S-10CREWCAB.NET

well as the title says, im wondering if its worth it to fight my fine.

A month ago i was with my buddy in his blazer wheeling on this one trail. as it turns out when we go to leave theres a cop sitting at the trail head wating for us. He took all of our info down and sent us on our way. Well to day i got a letter stating i got a fine for $259.50 , becuase i was operating a veichil in an unaurthorized area. But wen the cop stoped us i was a passenger in my friends truck.

So do you think it would be worth it to fight since i wasnt operating the vechilce?

paintballrocker wrote:............becuase i was operating a veichil in an unaurthorized area. But wen the cop stoped us i was a passenger in my friends truck.

So do you think it would be worth it to fight since i wasnt operating the vechilce?

Would need to see the statue or reg that he referenced to to say one way or the the other but, it sounds like it should be fought.

Your friend needs to get smacked anyway. There has been problems there or the LEO wouldn't waste time waiting at the trail head for you. Initial impression is that others have created a problem and caused complaints from private landowners or public agencies and this is why our off road areas are closing everyday.

Was the fine for trespassing?

I would see if you can talk to the judge or magistrate about it before the court date. If you used good manners with the LEO then they might cut you a little slack.

Chris.

well i dont have a court date yet, but im sending in the paer saying i plead not guilty. the fine wasnt for tresspasing, it was for operating a vechile in an area that is posted no vechiles. but i was a passenger. \

can i be guilty by association???

I think you might be ok. LEO do not all ways know the law as well as they should before writing a ticket.

Trespassing would have had some teeth but since you were not operating the vehicle just a passenger then you were not the one in control of said vehicle. That would be the same as writing everyone in a car a speeding ticket and not just the driver. However with trespassing one would say that if you knew the driver was going somewhere they should not be you could have asks the driver to let you out before taking your person someplace illegal.

So I would fight it because I think the ticket was written under the wrong code. The ticket might have the code on it you might try looking it up.


Chris.

I dont know much in the law area, but as lng as it didn't say tresspassing, id think you could fight it, and win.


Did you know it was private property? Any posted signs? Im curious on the details of this trail you was.

well i got my court date for sept 28.

Heres a basic run down im going to use for my defense:
well first of the sign doesnt say no tresspasing, just 'closed to motor vehicles".
The no dumping sign is bigger than the no vehicle sign.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o387 ... CT0290.jpg

Also on the post with the no vehicle n no dumping signs is this little guy.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o387 ... CT0310.jpg

The trail is wide enough for a vehicle.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o387 ... CT0300.jpg

Also in this pic they blocked off a walking trail that cant fit a vehicle, but yet the trail they didnt want us on they left open.
http://i341.photobucket.com/albums/o387 ... CT0295.jpg

Note; in thesess pics they started construction on the trails, none of the fences, tractors or equipment pictured were there at the time of the incident.

Your defense should be that you were not operating a vehicle this area. Your friend was the driver and is guilty, not you.

i plan on using that but when my dad called to ask about it the officer said i got a fine because my friend said i was there the day before, which i dont remember if he said it or not.

im just trying to prepare for the worst becasue i really dont wanto pay the fine for something i didnt do

Sounds like hearsay. The officer can not act upon that, unless your friend is the one pressing charges and wishes to testify directly.

Ill have to agree with Brule on this.

I have been half tempted a few times to take my truck on public hunting land. Theres no signs saying "no vehicles" but rather a large gate at every road. Usually at the main back gate, its shut, looks like its locked, but no lock in it. I could easily open it drive in and close it. I almost did last time, but decide to walk the 2 miles ONE WAY to my hunting spot to put up my trail camera and back out. Then saw a truck on the logging road on the way out. Might get away with it on a weekend, but dont think ill chance it. Pretty cimiler situation to you if I got caught, except I would be the driver.

It really sucks too, cause after the first split in the road about half a mile in, you can see no vehicles have traveled that road in months. Further up the road a large flood washed trees in the the roads made some creek crossings a little wider/rougher. It would be a fun drive into their to check on my trail cams, but, even if I did that I wouldnt do it during season, but i got way off topic there.

Keep us updated. Unless they have proof you was there the way before, that should be thrown out and the officer reprimanded.

You were charged with some thing you didn't do, so you can fight it.

On the other hand please follow posted signs from now on because your friends actions of disregarding posted signs gives all off roaders a bad name. We should not wheel where we are not allowed to for fear of being caught. We should avoid these areas for respect of the people and wildlife that might be drastically affected by our actions. There may have been a nest or den that was located so close to the trail that the mother may not return. Though, it may have been as simple as constuction was going to begin and the company wanted to make sure the area was clear of people before they began their project. We don't know why signs are posted and we don't need to. If there is a sign please try to comply with the request.

