SupraP-Z Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Hey guys, Im extremely annoyed, this has been playing on my mind for the past week or so. I was fined twice in two days for not wearing a seatbelt. The story: Right, I had parked on the side of the road, got into the car and was pulling out into the road, but id forgot to put my seatbelt on. I was going to tescos and the traffic lights were literally a couple of metres away from where i had stopped so as soon as the road was clear id gone straight into the filter lane to turn into tescos. Looked in my rearview saw a copper - thought nothing of it, turned right into tescos at which point he flashed his lights, i pulled over. First thing he said was, why werent you wearing a seatbelt? and i was lost for words as id genuinely forgotten, so i went about trying to squirm my way out of it (as you do), telling him id literally just got into the car and pulled into tescos and forgot to put it on - innocent mistake etc. Anyways, long story short i got a fine of £60 which i didnt really argue about as i was technically in the wrong. So the next day i was out and about, I had 100% MADE SURE that i was wearing a seatbelt, pulled upto a roundabout, nobody coming so i took my exit - 2 seconds later a copper pulls me over, gets out the car and asks me why i wasnt wearing a seatbelt? At this point i was fuming...had a right go at him (shouldnt have) and i explained everything after i had calmed down, he seemed like a nice guy, but he wasnt having it at all. There were two of them, and eventually one of them said: "I saw you put your seatbelt on, and even if you are telling the truth, its our word against yours if you take it as far as the court" So basically i got another £60 fine just because the Wan***s THOUGHT they saw me NOT wearing a seatbelt! Now a lot more was said during the conversation, i.e me trying to explain that i was wearing a seatbelt etc, but this thread is long enough as it is! I mean fair enough, the first time - that was my fault. Dont the police have anything better to do than go around checking peoples number plates and tires? and "Saving peoples lives" as he put it. Twice in two days! £120 down the drain! Thats just taking the pi$$! If i did go to court over it, what would be the point? As the copper said, its their word against mine. I cant do anything about it! Still fuming - a week later! Rant over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Doom Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Corrupt!! That's all i can say! And i imagine there'll be a lot more of this going on soon with the government reducing their funding. They'll be doing anything they can to make easy money. Speeding fines, seatbelts, number plates etc.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra_aero Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I'd go to court on this one. Argue you had got caught the day before so why would you forget the very next day after acknowledging you were in the wrong the day before? State your salary and say that £60 is a lot of money blah blah... Worth a try. I doubt coppers will show up for it either; for a trivial thing such as a seatbelt when there was no accident etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraP-Z Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 I'd go to court on this one. Argue you had got caught the day before so why would you forget the very next day after acknowledging you were in the wrong the day before? State your salary and say that £60 is a lot of money blah blah... Worth a try. I doubt coppers will show up for it either; for a trivial thing such as a seatbelt when there was no accident etc. I did mention this to the coppers, why would i even risk getting caught? i got fined once, im not about to waste my money again! I guess it is worth a try...but these particular coppers, although well mannered did seem adamant in "doing me in" And they did say they will be attending court if i decide to take it further. At the time i felt like going to the local police station and cutting off all of their seatbelts...even though this would do absolutely nothing for me, the silly things you think of when your angry eh? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supra_aero Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I guess it is worth a try...but these particular coppers, although well mannered did seem adamant in "doing me in" And they did say they will be attending court if i decide to take it further. I'd call his bluff. Go to court. Lose nothing by doing so. Well, a days wages if you are working . but that'll be paid back by the £60 you save if you win. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Corrupt!! That's all i can say! And i imagine there'll be a lot more of this going on soon with the government reducing their funding. They'll be doing anything they can to make easy money. Speeding fines, seatbelts, number plates etc.. You say that like it ends up in their own pockets. Police see nothing of the fines dished out. OP, go to court mate. If you're innocent, then you're innocent. Your argument of being caught the previous day is sound, why would you forget less than 24hrs later the events leading to the initial fine. The test for prosecution is 'beyond reasonable doubt', there's no way they can prove it. The coppers done his own legs by saying it's their word against yours. If that's the way it is, then it'll get thrown out. How can it be beyond reasonable doubt if it's one persons word against the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kammy Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 You say that like it ends up in their own pockets. Police see nothing of the fines dished out. OP, go to court mate. If you're innocent, then you're innocent. Your argument of being caught the previous day is sound, why would you forget less than 24hrs later the events leading to the initial fine. The test for prosecution is 'beyond reasonable doubt', there's no way they can prove it. The coppers done his own legs by saying it's their word against yours. If that's the way it is, then it'll get thrown out. How can it be beyond reasonable doubt if it's one persons word against the others. +1, definately take it to Court mate. I had this happen to me recently and I just thought it was a one off, didn't know they were practising it all over the place. In my case they drove past me at a round about and only came up to me because they were stuck in traffic, I had my seat belt on all the time and even when the officer came to the window. I basically said to him what are you on about as I was on my way to work and he just said don't do it again and walked off as the traffic cleared. He was just being an idiot as if he genuinely believed I was at fault why drive past me at the round about and wait for me to pull up behind their car. As per previous post, the CPS would have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you were committing the offence and from what you have said, you have valid grounds of doubt. The fact it's their word against yours doesn't mean they're not lying. It's happened to me before once when I supposedly went through red lights too and I asked them to take me to Court. Eventually got a letter saying they would not bother. Give it a go. Kam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formatzero Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 It,s not just traffic cops,in the past i would have supported the police until my daughter had a run in with them now i wouldn,t give them a nod in the desert . