[ZuminaZX]

I had some fun tonight. I decided to make use of the unseasonably (well this season it really is seasonable) warm weather and take my new bike for a ride. I removed the plate from another one of my bikes and off I went. Well, an officer followed me and ran my plate.
Long story short, the bike was towed back to my house, I wasn't arrested, but I was handed a ticket with: operation of uninsured MV, operation of unregistered MV, improper tags, and, for good measure, estimated 35mph in a 25 mph zone.
Fun times, eh? I'll have a court date sometime in a January and I'll be working overtime in preparation for the worst. The officer counseled me to both insure and register the bike and appear in court with the corresponding paperwork. Doing so could/would result in a reduction of the fines. Anyone have any advice? I have a 100% clean record, no tickets etc. After scanning through RMV site, it looks like I could be paying up to $1000 and losing my license for 60 days Any advice would be appreciated. I've just reaffirmed the old adage of paying for playing. DOH!

[union]

Are you in MA? Either way definately get it registers and insured to show you are trying to do the right thing. Also let them know you have a clean driving record. I got caught for doing 60 in a 30 this summer. The officer that pulled me over was a state trooper and told me to appeal it because of my clean record.

I appealed it and I let them know it was my first ticket. They told me to be more careful next time and let me off. If they are in a good mood hopefully you end up the way I did.

[ZuminaZX]

Yes, I'm in MA. I'm taking care of the insurance and registration tomorrow.
Did you have to file for a plea in abeyance or did the judge just let you off? I was pulled over by a local cop about two miles from my home. I wasn't out strafing highways, just riding through town, heading back home. I'm kinda ticked about the speeding as I was keeping up with traffic, keeping safe distance from the car in front of me.

[union]

I didnt talk to the judge. I delt with the magistrate. You probably will as well but since Ive only ever been once I cant say for sure.

They called me in. They then stated their side of the story. The state police have a rep there at all times. THen they asked me what I had to say. I told them I wasnt going that fast although they didnt believe me. Then I told them the only reason I was there was because the officer told me to appeal it since I have a perfect driving record. The magistrate then asked me if I lived in MA my entire life and asked if I had a job. Yes and Yes and then he told me to be more careful and let me off.

[Wishbone]

if you have a clean record then you will most likely get of with a small fine and continued without a finding for x amount of mounth, so be good and it goes away, at least thats what happened to a "friend"

[ZuminaZX]

Boy, I wish I was charged with just a speeding ticket.....
I had an MIP incident years ago. It was a a bogus case as I was functioning as a designated driver and a breathalizer test showed a big fat 0.000. I appeared before a clerk with a current college transcript which showed a 3.9 gpa. The officer presented his side of the story, then I was allowed to speak. I presented my documents and I was prompty dismissed along with the case.
I know this case is quite different from the latter, but I understand and am prepared to accept the final verdict. I live an extremely clean lifestyle aside from this infraction (I even worked as an unpaid volunteer with my church for two years over seas!). I've never touched alchohol, drugs, etc. Mebbe that would be worth mentioning.....

[TimTim]

i hope your state has a "Max court surcharge amount". thats a nice rule ive grown to appreciate here in NY.

I was ticketed with unregistered, no inspection, swapped plates, and no proof of insurance (proved that one in court)

The lack of insurance will be a tough one to bear...You took a large risk with that one and I'm sure some people would tell you to find a lawyer that knows the D.A.

I paid a couple hundred dollars and got a stern lecture.


GOOD LUCK!

[ZuminaZX]

How many points did you pick up in the process?

[TimTim]

Honestly, I never looked into it because they arent high-point moving violations in New York... just expensive

[BigShel]

Tell me this.

1. Why did he pull you over?
2. Did he check the Vin#?

If he did not check the Vin you may have a out.

[ZuminaZX]

He pulled me over simply because he heard me coming and decided to investigate. He did not check the vin, but he did run the plate.

[ZuminaZX]

Originally posted by TimTim
The lack of insurance will be a tough one to bear...You took a large risk with that one and I'm sure some people would tell you to find a lawyer that knows the D.A.

Indeed. I'm just looking pricing the whole matter out. A lawyer would mean $300 without any real assurance of results. Then again, if approached without one, I could walk for that same amount. I hate this stuff.....

[stevecbr900rr]

Bud your gonna have to suck this one up,...you switched plates. The bike you were riding was not registered to the plate you put on it. Your lucky they let you go home. They could have busted your balls and arrested you. Not a bad deal for doing something you should not have done in the first place. Good luck Bud.

[ZX-12R]

You are lucky that the cop let you go home. He could have teabagged you into the new year if he wanted to.

Lots of people think they will save a whole bunch of money by not insuring their bike through the winter. You are usually better off reducing your coverage to the bare minimum and leaving it registered for the winter. This way when you have a nice day you can still leagally take the bike out. If you see yourself riding extensively, you simply call up the insurance agency and they will restore all of your coverage. You don't have to pay a new set of registry fees or a large down payment to the agency like you do when you cancel your coverage.

[Doc]

Originally posted by ZuminaZX
Boy, I wish I was charged with just a speeding ticket.....
I had an MIP incident years ago. It was a a bogus case as I was functioning as a designated driver and a breathalizer test showed a big fat 0.000. I appeared before a clerk with a current college transcript which showed a 3.9 gpa. The officer presented his side of the story, then I was allowed to speak. I presented my documents and I was prompty dismissed along with the case.
I know this case is quite different from the latter, but I understand and am prepared to accept the final verdict. I live an extremely clean lifestyle aside from this infraction (I even worked as an unpaid volunteer with my church for two years over seas!). I've never touched alchohol, drugs, etc. Mebbe that would be worth mentioning.....

If your such a goody , goody, then why did you switch tags and ride without registration or insurance?

