Dumb mistake got caught by cops down at knight street

[dysc]

hi to all, I'm new to this forum, and I just expereience something that I feel so dumb that I'm sure you all will laugh at me.

I was heading southbound towards richmond at knight street vancouver side, and at the usual spot right around 61 or 60th ave i saw police motorcycle clocking the cars from southbound. So in common curtasy i flash to the car to southbound and then at that moment when i go down towards the bridge, another groups of police motorcycle saws me flashing and pulled me over.

They asked if why I flash the light and I didn't answer, then they gives me a speeding ticket of doing 65 at 50 zone, very stupid mistake.

My question is, how's the chance of disputing it for this one? thanks for not flaming me up, as i have a bad day already because of this, thanks

[Excelsis]

if you were going 65 in a 50 it's your fault..

good engrish btw

[PreludeSRV]

the way I see it, you can dispute it and if the cop does not show up, then that's the ONLY way you'll get off this ticket. You were speeding, you have no defense in this case. ask for a lower fine if you are to plead guilty.

[Redlines_Daily]

I think they could have given you another ticket for improper use of highbeams, so maybe just pay your fine and consider yourself lucky that you only got the one ticket?

[dysc]

yes he did mention about the highbeam and that could be another ticket. I feel dumb as rock now because I got speeding ticket because of this, as he didn't caught the other guy who is driving besides me doing the same speed.

and sorry for my english, I'm not the best writer and I'm not in the best mood.

[Excelsis]

You can't put others to blame, if you were breaking the law, then you were breaking the law..

[donjalapeno]

rocks are pretty smart.

[dysc]

thanks for the respond, I will drive slower next time

[maxx]

thanks for being nice to the other motorists, i would have done the same.

dispute the ticket and hope that they either give you a break, if you have not had one before, or dont give you points on your licence. so you'll just end up paying, rather than having points.

[Euro7r]

Be careful next time. Sunny day and Knight St, it's a given there will be cops around that area.

[optiblue]

city is poor, they will ticket you for anything right now! Just dispute it, you won't get a courtdate for years!

[dysc]

I think i will go dispute it, but do you guys know if flashing high beams to the oncoming traffic are illegal? the cop did mention he didn't write me a ticket for that because he tries to be "nice", but instead he gives me a speeding ticket of the over 15km/h limit, and yet he didn't catch the car besides me.

[Excelsis]

i thought you were done arguing lol

[FatalCloud]

so if i read it right, you flashed to let other cars know that there are cops checking for speeding, yet you still proceeded to go 65 in a 50 zone and get caught??

[dysc]

you are right, speeding is speeding, I'm done arguing with it Alpha v2

but now for another matters, is flashing towards oncoming traffic to warn of speed trap legal in bc? because I'm not sure if i still want to do it another time from now on.

[dysc]

I was flashing for the northbound direction, and yet I don't realize that there are cops waiting at the bottom of marine drive doing speed check towards southbound as well. I was being dumb at that. And again sorry for my poor engrish

[Fafine]

got your n?

[FatalCloud]

^^googled it and came across this. it's apparently legal.

The Passing Lane

[Redlines_Daily]

^Here's the above mentioned article:


Speed trap ahead? Feel free to flash those high beams


By David Menzies

If you’re in the habit of flashing your high beams to warn other drivers about a speed trap, then rejoice: in Canada, flashing one’s high beams is perfectly legal.

In fact, there’s nothing in the various provincial highway traffic acts that prohibits the practice of flashing your beams for the purpose of warning motorists a speed trap lurks ahead.

Indeed, thanks to a couple of recent court cases in Quebec and Ontario, the legality of beam-flashing has finally been settled, reports the Ottawa Sun.

One case involved Sandro Ianni of Montreal, who sat in his parked car on Marien Boulevard last year and spent his time constantly flashing his high beams to warn motorists they were approaching a speed trap.

Ianni’s beam-flashing went on for more than an hour. It eventually dawned on the radar gun-toting policeman that it was statistically improbable that every approaching motorist happened to be on their best behaviour this day, given that every vehicle was crawling past his cruiser under the posted speed limit.

The constable drove down the boulevard and came across Ianni flashing away. He promptly issued the Good Samaritan with a ticket for “obstructing justice” under the Criminal Code.

Ianni fought back in court, whereupon the judge tossed the charges out. The judge said Ianni flashing warnings for motorists to slow down was no more illegal than, say, a radio announcer informing listeners of speed trap locations.

Acting Staff Sgt. Denis Charbonneau of the Ottawa Police notes there was a similar case in Ontario recently. A beam-flashing man was also charged under the Criminal Code for “obstructing police.”

But that individual was also acquitted when the judge said there was no way of proving that motorists who saw his flashing beams were speeding to begin with.

Charbonneau, for one, doesn’t have a problem with beam-flashing.

“We [police] are not going to go out and do something about it [beam-flashing.] If someone wants to warn someone that way, great. If it helps slow down speeders, it’s helping us.”

However, do note that in some American states, flashing is illegal. Flick your high beams in Florida, for example, and you could be dinged for a US$90 fine.

As for Canada, feel free to flash away. And rest assured there’s absolutely nothing a cop can do about it.
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________________


My thoughts:

Sounds like it's legal during daylight, but some cops may still give you a ticket citing various offenses..it will be up to you to fight it in court. Also, remember that if you get pulled over for high-beaming then you proudly tell the officer that he is wrong he may take that opportunity to do a "safety check" on your modded car. One more thing - I believe repeatedly high-beaming at night could be considered a distraction to drivers and you may be open for a ticket on that one.

-J

[death_blossom]

great info on flashing the hi-beams. I wonder what a cop would say if I were to argue the ticket on the spot.

[lowside67]

I wouldn't get too cocky with that knowledge... the laws are provincial and in BC there is definitely a law against what they call "improper use of high-beams". The judge may or may not agree on the officer's interpretation but it is an easy ticket for them to write and a hard one to argue against. Fun fact, it is also illegal to drive with your foglights on unless the weather conditions necessitate them.

Mark

[Soundy]

Kind of a silly ticket to write, since the whole point of speed enforcement is (presumably) to get people to slow down... and so is flashing your lights.

[ilvtofu]

it might not be obstruction of justice, but it can be distracting/blinding to other drivers

[Sky_High]

Originally Posted by FatalCloud

so if i read it right, you flashed to let other cars know that there are cops checking for speeding, yet you still proceeded to go 65 in a 50 zone and get caught??

+1

1) You were speeding 65 in a 50 zone.
2) You flashed your high beam onto on coming traffic.

Your ticket is ticketed for offence #1.
The officer "warned" you about flashing and didn't give you a ticket for #2.


You're trying to dispute your ticket (in regards to offence #1) , base on if flashing your high beam is legal or not??

[Soundy]