading not guilty to request a hearing date... If there is something you got charged with and you are forced to appear on it would be based on your prior driving under suspension or something that's no longer a summary offense like DUI

Originally Posted by multmigs

Ok, I've been over this before, but you were cited for D.C. which under section 5503(a)2 is defined as "makes unreasonable noise" or subsection (a)4 "creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act which serves no legitimate purpose of the actor"

The cop can easily testify that you were in a residential area, the due to his training/experience he knows the difference between a stock exhaust and aftermarket, that there are numerous complaints from the residents regarding loud cars and that while he did not see ur burnout, he heard it, then saw ur car, stopped you to confirm your type of exhaust wasn't stock and then checked the immediate area as he was driving back to look for burnout marks and didn't see any other vehicles capable of making the noise. You don't have to admit to anything just this testimony alone is enough for the preliminary hearing which needs to show that beyond a resonable doubt you were the person operating the car which made the noise.

The careless driving citation he will probably lose because again he did not see you driving the car, there is a chance however that the judge will just allow both instead of dismissing one or the other. Again I highly recommend that you go in and volunteer to plead guilty on the DC and pay it on the spot if they drop the careless citation, as there is no points etc with that and has no effect on ur insurance. I realize it a lot of $$ but would be cheaper in the long run. Otherwise if you do decide to have a hearing and testify you would be better off not saying a whole lot and just asking questions of the police like "did you look on other side streets etc for other cars which had aftermarket exhaust, did you measure my exhaust with any type of sound meter" etc..

Try to realize that the police could have tried to impound ur car, or cite you for other vehicle code things like 3361 Driving vehicle at safe speed, 3367 Racing on Highways, any number of vehicle inspection issues like aftermarket exhaust etc.... You are trying to lessen the fact that you did something which caused you to be pulled over without realizing that where you did it at and the complaints received by the police and any orders issued to them by local politicians or administration may have more to do with what you got citations for instead of how you behaved or what the cop thought about your car.

Good luck otherwise