Sorry in advance if this is in the wrong section.

I was hoping some of you guys in here could provide me with some insight on this citation i received today.

I was ticketed in Massachusetts by a town cop for the following
excessive noise (burn out) - $100
Tire sticking out past fender - $100
Bald/ Defective tires - $35

To begin i never did a burn out the cop just heard me. Never broke 35mph speed limit.
I do have 345's on the rear.
Cop must think my nittos are bald even though they are near brand new.

Now the part where i need help is that I do not live in Massachusetts. I have my car registered in South Carolina. I also have a South Carolina license. So my question is do i stand any chance fighting this in court? We don't have state inspection in SC nor do we have a fender law. Do these apply to me even thought i am just visiting a friend in MA?
I am still in the state for a few months so if its worth it ill fight in local court. Rather not pay $235 for not breaking any laws in my opinion.

Thanks.

 

For what its worth, I would contact the local prosecutor for that court, and ask him about the vehicles registration being from Sc. here in Ohio, a car from Michigan that isn't required to have front plate, can't be stopped for no front plate. Or vehicle is required to pass applicable laws in the state and county its registered. On the fender/tire u may be able to clear urself. The noise ordinance, or screwed. As for bald tires, measure the tread depth and photograph it. Going to court may save u from. 2 Of the 3. Worst case scenario, u go to court, lose, and pay anyways.

 

If you went to court you will loose. The police officer should have taken your lic. in ley of bond . Did he ? If you are still there go to court explain the tires. Do not question the officers obs. IF you have clear driving record ask if you can just pay the fine and not get the points. Inc. rates will increase a lot other wise. Or just forget about the ticket if they let you take with you and get out of town before you have to pay ! I'm retired cop 25 years road patrol. Now some states share driver records some don't. Meaning you get ticket in one state don't pay it and go home to your state It might not show up on your record. Now if return to the state where you got the ticket in the future they will have warrant out for you if the y stop you or just run your plate. For the record I would go to court tell them your sorry for the violation and hope for the best. Be honest and polite !

 

Mass does not report back to other states if you just pay the fine. If you have an out of state lic and reg. the easy thing to do is just pay it... Doing that will not get anything on your sc record. If you fight it and lose which you will in that liberal infested state you're likely going to end up with something on your record

 

I would just pay the ticket and call it a day. For 235 dollars its not worth the headache. Pay it, bite the bullet and sleep tight at night.

 

Yup just pay it and be done. One of the biggest reasons I moved out of that state when I had the chance. I had cop do the same thing to my brand new Mickey Thompson radials. Gave me a fine saying they were bald. Didnt even use a tread depth gauge.

 

That sucks man. My view point is that you should fight it because they had no right to stop you. I can see a noise complaint for $100 maybe but not the other two since it's out of state and the tires are pretty new. It probably would be easier to just pay the fines though.

If you do end up fighting, I would talk to the prosecutor like mentioned about and explain. Tell him you didn't do a burn out but you'll pay the $100 for noise but that there is no fender law where the car is registered and explain the tires come like that, that way they'll still get some money and you save $135...

 

If you do end up fighting the tickets, I would start by getting the Nitto tire spec details printed out (I put a few down below for you) and take them in to court with you. This will allow you to show they are DOT approved and they come with only limited tread on them. I can't remember if it is 6/32 of an inch on the Nittos or the Mickey Thompson's? Either way you can prove to the court that your tires are not in bad shape and come with the shallow tread depth from the factory new.

http://www.nittotire.com/tire/nt555r

http://www.performanceplustire.com/t...ag-radial-tire

http://www.tirebuyer.com/tires/nitto.../p/style/42391

As far as the others, as the retired officer said in his post above, be truthful. If your car is loud, admit it is loud and say you tend to only drive it as a weekend fun car. You have never had any problems with anyone citing you or telling you it is to loud. Then tell them you will not bring it back to Mass. without getting it fixed.

