So......
On March 18th I was given a ticket for failing to obey a traffic signal (ran a red light). The situation played out like this:
I was coming around a corner on my motorcycle and going the speed limit when the light coming up turned yellow. It obviously did this at that perfect moment when you have a split second to decide whether to stop or to gun it. I chose to stop, but the gravel on the road had other plans for me. I attempted to stop three times and my back tire kept sliding on the gravel. Finally I made the decision to gun it instead of laying down my bike or ending up in the middle of the intersection. The light flipped to red as I was entering the intersection. I immediately pulled over to check out my rear tire for any gravel that may be in the tread.
As luck would have it, a state trooper was clocking people and saw me do this, so of course she pulled out and came up behind me as I was inspecting my bike. She said I made the best decision but she would have to ticket me since I was caught on camera. She told me to pay the fine within 20 days to only receive 2 points or wait until my court date and run the chances of paying the fine and 4 points. But she winked and told me to go to court.
So, today was court date and I am utterly confused at what happened. I showed up and approached a desk, a representative told me I have 2 options:
- Pay the fine today and get 2 points (at this point I am already confused because if I wanted that option, I would have done it 3 months ago) or
- Decide to contest it (which is why I was in court today) and they would give me another court date to come back meet with the officer and a magistrate to decide the case.
Sooooooo, today's court date was really just another chance to pay the original fine...I don't get it. I am military and leaving for multiple training events, I don't time for all this. Especially for something I should have never been ticketed for.
Give me your thoughts in the comments! Thanks for the support in advance!
-Jon
