Has anyone ever heard of getting a court date for driving without lights turned on?

He was driving less than a mile, forgot to turn on his lights, and got pulled and got a citation. He wasn't drunk, just grabbing food. Hell, I've done it before where its night time and the parking lot has really good lighting and I just didnt turn them on.

But, it just seems like a huge waste. Is this one where the DA is gonna be like, "Really?" Or does anyone have experience with this exact issue?

I got a ticket for an exp. plate sticker. Took the ticket to the DA with proof I got it updated and they dropped it. But, it could be akin to driving with a burnt out light, which would then result in the same endgame.

thoughts?

11/28/2010 9:37:42 PM

Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass.

11/28/2010 9:38:44 PM

How is that a bullshit ticket? Uh, that is one of the most dangerous things you can do..

11/28/2010 9:39:04 PM

I am pretty sure anyone with a license has done it at some point, either for 10 yards or 10 miles (which is of course a bit worse)... but yeah, this is an example where the cop could of just been polite and notified the driver, then let him go.

11/28/2010 9:42:36 PM

tell him to pay it and be glad no one ran into him.

Lights aren't only for you, they really help other drivers.

11/28/2010 9:42:37 PM

yep i got one two months ago downtown leaving the saucer. Its 126$ but I got it dismissed because I know a wake co magistrate. Its bs they will throw it out if he shows up

11/28/2010 9:43:09 PM

I agree this is in no way a bullshit ticket.

Will it get dropped? Probably not imnsho.

I love how its supposedly up to the officer to be "polite" and let him off.

[Edited on November 28, 2010 at 9:44 PM. Reason : .]

11/28/2010 9:43:45 PM

yes, i have heard of getting a court date for doing illegal things

11/28/2010 9:44:04 PM

I had just turned out of the parking lot realized my lights weren't on and he pulled me because he saw me turn them on. could have been some shit like that.

[Edited on November 28, 2010 at 9:49 PM. Reason : been drinking]

[Edited on November 28, 2010 at 9:49 PM. Reason : still drinking]

11/28/2010 9:44:13 PM

Quote :

"i was had just turned out of the parking lot realized my lights werent on and turned it own, he pulled me because he saw me turn them on. could have been some shit like that"

wut.

11/28/2010 9:46:02 PM

^^English mother fucker, do you speak it!?

11/28/2010 9:46:29 PM

i got pulled once for this. well lit area, just wasnt thinking. he just gave me a warning and sent me on my way. now i have a car that has lights that are always on so not going to be an issue

11/28/2010 9:49:00 PM

I drove from Raleigh to Clayton on 40 at midnight without headlights because they had just broken that night.

Did not get any tickets.

[Edited on November 28, 2010 at 9:49 PM. Reason : ]

11/28/2010 9:49:11 PM

IMO this is way, way more dangerous than going 15, even 30 mph over the speed limit on a highway... It very well could get thrown out if you show up, but I don't know how anyone on earth could ever be upset at a cop for ticketing over this.

11/28/2010 9:50:11 PM

If you had been driving around for a while it is a legit ticket. If you pull out of a parking lot and flip them on yourself then you are pulled its not. Its different from speeding because its not something you intentionally do.

11/28/2010 9:52:50 PM

It's somewhat understandable in a well lit area to forget your lights if you have your parking lights on, but if not, you should be looking at your instrument cluster at some point and realizing pretty quickly they aren't on.

I make it a point to always turn my lights ALL the way off even if I'm just running into a convenience store so I don't make that mistake.

11/28/2010 9:54:24 PM

A cop tried to pull me over for this once when i pulled out from a show... now my car not only has daytime running lights, but i also had my actual lights on. When I spoke and he didn't smell alcohol on my breath or weed in the car (which is obviously what he was pulling me over to check) he tried to play innocent and replied "I thought your lights were off, but i see now that they are on."

There is no way i could've been driving dangerously because he turned on his lights as i was pulling out of the parking lot before i even got halfway into my turn. Fucking douche cop.

I'm AstralAdvent and i approved this message.

11/28/2010 10:03:53 PM

dwb, bra

11/28/2010 10:07:44 PM

My dad got a ticket for this once...b/c he was towing a car with a chain at like 3am and didn't want to draw attention to that fact. So, he left the lights off on the car being towed, and got pulled over for it. Didn't get a ticket for the illegal towing though

11/28/2010 10:10:41 PM

dude, just show up before your court date at the court house, they usually have a line of people they just dismiss tickets for, got expired registration and expired inspection thrown out...after i had missed my court date, they didnt ask why i missed it, they didnt care, they just said ok here you go

11/28/2010 10:11:29 PM

I have no problem with a cop doing some checks when a crowd is leaving a bar/concert/game if you are straight you wont have any trouble. Rather he catch an idiot in the parking lot before there's an issue.

11/28/2010 10:12:47 PM

no lights. i hate those fuckers.

11/28/2010 10:15:52 PM

no lights. i hate those fuckers.

11/28/2010 10:17:11 PM

In Russia lights turn you on

11/28/2010 10:24:52 PM

Quote :

"IMO this is way, way more dangerous than going 15, even 30 mph over the speed limit on a highway"

No shit?