Lastly, re the burnout. I don't have any advice there. All you can do is say there was no burnout done. It is just that your car sound loud when you start out from a dead stop. Tell them if you would have done a burnout there would have been black marks left from your tires. As long as you can go back to the place it happened and take pictures of the road. Tell the court as a hobby you take the car to the race track a few times a year. Because you can't afford one set of tires for the street and one for the track, you bought a DOT approved tire that is meant for both the street and the track (make sure you say street first) and the soft tire compound would have for sure left a black mark that would be there for months if you would have done a burnout.

My final words would be:

"I am not saying the officer is lying your honor, I admit my car is loud and again promise to not bring the car back to Mass. and your city without getting the car quieted down. As I have shown by the paperwork provided, the tires I have are DOT (Department of transportation approved for the whole US) and the tread depth on the tires comes shallow directly from the factory like this. I never have heard that a tire sticking out beyond the lip is illegal, I see trucks with it all the time. These are the tires that the place I took my car recommended when I told them I wanted a street and track tire that was DOT approved.

I ask that you dismiss the tickets for the burnout and the tires extending out beyond the lip. I will agree the car is loud and understand I need to get it fixed before coming back to Mass and your city again. I agree to pay the ticket and court costs associated with that ticket.

Thank you your honor"

That is what I would do hoping to have to pay only one of the three tickets. By admitting and agreeing you should pay one of the tickets you look good in the courts eyes and if this doesn't work trying to get out of all 3 tickets would have never worked. I have used this approach with success a couple times in my lifetime. The fact that you bring paperwork with you to the court showing that you are telling the truth about your tires being DOT approved and they come with VERY limited tread brand new with show the judge you are not just blowing smoke up their butts.

The worse thing that can happen is they say no and they will usually add $40 onto the tickets for court costs. So, you just need to figure out if that is worth the risk. Sometimes you just get a judge that doesn't care what you say and what proof you provide. They want the revenue for their city's pocket book and you won't win no matter what. I have found from my experiences and my friends that it ends up at about a 50/50 split on the type of judges you get in traffic court. Ones that listen to what you have to say and supporting info and the ones that have you marked guilty before you even come into their courtroom.

Lastly, I have found that age does play a role in the courts findings for this stuff. The older you are the more they tend to believe what you say. If you have a clean driving record that comes into play too. I always believe in fighting a ticket of there is any chance I could get out of it. If you will be there anyway, why not take your chances, just my .02.

Good Luck!!!

 

There is a $25 or $50 non-refundable fee to appeal tickets in MA now. So if it is not ruled in your favor, it will cost you more than the dollar amount on the ticket. As much as it sucks, it may make more sense to just pay it and move on.

 

I would double check on the points from ma not counting against you in NC. I personally thought the could now where ever you are, but hopefully im wrong. Those citations would be 2 points a piece insurance wise. Worst comes to worse fight the tire ones saying it doesnt matter where the car is registered. I know a lot of guys here in ma the register else where if the own a home, mostly in FL because laws are strict here. About the burn out, state your case about the marks and car is just loud which again just goes back to your out of state registration again. If it doesnt say you actually did a burn out this should be a walk in the park in my opinion. Just dress appropriately and be respectful. Good luck. Had my fair share of court appearances for driving citations 99% of the time you will make out better or erased.

 

**** cops.

 

Sorry to hear about your bad experience in Mass I live in NH and have had my own run in down there. Now if I were you I would contest the noise ticket. If you didn't do a burn out and he says you did. Then he is a lying s**t bag, and I would bring all the proof I could. And as far as the outher tickets. You didn't know. Then again they will just say some smart *** remark , like "Now you do here is your fines". Like they know everything. In short I guess I would pay the court costs just to get to tell the truth. Maby get the cop familiar with the concept. Let me know how it turns out. If you get screwed over because you are in to cool cars. Ill go down there and roll my 325 mt drag radials. And may god punish the wicked