so i was coming home from the lake today, way too many people there, i was agitated, put my rods and gear in the back, hopped in the passenger seat, and left... i was litterally 1/4 mile or less from the lake, crossed Meridian, into the mall parking lot, and then the lights came on from the Stater behind us... we pull over, and he walks directly to my door, not my girlfriends door whome was driving... we were in a parking stall, so there is no reason to not have gone to her side for safety reasons, but thats irrelevant... what is relevant, is he walked directly up to me, said "you are being recorded by audio and video, do you understand sir?" i replied "yes sir"... then, he said, "is there any reason you arent wearing your seatbelt?" my response, "i just left the lake, and kinda forgot for a second, as my phone just rang while pulling out"...124 dollar ticket.. no warning, just here, see ya later....

so, ive scoured up a little info so far, but, i always thought that police didnt have the right to pull you over for not wearing a seat belt, i always thought they needed a primary infraction that they could do that, what ive found so far, says exactly that... the article was written by some news paper, and not the police, and i understand that, but, i cannot find anything in the RCW that states that they can pull you over for that infraction alone...

heres the article
http://www.federalwaymirror.com/opinion/letters/19927549.html

heres the RCW
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.688

is there something im missing? or am i correct in thinking that it technically wasnt "legal" for him to do what he did? i appreciate cops very much, am always respectfull, never been arrested or taken to jail, but this is kinda messed up...i dont have an extra 124 dollars right now and cannot pay, so my only option is to go to court, and see what happens there....

so, was he in the right? do i sell a rod or 2 to pay for this? or should i go fight it in court because he legally couldnt have done what he did?

any help is greatly appreciated, no stupid comments please... thank you...

oh, and he hit the lights in the mall parking lot, NOT on SR 161 which is Meridian Ave in Puyallup... is that even legal in itself?

Washington State Seatbelt Tickets




Under Washington law, failure to wear a seatbelt is a primary offense. This means a law enforcement officer may stop a vehicle if the driver or an occupant is not wearing a seatbelt.

Drivers and Passengers Sixteen Years and Older
Failure to wear seatbelt infractions are not limited to drivers alone. Any driver or passenger who is sixteen years of age or older may be issued a failure to wear seatbelt infraction. Any person who is issued an infraction will be responsible for the fine.

thanks RvW, did that become primary after July 1st 2002? i cant find any RCW law that says they can or cannot do it?

is this worth me even going to court? will they even cut it in half like usuall, or should i just eat it?

I told a Stater up in forks a while back that "he couldn't" write me a ticket... and he didn't. I was in the Thriftway parking lot getting ready to pull out unbuckled, he eyeballed me pretty hard but was already passed me, I saw him put on his blinker to get turned around so strapped my seatbelt on and took off, he raced up behind me and turned on the lights, I pulled over with a giant mud puddle on each side of the truck , made him ask me nicely to move so he didn't have to stand in the water... then he asked if I would have put on my seatbelt if I hadn't seen him looking at me, I replied, "probably not.... but at least I got it on before I was on the street, so you can't give me a ticket this time..." he somewhat reluctantly agreed, asked if I'd ever gotten a seatbelt ticket before then gave me a verbal warning which I pointed out was unnecessary because I had my seatbelt on by the time I was on his street.... he gave me the standard it's for your protection blah blah blah speech, I gave him the standard you guys must be hurting for money blah blah blah speech and left, he was actually a pretty cool guy, putting up with my kidding around pretty well and he was chuckling by the time he walked away.

Perfectly legal on his part.........

Probably not relevant to you, but here's a question:
Older cars have lap belts only. How would a cop know you weren't wearing a seat belt if he didn't pull you over for another reason? Could he pull you over for suspicion of not wearing one?

I've been pulled over solely for no seat belt.

3X

They're $94 down here...

yea your right ASSu, ill keep the Berkelys and sell the Sages...


when did it become a primary infraction tho? is that article i posted not relevant? i know cops are cops, and can do what they like, but when has it been legal for a cop to pull you over in a private parking lot, for a traffic violation? like i said, we crossed 161, didnt travel down it, its 4 lanes wide, and out of nowhere, 150 feet from the street, he appears behind us... in a parking lot... if i have to pay, i have no problem doing so, it was my fault for forgetting for 1 minute... i just dont see how its fair, there are people speeding down that road all the time, and you NEVER see people pulled over really... it just seems to me like he was looking to write a quick ticket, and i was the lonely sheep that wandered out in the open... ive given enough of my damn money supporting the WSP and KC police departement in donations, my girlfriends uncle was Norm Maleng, as if he didnt do enough for the state... i cant even get a warning in a god damn parking lot?

