Obstructed view ticket?

Question

i was driving ona busy street in my hometown. i was about to turn but there was a car comign so i did it really fast. next thing you know a cop is pulling me over. then he says i cut the person off (it was a student driver) .. i had four people in my car and i only have a provsional license. he said he i was getting pulled over because of "reckless driving". after he went back to his car with my registration and license, he came back and told me that he was just gonna give me a ticket for obstructed view. since im only 17 can i get away with not telling my mother and her not finding out? or am i going to recieve a letter in the mail and forever have this on my record? btw i live in nj .. about how much is the ticket?

Answer 1

Well, 1. Your parents dont get notified about your traffic tickets in IL and I've learned that most states are pretty much the same. And, 2. I cant tell if the officer gave you a break by writing you for a lesser offense or if he just sorta made the whole thing as he went along. Cutting someone off in traffic is usually just a ticket for Improper Lane Use or Failure to Yield. Reckless Driving is a lot harder to prove. That's why I think he pulled you over for one thing (and it wasnt really Reckless Driving) but wrote you for another, easier to prove violation.

Anyhow, tickets usually run about $100 or so, with traffic school and court supervision.

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An air freshener??? Ok, plead "Not guilty" and request a trial in front of the judge. Explain how your view is unobstructed and you can see through your windshield clearly, at all times. If you get the chance to question the officer, ask him if he sat inside your car and was able to see if the view from the driver's seat was obstructed. My guess is, he didn't. Did he let you drive away with the air freshener still attached to the mirror? If he did, then he obviously wasn't very concerned about it.

Also, he'll probably try to exagerrate the whole "reckless driving" issue in front of the judge and how you only got a ticket for a minor equipment violation, instead of the more serious moving violation. The second he brings it up, you need politely "object" and remind him that the ticket and trial is for "Obstructed View" not "Reckless Driving".

I watched a lawyer tear one of our (nerd) officers a new a55 for something similar. In this case, the ticket was Obstructed View-snow covered windshield. The lawyer brought up the same issues and easily won. I was so embarrassed, I wanted to hide under the table. The guy he wrote the ticket too was about 75 years old. It was lame......Good luck!

Answer 2

Unsure how it works out there, but here on the left side of the country parents have to go to court with juveniles. What was obstructing your view? Nothing in the story about that.