11/28/2010 10:25:17 PM

Quote :

"AlaskanGrown I'm Randy 2455 Posts user info edit post I have no problem with a cop doing some checks when a crowd is leaving a bar/concert/game if you are straight you wont have any trouble. Rather he catch an idiot in the parking lot before there's an issue. 11/28/2010 10:12:47 PM "

"Probable cause" would like a word with you

11/28/2010 10:47:47 PM

so would reasonable suspicion

11/28/2010 10:55:19 PM

^^ You don't need probable cause to pull someone over, dip shit. The entire purpose of pulling someone over in a case like that is to GET probable cause (smelling weed/alcohol). How about you know the fucking law before you try spouting it.

ArcBoyeee, your roommate is a fucking idiot.

It's very unlikely that you'll get a ticket in a parking lot (it's not a public road, unless the store owners have given the police jurisdiction over it) for just about anything, people. So driving with your headlights on in the parking lot isn't a problem. But if you don't realize that your headlights are off within 100 feet, you're a dumbass. There should be at least one time within 100 feet that you should look at your dash. And the way I read the OP, is that since he said "less than a mile," his roommate was over half a mile, and probably close to 3/4 of a mile. Sorry, the dumbass got what he deserved. It will probably be dropped, but the inconvenience for such dipshittery is a decent punishment.

[Edited on November 28, 2010 at 10:58 PM. Reason : .]

11/28/2010 10:58:32 PM

Quote :

"Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass."

Those fuckers who don't turn their lights on in the rain deserve tickets as well.

11/28/2010 10:58:37 PM

you need reasonable suspicion to pull someone over, not pc.

11/28/2010 11:00:02 PM

Quote :

"Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass."

11/28/2010 11:02:22 PM

Fucking domestic extremist over here and you're saying the DA is gonna throw it out

11/28/2010 11:03:10 PM

People who drive with their blinker on should get a ticket!!! RAWWWRRRR

11/28/2010 11:10:35 PM

Quote :

"Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass."

Driving without lights on annoys the shit out of me. Pay fucking attention.

11/29/2010 3:18:18 AM

It's hard for me to tell what is going on here.

Were you pulling out of a parking lot, and as soon as you got on the road you realized your lights were off and turned them on, and then got pulled? Maybe, maybe I have some sympathy -- although you could get your (or my) ass killed pulling out of your lot as easily as elsewhere.

In any other situation, there's no way that I have any sympathy for you, and I hope they throw the book at you.

11/29/2010 3:29:29 AM

This is a dick move, but you were breaking the law.

Also, I'm fairly certain it's illegal to pull someone over on suspicion of drunk driving if they haven't broken any traffic laws (such as crossing a double yellow line, etc.).

11/29/2010 3:30:30 AM

^ Your tail light is broken... err... looks broken. Let me pull you over and verify.

11/29/2010 3:43:00 AM

^Let me get your name and badge number.

11/29/2010 4:48:47 AM

The only wreck I've ever been involved in was because some dumbass didn't have any headlights on a city street. Valid ticket.

11/29/2010 6:34:03 AM

i got a ticket last night driving back from NC within 10 minutes of getting back to my place in virginia. i was going 70 and thought the speed limit was 65. apparently it was 55. i generally never come from the direction i was driving from, so i didn't really know. the cop gave me a ticket for failure to obey a highway sign or some shit instead of a speeding ticket, probably because i told him i'm new to the area. i wondered why he even bothered giving me a ticket like that. probably needed to meet his quota for the month or some shit.

11/29/2010 6:46:14 AM

wait. how is this a bullshit ticket? he broke the law, he got caught, he received a ticket.

11/29/2010 7:19:53 AM

Itt tww is full of cops/DAs/lawyers.


Tell your friend not to be a dick to the cop, and its fucking dusk/night time.

11/29/2010 8:07:03 AM

Quote :

"Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass."

this

Quote :

" Those fuckers who don't turn their lights on in the rain deserve tickets as well."

and this.

11/29/2010 8:16:06 AM

My gf got pulled in High Point for this. We left food lion in her friend's car and were going back to HPU. The cop was in the parking lot, saw us leave, followed us, pulled us, and told her the lights were off. She's a cute girl though and I suspect your friend is an ugly dude.

11/29/2010 8:19:34 AM

1) This is a bullshit ticket, not because what he did was meaningless but because the officer could have handled it differently.

2) Everyone who is posting in this thread has done this at some point, regardless of distance and is no better than ArcBoyeee's roommate.

3) The city needs to make money, so expect this sort of thing to be more common.

11/29/2010 8:24:14 AM

I too, have seen stupid people get tickets for stupid things.

11/29/2010 8:30:06 AM

Didn't need to read past:

Quote :

"Driving without your lights on at night? I'm glad he got a ticket, dumbass."

11/29/2010 9:08:35 AM

^But I should have the freedom to travel however I want without the gestapo police forcing me to burn my headlamps

Whats next, mandatory gassing of Jewish people?

11/29/2010 9:10:16 AM

He was breaking the law. He got a ticket. Cops can't give EVERYONE a break. I hate that "the city needs money" crap. The cop was doing his job. It's like watching parking wars on a&e or whatever it is. Bunch of idiots just dont understand that they just cannot cut every person a break, and today he drew the short straw. Suck it up & take it like an adult.

And please people, use your headlights when it's raining too.

[Edited on November 29, 2010 at 9:35 AM. Reason : ]

11/29/2010 9:34:00 AM

Quote :

"^But I should have the freedom to travel however I want without the gestapo police forcing me to burn my headlamps"

Huh?

11/29/2010 9:35:39 AM