The way I see it, just pay the ticket and move on. If you bend the rules, you have to be willing to pay up if you get caught.

her other aunt and uncle are FBI agents, so its not stretching it in any way... the cop didnt even want to see her lisence... uhhh, she was driving, how would you know if she was legit, had warrants, was a killer, or anything?

i was singled out, for some reason, and it doesnt seem fair to me... and i CAN pay the ticket, i just dont have 124 bucks to be throwing around like im in Vegas...

as far as your other idiotic comments, she goes to school full time, and wanted to go to the park there, so i said sure, i can mess around and throw some spinners... i also have only kept 2 trout from there, both 5 pound trout, and they ate just fine, on the BBQ...

obviously your mother didnt teach you to respect people, i dont need your stupid comments, as if i didnt already say that in my original post...dick...

do they still cut in in half if you go to court, or would i be wasting my time with this? i have roughly 12 days to decide, just weighing out my options... the state doesnt need any more money from me to line pockets of Governors and such that dont give a rats a$$ about the people...

i have ZERO debt, just not a ton of money... must be nice being you, and since when does me just going messing around for some stupid fish that will bite have anything to do with it? cant a person just fish anymore? cant you just not be an a$$hole? i asked for advice, not your retarded interpretation or opinion of me and my life, or what i do during my life, its none of your buisiness... so you keep on catching your puffer fish, and ill fish for the same old Salmon and stocker trout as much as i want... jesus your arrogant...

I got a speeding ticket, went to court and because I hadn't had a ticket for over 7 years, I got a deferment for a year. If I got another ticket, the speeding ticket would be enforced. If not, the speeding ticket would be removed from my record. What they would do with a no belt ticket, I have no idea but if you do go to court, the judge may cut you some slack, cut the fine or dismiss it. The only thing you know for sure is if you don't go to court, you better pay the ticket. You might be able to make payments if you do have to pay.

I got one of those not wearing your seatbelt tickets. The cop came up & also said he was taping etc. It was my in-laws 50th anniversary, we made multiple stops - flowers, cake, videos, pictures...etc...etc. I told the cop I've been in & out of my car 15 times in the last few miles - so I forgot. He looked sad & said, sorry but they are paying me overtime this weekend to do this. Went to court it was reduced to I think $40. I forgot due to multiple stops in a few miles. Check the box - go to court. If you can't pay it they will set up payment plan, otherwise they will suspend your license. Know some old school die hards who don't have license due to this very thing & their hard head in replying appropriately.

Sorry this happened to you! Seat belt law is just about $$$$$$$$ IMO.

Fawking legislature started the deal out as a secondary offense, then made it a primary offense, same as cell phones. Give them an inch, they take a mile.

Stater has you cold. You were on a public road before you got into the parking lot. Where teh stop occured isnt the issue He got you.

Got pulled over for a dirty license plate on my utility trailer in McCleary by the new cop in town yesterday. Really? Mud from a pothole Hunter gets to fix got on it. He did the usual license & registration, verbal judo, etc., like the new guy trying to make a point. I asked him if he was going to carve me a ticket, and he said "no". I told him, "Nice pretext stop." Attitude go a little more stern at that time. I Iaughed at him, told him to relax, and then told him to talk to the other officers (friends of ours) so he would we were not the bad guys in town.

I did clean off the license plate when I got home.

When you go to court don't go off on any alien, secret service, FBI, I was singled out tanget. Keep your words as brief as possible, direct & to the point, speak to the judge respectfully & wear green...judges like green....I think

i know this isnt a big deal, but i mean come on, in a parking lot? i would have put the phone back in my pocket, and seat belt on... its not like me not wearing a seat belt will hurt anyone else anyways... but it is the law, and i know that, but how far do you push the law? because guarenteed some fat titted blonde chick got pulled over 5 minutes ago by the WSP on the god damn free way, and got a "this is a warning maam, please put your seat belt on"... but no, this dipsh!t that thinks too much about stuff he shouldnt think that much about, forgets something, and since i dont have any [Bleeeeep!] that are relevant to him, i get the ticket... its all good, cops are cops, and are just doing their job... they dont write the laws, and theres no reason for me to be mad at them, what im mad about, is how it went down... just dont make sense...

Blue, when around people that can screw your life up (law), and are worth more money than everyone you knows family combined (clients), im the most respectfull person on the planet... what im planing to say, is :

i was in a rush, my phone rang, and i just didnt think... im sorry your honor, it will not happen again...

Well the truth is the truth...no sense screwing somone cause they are distracted or forgetful. They will reduce the fee & work with you, no worries. It is just a money making scheme but they got you in their net so...sure it will be much less. Still stings though I know. Sucks really.

Sorry didn't mean to make it seem less than it is. just got my own troubles on my mind 24/7..big pockets need little pockets to keep being the big pocket or something like that - it is all relative.

Redhook,

If you go to court and don't say anything but what is in the last line of your last post, you might get cut some slack. But if you bring up any of the other irrelevant sh!t you've been filling this thread with, the judge might see if he can raise the fine just for you being as stupid as Abu is calling you.

Learn the difference between relevance and irrelevance. It will save you a lot of time, and you won't appear as stupid. BTW, life isn't fair. Get used to it. Oh, and wear your seat belt dipsh!t.

Sg