I don't want to be an ass, I just want to spread the word that has been passed to me by my wheeling elders.

I hope you win this fight, but come away with a lesson learned.

Good luck,
Paul

Sounds like hearsay. The officer can not act upon that, unless your friend is the one pressing charges and wishes to testify directly.

yeah thats what i thot, because even if my friend said that the cop has no proof of the claim being ture.

Blaz, we didnt see the sign otherwise we wouldnt of gone, becuase of the bad rep it gives offroaders.

paintballrocker wrote:Blaz, we didnt see the sign otherwise we wouldnt of gone, because of the bad rep it gives offroaders.

Not seeing the sign will not work as a defense. (I know that was not your intent)
Ignorance is not a defense.
You friend is busted. I don't see the passenger (you) having fault, unless you were really smarting off to the officer and really pissed him off.

smarting off to the officer and really pissed him off.

no sir, lol if anything the cop was a dick to us, he kept cutting off us off when we were explaining why we didnt kno we werent allowed back there.

but ill keep y'all posted

I'll play devil's advocate here and side with the officer There is always two sides to the story, and the fact that you come here ranting about the INJUSTICE to you leads me to believe that there are relevant facts being left out of the story. The citation you got should have a charge/penal code/violation on it, read it. That's how you find out what he wrote you up for, not by calling and asking and certainly not by coming to a web forum. Like HJ stated, ignorance of the law is no defense. Here in AZ, if you get caught on state trust land/private property without permission, you get fined no questions asked. Does not matter if the land is posted/fenced/gated or not. It is on you to find out where you can ride legally and obtain permission if needed. The fact that your friend was driving is kind of lame, was he forcing or holding you against your will while he off-roaded illegally?? My two cents.....

Guilty by association. You were there. You were trusspassing. What's to fight? Busted! It might have been a mistake. Maybe not. Doesn't Matter. Maybe do some reserch first next time. I have 2 teenagers driving. They can't afford fines like this. I know they wouldn't want to explain something like this to me. Let alone expect me to pay for it. I have found that most mistakes like this happen when the kid(s) are with other kids. Not by themselves. Don't let your friends do your thinking!

Whats to fight? His citation, is for operating a vehicle when he was a passanger! All the info he gave says thats the only thing he was cited for.

Nothing about tresspasing, or anything. Thats what he has to fight. And I think can win. End of story.

Now if they cited him for tresspasing I think he would be up the creek. but they didn't.

thanks Fallvitals, my fine is NOT for tresspasing, its for operating a vechile when i was a passnger.

And even if i do lose i will be paying the fine myself

Parden me. I went back and reread your first post. I stand corrected. It was not trusspassing. It was for being in an unautherized area. Meaning you weren't supose to be there. What's the difference? Driving or not. You were there in the vehicale. I trail ride here in Michigan most weekends. If you get cought on an unmarked trail. You get a ticket. So do the passengers. Most all tickets are worth fighting to get waived or lowered and that was what your post was about. I should not have preached to you about the right and wrongs. I am sorry about that. It's kinda hard not to, having teen drivers of my own. But it's each persons responsability to know where you are and if you belong there. Being off the trail doesn't make it look good for the rest of us. I am in several trail clubs here in Michigan and have worked hard to get more trails opened. It pizzes me off when riders who haven't contributed anything towards the trails but do as they please and then whine when they get cought.

its cool, no hard feelings. and yeah if i known it was posted i wouldnt of gone.

No, it wasn't cool of me. I have turned into my dad. No hard feelings here either. I wish I would have been a little more tactful in my posting. I do hope you get it cleared.

f9k9 wrote:Just pay it and move on!

Thats funny. But it really made me angry when I saw the replays a few nights after it happened. Hes ignorant.

Leno got him good... if you say/heard. He asked what his (dead) mother would think about him and what he did.

well court tomorrow, ill let everyone kno what happened then.

wish me luck

paintballrocker wrote:well court tomorrow, ill let everyone kno what happened then.

wish me luck

Good luck!

Not Guilty!!!!!! whoo hoo

Any explanation as to why?

because i wasnted driving and they didnt have any evidence to prove i was driving

Glad it all worked out. Your friend had a good learning experience for all of us. Cheaper than a college edu-muc-a-tion.

Cool happy for you. Like I posted I thought the LEO wrote you up wrong. But remember he learned his lesson too so from now on he will write trespassing tickets on passengers and that will stick like glue. So be a good friend and help keep the driver legal while in the navigating seat. If that fails don't let the driver take your person someplace it should not be!

Chris.