Friday, May 22, 2009
police Awkward cop interaction leads to seat belt ticket
Posted by Nathaniel Hoffman on Fri, May 22, 2009 at 9:46 AM
Sure, I'm guilty. But it wasn't supposed to go down like that.
Boise cops are in the midst of a seat belt enforcement gig—they get extra grant money to work overtime citing seat belt scofflaws, such as myself.
But yesterday after work, you'll recall, the weather was really nice. I did buckle up between the office and my kid's friend's house. But on the short trip back to our house, I did fail to click-it.
As I rounded the bend near Camel's Back Park where the police are frequently found, I saw the Ada County Foothills motorcycle cop, whose uniform reminded me to slow down. I considered reaching for my belt, but then I saw another officer friendly 100 yards ahead, pointing his radar gun right at me and thought it wiser to just stay the course.
I gave the BPD officer a little wave, slowed to a stop and continued on through the intersection. In my rearview, I saw him slowly mounting his motorcycle, coming up behind me and flashing his lights. Damn.
I apologized to the kid, who usually reminds me to buckle up and who, I had forgotten, was dressed only in panties in her kid seat. Then Officer Wieden (at least that's what his name looks like on the ticket, badge #469) asked me if I usually wear my seat belt.
Now, I know the law, but when you're caught red handed, it's hard to protest. He is not supposed to pull me over for waving at him without my seat belt on. Seat belt offenses are still a secondary offense in Idaho; you can be ticketed for free-belting, but not stopped for a violation of the seat belt laws.
I'm going to pay the thing. But the $10 citation is enough to piss me off but not enough to change my behavior. And the attitude of these special enforcement patrols, where quantity is awarded over quality, is a major issue in our society and one which deserves a full public airing in the near future.
Anyone want to talk about it?
Comments (17)
Showing 1-17 of 17
If I had kids I would defiantly wear my belt as an example, and I would always belt the children up as well. BUT as a Single Grown UP I don't feel I should have to be fined by the Mommy State to buckle up. This town has gone crazy siting and arresting people for more and more trivial offenses for the purpose of making money.
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Curious about the reason he gave for pulling you over. As you mentioned, as a secondary offense, you cannot be stopped for not wearing a seatbelt. Cops count on it being easier just to pay the ticket than to point out that THE COP broke the law (and violated your constitutional rights) by stopping you.
I wasn't speeding and he didn't have any other discussion with me besides the seat belt chat. But honestly, I wasn't taking notes, and perhaps my self admission at the outset was enough. I should have called a lawyer, eh.
And TroubleMaker and LikeMyRights, would you all consider uploading a picture to identify your profile... it can be anonymous, perhaps a photo of your seat belts or the Constitution. Just click Edit Profile in the top right to add an avatar... thanks!
Here you have it from the books.
Idaho Code
49-673. SAFETY RESTRAINT USE
(5) Enforcement of this section by law enforcement officers may be accomplished only as a secondary action when the operator of the motor vehicle has been detained for a suspected violation of another law.
I submit it is your civic duty to appear in court to correct the error of the citing officer.
The wearing of a seat belt, when in a moving vehicle, should not be secondary offense. IT SHOULD BE A (rigorously enforced) PRIMARY OFFENSE! Kudos to the Officer who found a reason to pull you over, and may have saved your life in he process. Seat belts were not designed to be inconvenient contrivances; they are there to keep you alive! Please get your priorities correct.
I disagree; it should NOT be a primary offense, because it gives officers one more pretext under which to pull someone over. Police are always fishing for DUI's or people possessing contraband. Being able to say "It didn't look to me like he/she/they all had their seat belts on so I pulled them over" makes it too easy for police to be lazy, pull any and everyone over on a fishing expedition for larger "crimes," and would lead to excessive violations of our Fourth Amendment rights.
I absolutly agree.
"it is your civic duty to appear in court to correct the error of the citing officer."
Give an inch and they will take a mile. We all must protect our rights at any fraction no matter how small. What is at hand here is nothing short of our personal freedom.
What a poor example you're setting for my granddaughter. And get some clothes on her. Didn't we buy enough purple twirly dresses for everyday of the week. Or is Tara not doing the laundry?
The seat belt law is not just about making money on traffic tickets,its about our legislators being corporate whores for the insurance companies,who don't think twice about stomping on our civil rights to do Big Insurance's bidding(seat belts,pre employment drug screenings)One interesting bit of reading is how much our elected officials took from them the year the seat belt law was passed(it's public record,look it up)And some people think fascism is dead.
Listen. No one likes being told what to do. And no one likes to pay taxes. The more yahoos driving without seatbelts and helmets, the more likely we are going to be footing an extensive and expensive medical bill that can reach years, even decades. Buckle up!
i was served a no seat belt ticket from officer H. for wearing my seat belt incorrectly, i had the seat belt buckled across my lap and the shoulder strap across my lower chest going underneath my arm. I have a port a cath that is a long term i.v. device placed in my upper left chest that is used for chemotherapy and iv therapy; and sometimes the pressure and the rubbing cause pain. I was not pulled over for any other reason. I was informed unless i have a doctors note to wear the chest strap under my arm they can ticket me for no seat belt since it is worn incorrectly.
Thanks for the support ya'all. I just paid the fine. Sorry. But I made it one day late in protest (hope the judge isn't reading this).
I've heard all the talk about why you should wear seatbelts and am old enough to remember when it became the law. The Boise City Chief of Police at the time had to issue a direct order to make the officers use them in the patrol cars. The officers had loads of reasons as to why they were unsafe for them to use. I have also overheard older officers telling younger officers that they don't need probable cause to stop a vehicle just do it and something will always come up that you can then use as the PC for the stop. You should have fought the ticket but still in my book only an idiot doesn't wear his seatbelt.
I too have been pulled over for no other reason than the police felt like checking if I had my seatbelt on. When I asked the cop to "please just write the ticket" all kinds of hell broke loose. One bit of advice folks. Put a small recorder in the glovebox of your car. When you get pulled over, pull it out, turn it on and put it on the dash. This revenue generating philosophy of the Boise PD and the State Police is insulting. At least the Boise PD Union has issued a statement that they do not agree with the idea.
What age are you people? You sound like little kids protesting your parents rules. Grow up and take responsibility for your actions. You broke the law and got caught. Shutup and pay the fine. If you don't like the law, then work to change it.
If it were about "safety" they'd have you go to class . And if they never got a red cent for pulling you over to "encourage" you to be SAFE do you think they'd be so johnny-on-the-spot about it? Hahahahahahah (wiping tears from my eyes)..... but seeing as they immediately seek to pull money out of your pocket it's clear that safety hasn't got a damn thing to do with it.
And, yes, when you're being pulled over and then conveniently rolled for something else then you're being taken by costume wearing clowns.
The comments about insurance companies are dead on. It was a money making exercise. Besides, if I "chose" to not to wear one and got hurt then who's fault is it? Mine!!! Thats who! Next thing you know you'll be required to wear a safety vest and helmet while INSIDE the car. Jeez!!! Gotta be safe! Clearly there are people who like being herded about like cattle or doing the herding.
Everyone seems to miss the point of how idiotic it is for a dude on a motorcycle to write a ticket to someone for not wearing a seatbelt.
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