seat belt ticket - Page 2

windjamer · September 3rd, 2008

I bought a vw bus to use to haul my band equipment. My grand son about three at the time went with me to bring it home. The gas line came off the carb.,and sprayed gas all over the engine. I stoped in the middle of nowhere and the back burst in flames. My grand son had pulled the seat belt tight across his legs and the buckle would not release. YOU CAN NOT pull the belts loose or brake the seat belt. As a last resort I pulled him from the belts but skined his legs from hip to ankle.The back of his seat was blistered and some idiot was yelling to get out its going to blow. No s--t charley what give you the first clue? I ran from the bus with my grand son and stop about 50 yds away to watch the explosion lift the bus about 4 ft. in the air. Seat belts use should be a personal chose. Not a law

bassman · September 3rd, 2008

im in wilsons mills johnston county. the cheif from what i heard around town favors this officer. but i also heard from a local deputy sherrif that they had many complaints about him and said i should file a complaint.not that it has anything to do with it but i have darn drug dealers up the street but it doesnt seem theyre trying i have 3 children playing on this street all the time, its a dead end street.you see stange cars go down and then 5 minutes later leave. but any talking to other neighbors a lot of people dont favor him.and you being in law ,was it wright for him to make my wife and 2 girls walk home in the rain?

ted sweet · September 3rd, 2008

as far as I can find NYS makes no exemption for antique vehecles that aren't requirwed to have seat belts.

MCHinson · September 3rd, 2008

Bassman, He was wrong to stop you if the child in the car without a child restraint was the only reason that he stopped you. He was wrong to write you a ticket. You were not guilty of violating the law. He was wrong to tell you that you could not transport the child in the vehicle. He was certainly wrong to make your family walk because they could legally ride in the car. You need to contact the District Attorney and get your ticket dismissed. Then, you probably need to file a complaint with your Mayor or City Manager (if your town has one) since it is obvious that the Chief is unwilling or unable to protect his citizens from improper actions by his department's officers.

rocketraider · September 4th, 2008

Urf. Johnston County. Explains a lot. [img]<>/eek.gif[/img]

bassman · September 4th, 2008

ya i think why he stopped me was he thought it wasnt registered,but it has been for a year , everybody has been wacthing me work on the car because i have no garage.i had 2 cars in frount of me and 1 in back of me and i dought he seen my girls till he stopped me.i am going to complain, i dont need any points , im a cdl driver and i have a clean license. and its not that i dont beleive in seatbelts i wear them all the time,even my children, but if i put them in that old car i have to redesign alot ,just to make them work properly.

MCHinson · September 4th, 2008

Keep me posted on how it turns out.

AlK · September 5th, 2008

Mr. Hinson:

I have to say that you are the first law enforcement official that I have ever read, saw, or otherwise heard from that stuck up for the citizen instead of his fellow law enforcement comrade. It does give me hope. I have seen and heard of things done by law enforement that would bend the barrel of your firearm. We had one officer cite a friend of mine up in Northern Al. for driving his antique car around the block citing him for regularly driving with an antique plate. The law governing the use of an Antique plate in Alabama allows for occasional driving, also to and from repair, and to and from events, but this guy did not want to hear about that. Where he messed up was in writing the ticket, he did not have a clue as to what the statute # was so he wrote down some statute # that he remembered from the last time he wrote a ticket and it had something to do with collecting sales tax, so the judge threw the case out. But you are right this man should contact the mayor AND the city council. IMHO police officers have a big enough problem with the REAL crimes that are being committed they don't need to make the job harder by trying to be the BMOC and harrassing people over stuff that they really do not know anything about. Take care Mr. Hinson and be safe.

MCHinson · September 5th, 2008

Alk, Like most of my fellow law enforcement officers, I simply stand up for the law and what is right. If the officer was right, I would support him, when he is wrong, as in this case, I support correcting the wrong that was done. It is that simple. Thanks for your support.

Merv · September 10th, 2008

In view of the exemption the officer had no authority to issue the ticket and needs guidance on this issue. A letter to the relevant authority who has power to prosecute the matter should take care of these issues. With respect to the officer who issued the ticket I would have some concern that he made the vehicle occupants walk home and I would like to hear his reasons for doing this. However, I do not think describing him in terms such *Rousco wana-be cop" and "punk cop" are warranted as it just might be that he believed that he was doing the right thing and was acting in the interests of the child's safety. Just because there is an exemption does not make it safe.