Just playing devils advocate.

More than likely you are going to get off if you do what the nice officer says, unless you get one of those judges that just HATE motorcyclists.

God luck.

[benVFR]

If you didn't notice they view this as a more serious crime then a speeding ticket.

They have to be hard-asses about unregistered vehicles, plate swaps, etc.. cause it's so common for criminals, illegal aliens, etc.. to drive around with swapped/illegal plates, etc..

And we're all asking for it riding around in the middle of winter. There are so few motorcycles on the road you draw instant attention from LEOs.

Of course with this crazy weather there are starting to be enough motorcycles on the road maybe the police will stop noticing so much. If we're all out on the road they're not going to continue to assume we don't have valid registration, insurance, etc..

[kmobrien76]

okay, so you were wrong, screw paying it, fight it like the rest of the planet does...

[hessogood]

Did you tell him the plate didn't match the bike? Most wouldn't notice.

[Punjistick]

You say the bike is new right? Aren't you allowed to throw a plate on from another vehicle just until you get it home. Maybe you just picked the bike up and were on your way home. *wink wink*

[chr|s sedition]

You'll be dealing with a magistrate, not a judge. They will call you in, and a rep from the police department will read the cops report. The magistrate will then ask you for your response. There are four ways to get out of a speeding / moving violation. They are:

(1) get someone to "fix it" internally.

(2) get a magistrate that "lets you off"

(3) have a compelling reason which justifies braking the law. If you have a hard-ass magistrate, there is *no* such reason. (ex: rushing to hospital)

(4) demonstrate the plain and clear error of the issuing police officer. (ex: broken radar gun)

(1) and (4) seem to be out of the picture. I don't think you can really come up a compelling reason under number (3). Hence, you are left with (2). The truth is, you broke the law and got caught. The only thing you can really do at this point is throw yourself on the mercy of the magistrate and hope for the best. If the magistrate finds against you, then you are given the chance to appeal the case before a real judge, and the issuing police officer will have to be appear. I would strongly advise against going that far with it.

-sedition
(offically 1/2 way done with law school as of this week!)

[ZuminaZX]

Originally posted by chr|s sedition
You'll be dealing with a magistrate, not a judge. They will call you in, and a rep from the police department will read the cops report. The magistrate will then ask you for your response. There are four ways to get out of a speeding / moving violation. They are:

(1) get someone to "fix it" internally.

(2) get a magistrate that "lets you off"

(3) have a compelling reason which justifies braking the law. If you have a hard-ass magistrate, there is *no* such reason. (ex: rushing to hospital)

(4) demonstrate the plain and clear error of the issuing police officer. (ex: broken radar gun)

(1) and (4) seem to be out of the picture. I don't think you can really come up a compelling reason under number (3). Hence, you are left with (2). The truth is, you broke the law and got caught. The only thing you can really do at this point is throw yourself on the mercy of the magistrate and hope for the best. If the magistrate finds against you, then you are given the chance to appeal the case before a real judge, and the issuing police officer will have to be appear. I would strongly advise against going that far with it.

-sedition
(offically 1/2 way done with law school as of this week!)

All very true. I already know the officer that will be representing the town. He's somewhat of a friend of my family and I'm thinking about going to see him off the record to talk about the matter. I also have a cousin who is a motorcycle officer in a neighboring town with whom I'm planning on having a nice chat. Fines are a given, I just don't want my record to carry a conviction for the rest of my life. That's something that will limit grad school applications, future employment, and the list goes on. I was just too blinded by the allure of riding on a relatively nice day to run that check list before popping into first. As I originally stated, I'm prepared for the worst and I understand the severity of the matter, I'm just looking for other's experiences and advice. To all those that have thus far contributed, thank you so much.

[chr|s sedition]

Originally posted by ZuminaZX
Fines are a given, I just don't want my record to carry a conviction for the rest of my life. That's something that will limit grad school applications, future employment, and the list goes on.

Wait, were these CRIMINAL charges?

[VinceF2]

Originally posted by chr|s sedition
Wait, were these CRIMINAL charges?

ding ding ding.... someone is paying attention...

90/34J is a criminal charge for uninsured...

90/23 is criminal for attaching plates...

90/9 is unregistered wich by itself is $100 cite... however once one is criminal they all are...

So this is not a matter of fight or pay... it's go to court, get arrainged... make a plea... get a lawyer etc...

and just an FYI about the "putting a plate on a new vehicle thing" if you read into it you must no longer be in possession of the vehicle the plate comes from... eg. traded in or sold etc... if you still own it and put the plate on the new vehicle it is attaching plates...

that all being said... you'll still probably pay some fines and get cwof'd...

Mike

[ChrisNoF4i]

Dang, I had the same situation occur one state to the north and I think I paid a total of $147.50 in fines.

[KB]

Originally posted by ZuminaZX
I had some fun tonight. I decided to make use of the unseasonably (well this season it really is seasonable) warm weather and take my new bike for a ride. I removed the plate from another one of my bikes and off I went. Well, an officer followed me and ran my plate.
Long story short, the bike was towed back to my house, I wasn't arrested, but I was handed a ticket with: operation of uninsured MV, operation of unregistered MV, improper tags, and, for good measure, estimated 35mph in a 25 mph zone.
Fun times, eh? I'll have a court date sometime in a January and I'll be working overtime in preparation for the worst. The officer counseled me to both insure and register the bike and appear in court with the corresponding paperwork. Doing so could/would result in a reduction of the fines. Anyone have any advice? I have a 100% clean record, no tickets etc. After scanning through RMV site, it looks like I could be paying up to $1000 and losing my license for 60 days Any advice would be appreciated. I've just reaffirmed the old adage of paying for playing. DOH!

I have some advice. Smarten up!!!

KB