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a98pmalcolm Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 yer id go to court and tell them what u told us!! even if nothing happens it would show them that there are people out there that want to put a stand down on these type of rozzers!! And then they will more than likely never do it again!! They wasted your time an money now waste there time buy getting them in the court mate! Police need to earn respect as they mess up so much stuff now! Not many people turn to the police to sort issues nout now. in Bedford id admit there pretty sound... there is the odd tosser but there will be... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Gaz Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I'm sorry but I am sick of people saying 'havnt you got anything else to do', the simple answer for the officers who stopped you at that time would be 'no', if anything 'more important' came out they would have run off, they are doing there jobs, every law needs to be enforced to the extent that it has been decided it should be. Your right you should of been wearing your seat belt, I have been to several crashes where idiots down wear the belt and they are quite literally strewn across the road, pavement, gardens, it's there for a reason, and on the other occasion, if they were wrong, well, they are human, have you never made a mistake? I have served in the Met and I mean the word 'served' for 4 years, I still find it astounding when people enjoy a good bitch about the police, I have lost friends in this job and I don't doubt I will loose more. Good luck in court, you will need it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dr_jekyll Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 was this the officer that stopped you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson4347 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 They tried the same thing with my brother only they said he was on his phone and he wasnt, he showed them the call history but they werent having it, thecopper said the same thing our word against yours. So my brother said il go to court, nothing ever came of it! Bullies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supra Gaz Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 By the way, the police don't see any of the money that is fined, it goes into a big goverment pot. And we don't work on commision or any other stupid theory thats floating around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilson4347 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Im sure youre a nice bloke but people are bound to be angry when been told they were doing something that they were not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Doom Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 You say that like it ends up in their own pockets. Police see nothing of the fines dished out. Are you sure? I thought that some of the money from speeding tickets etc went back into the police fund? Where does it go then? Edit, just had a a quick seach and found this; Last year more than 2 million motorists were caught speeding on camera, raising £120m a year in revenue for so-called 'Safety Camera Partnerships' comprising police, magistrates councils and road safety groups. Taken from here - http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23370879-drivers-can-avoid-speeding-ticketsby-changing-lanes.do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martini Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 The police should be serving us, not babysitting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kammy Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 I'm sorry but I am sick of people saying 'havnt you got anything else to do', the simple answer for the officers who stopped you at that time would be 'no', if anything 'more important' came out they would have run off, they are doing there jobs, every law needs to be enforced to the extent that it has been decided it should be. Your right you should of been wearing your seat belt, I have been to several crashes where idiots down wear the belt and they are quite literally strewn across the road, pavement, gardens, it's there for a reason, and on the other occasion, if they were wrong, well, they are human, have you never made a mistake? I have served in the Met and I mean the word 'served' for 4 years, I still find it astounding when people enjoy a good bitch about the police, I have lost friends in this job and I don't doubt I will loose more. Good luck in court, you will need it Hi Gaz, I accept that there are some good officers just as there are good people/drivers out there. As always, there will always be some instances where an individual in the force has interpeted the law and decided he/she is going to enforce it in a different way. Just as there will always be the boy racer to exceed the laws in one way or another. Either way, as we all know, it only takes one person to give a bad representation of a group and consequently this argument will not go away and such a mark on the Police will never go away. As to taking it to Court, luck has nothing to do with it as long as you have a good solid case. Kam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dude Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Next time tell him to caution you and when he says anything you say will be taken down and used in a court of law go down the lines of 'OH MY GOD, PLEASE OFFICER DONT HIT ME ANYMORE' etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
add heywood Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Good luck in court, you will need it It's that sort of mentality that people have a problem with... The OP says he was wearing his seat belt, so he has not broken any laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purity14 Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Tint your rear window if you continue to get pulled for no seatbelts - its cheaper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benyon Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Tint your rear window if you continue to get pulled for no seatbelts - its cheaper Thats the liverpool way:d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluecoup Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 so 2 officers could stop every driver on the road and do them for no seatbelt if they had it on or not, if its their word against yours ??? seems fair get white or refelective seat belts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted June 17, 2010 Share Posted June 17, 2010 Sounds like a "Keep a lookout for a Supra reg no XXXXXXXX 'cos I caught the driver with no seat belt today" job to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraP-Z Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 was this the officer that stopped you? http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_images_n300/0515-0810-2119-1712_cartoon_pig_wearing_police_uniform.jpg Uncanny resemblence! except he didnt have writing going across his body...He would have if id have had the guts to do something about it though! LOL at some of your responses! i wish it was as easy to just yell something like STOP TOUCHING ME THERE! lol. Thanks for the advice guys, i will definately take this into court...either way win or lose, i know im innocent of this horrendous crime, and i will finally be able to clear my conscience! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraP-Z Posted June 17, 2010 Author Share Posted June 17, 2010 Tint your rear window if you continue to get pulled for no seatbelts - its cheaper Funny you said this...the exact same thought popped into my head after they pulled away lol Sounds like a "Keep a lookout for a Supra reg no XXXXXXXX 'cos I caught the driver with no seat belt today" job to me. Fotunately i was in my daily driver and not the supe! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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