Trailer Plate Question

[Doonbuggy]

Was out fishing tonight and when I got back to the trailer I had a ticket.

I thought I was supposed to take off the old trailer plate b/c I replaced it with the permanent plate sticker. The ticket was for failure to display a plate.

Am I in error, is the officer in error? Thanks for the input.

DB

[Ronsay]

I believe the officer was in error.

When I installed the sticker on the side of the tongue it instructed me to remove the plate.

You should be able to get the ticket thrown out with no problem.

Ron

[LMITOUT]

I hope the officer is in error, otherwise I'm due for a ticket also!

I thought that was a good deal with the lifetime registration sticker, although it makes me nervous that some cop doesn't realize that they are not needed any more and I get pulled over.....possibly getting a citation for other reasons when he figures out he was wrong in the first place.

[Benny]

My instructions also said to remove the plate.
Sounds like the officer is trying to pad the city or county coffers, and did not take the time to look for a permanent sticker.

Or I supose the officer is ignotant to the new law.

Benny

[cliffy]

If you live in MN, the officer is in the wrong. All you need is the new sticker on the side of the tounge. I am willing to guess the officer is not aware of the new law. I dont think you will have a problem getting it fixed.

[IFallsRon]

Reminds me of the story on KQRS of the guy who tried to buy a taco with a two-dollar bill.

[Sliderfishn]

IFallRon, whats a two dollar bill?

That is one of my favs also.

The ticket should be no problem to get fixed, just a little time.

[Doonbuggy]

Thanks for the input. I successfully had the ticket thrown out this morning.

The hearing officer, by her facial expression, did not have time to hear about "boat trailer" citations.

What is frustrating, however, is that I learned that the officer who wrote the ticket is not advised that he/she was in error so the same person will continue to write tickets even though they will be in error.

And you wonder why the courts are clogged.

DB

[cliffy]

Perhaps you could give him/her a call and explain the situation. The officer's name or badge number should be on the ticket. I am sure he/she wouldnt mind knowing of the mistake...so they dont continue the problem.

[Benny]

cliffy,I know from experiance MOST officers don't care.They get brownie points for every ticket they write good or bad.

I got a ticket for expired tabs on one of my trucks .It was parked in the drive way facing the garage, so the rear plate was out next to the street.

I had just baught tabs the month before so I knew they were good, but when I went to check the tab in the rear it was gone.

I drove to the police department asked to talk to the captain to show him the tab on the front.

I was told that it did not matter to them at all that the rear tab fell off or was stolen and even if there was a tab on the front I was still in violation.

Well 250 bucks and two vacation days later I had the ticket thrown out by the judge.

I then took the court info to the police captain to show him.He said it still didn't matter to the PD,they are not reqired to veiw any ticket for rebutle, thatis up to the courts.

So you end up spending money for a lawyer,court costs and your time off to fight a bogus ticket.

Benny

[cliffy]

Benny:

What can I say...that sucks. I don’t understand how you can get such a ticket if you’re parked on private property.

I would still suggest to DoonBuggy to give the officer a call..perhaps he would have a different experience.

I don’t really want to get into any debates over good cops v. bad cops..that whole issue was talked about on this HSOforum this past winter/spring....and it was beat to death.

My thought is this...I have made mistakes at work before and I have had people call and speak to me about these mistakes. I am the kind of person who is willing to admit that I make mistakes. When this has happened, I have done everything possible to correct the problem so the person does not have to go out of their way to fix my mistake.

I would hope that anyone that makes an honest mistake would do the same. Just my two cents worth.

[Benny]

cliffy, that is the way it should be.We all do make mistakes, and it is nice when some one can point out that mistake in a nice civil manner.

Benny

[Lost]

Kinda makes you wonder if the cops live in a hole in the ground and don't have any trailers themselves at home.