So last month, a couple of friends were pulled over for "laying drags" on Satellite Blvd by Gwinnett Police. Ridiculously, I was also pulled over for the same thing. My friends up front, in a 2008 2.5 Altima 4D and a 2012 Hyundai Elantra, did get on the gas heavily at the light. The Altima made wheel noise and the Elantra blew a shit ton of white smoke through its exhaust, which I was behind of and drove through. The Gwinnett cops were not actually there when the light turned green and saw the smoke and heard the tire squeal as they came over the hill and busted a U turn. My friends accelerated up to 40mph and stopped. I caught up to them and was right behind my friend in the Elantra. I was pulled over because I ran through smoke that came through my friend's car and may look the part to be a "street racer", ie painted wheels. Apparently, "laying drags" in Georgia is not defined as make a shit ton of noise and smoke at a light or on public roads. It's actually defined as zig-zagging on the road or just generally making an ass of yourself. Court date is next week. Any suggestions on how I should defend myself? I was wrongfully pulled over and was never given the chance to tell the officers what happened.
plead not guilty. it'll go to trial and the officer will have to go to court and prove that it was you in fact "laying drag," which is defined as doing a burn out, not driving recklessly.
I got one of those tickets before when I was 17. My tires gave the slightest squeak because I gave it just a little too much gas. Was like a $300-350 ticket.
It was white smoke. It was a LOT of smoke too. Possible oil burning? Either way, he still has his bumper to bumper warranty so no biggy. ยง 40-6-251. Driving in circular or zigzag course; "laying drags." (a) No driver of any motor vehicle shall operate the vehicle upon the public streets, highways, public or private driveways, airport runways, or parking lots in such a manner as to create a danger to persons or property by intentionally and unnecessarily causing the vehicle to move in a zigzag or circular course or to gyrate or spin around, except to avoid a collision or injury or damage. (b) The offenses described in this Code section shall be sufficiently identified on any traffic ticket, warrant, accusation, or indictment when referred to as "laying drags." (c) This Code section shall not apply to drivers operating vehicles in or on any raceway, drag strip, or similar place customarily and lawfully used for such purposes. (d) Any person violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. or http://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/2006/40/40-6-251.html The name really is misleading. Good to know. Lol
basically drifting. but remember the US courts operate on this little thing called precedent. so judges will look at past court cases and rule based on those decisions. and i can guarantee you the term laying drag has been interpreted to mean making the slightest chirp then accelerating fast, laying any sort of rubber on the street, or clearly following other ricers who are laying drag and therefore guilty by association, even going straight. so you're screwed and as has been said before, it won't get thrown out, lawyer or not. you will be paying regardless (and probably more if you get a lawyer)
Forgot to mention it wasn't an actual ticket but a citation. But I'm still going to fight it. I don't plan on getting a lawyer as it doesn't seem worth the cost. But guilty by association is rather stupid. By that definition, anyone around somebody who is doing a burnout at a light should be pulled over. I shouldn't have to pay because my friends did something stupid.
You will get slapped a fine for the full ticket and then some extra money for court fees if you plead not guilty. The judge will always side with the police officer. The best you can hope for is the police officer not showing up.
Dude don't lie. Your friends was playing around in front of you....you were following them and goofing off too. Been there done that.
Do you have a clean record? Any tickets in the last seven years? Check the details, but for some offenses you can plead "Nolo Contendere." Problem is you can only do it ONCE every so many years. I got caught hauling ass on Langford Parkway about eight years ago. I had some tickets out of state, but none in Georgia. I was advised to plead nolo, and it kept the points off my record and it wasn't reported to insurance. I did, however, still have to pay the fine. Who knows, though, maybe rules have changed since then. I can't remember the specifics, but it worked. You might check into that- I've got a couple of officer friends you could even talk to. Granted, they're College Park Police, but I'm sure the code in regard to this is similar in your area. Maybe they could give you some helpful advice without having to resort to a lawyer just yet.
I had this ticket in college - I essentially had it thrown out, reduced down to $70 or so (I think that's the minimum fine) and no points. Similar to your situation, but I juts went to court and talked to the solicitor, told them the truth. I had no marks on my record, the guy was actually pretty nice, I guess since I was one of the only persons in traffic court that actually had insurance and didn't break 10 other laws at the same time. Your cop friends will not (or rather should not) give him any advice. They are not interpreters of the law, they're enforcers of the law. They may be able to give him some pointers on the best route to take, but I wouldn't go beyond that.
I wouldn't go in and mention that it was your friends in front of you. If anything say it was someone you didn't know
Tell your friends to stop squealing their tires. They wanted attention with their choice of appearance mods you describe, you were following, you were associated with them. Guess what buddy, accept responsibility. There are many of us that you know that have gotten tickets through association rather than a cop seeing us doing something. This is life and if you can't accept it, don't put yourself in that situation
You're absolutely correct, but I made that comment assuming the OP has enough common sense to see it as just that... pointers that might lead him in the right direction. I'm absolutely not suggesting that what they say is the be all end all... just that through experience they might be able to lay down some basics in terms of what his options might be. Of course, if he really wants legit legal advice, he only has two choices: hire a lawyer, or hope that the judge is willing to talk with him and lay down his best possible options before a plea is entered. Everything else is conjecture, nothing more.
NOLO is an option, you'll have to pay the fine, but at least you can avoid the points and insurance hike. I recently had to use mine for the first time, and it was suggested that you get the option back after five years. Either way, I don't think you are going to get away with not paying a fine because the association with the other cars is enough.
plead not guilty end of story HE CANT PROOVE IT WAS YOU! Unless your story is a fib and he has you on dash cam. My last 5 speeding tickets I had reduced including an argument with the judge about pacing on 85N on Friday 7AM....I WON!!!
lolol NOLO on a laying drag citation save it for a dui or that wreckless driving when you get a wrx YOLO :rofl:
Eh, our case was quite different being as we were all guilty of the same thing. Peters case is like Marlon pacing you and him doing a pull and a cop pulling both of you over for street racing. You can't help what other people do on the street around you.
All opinion on difference, and I'm referring to tickets while I was in high school as well. Again, don't put yourself in a situation like that. It was his friend. Very simple
stay under the radar and you won't get focked. watch out for your cornhole bud! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHjlM5A1jME
Can you actually enter a NOLO plea for something as major as a DUI?!? For some reason I was under the impression that you couldn't. Not that I plan on doing that, but it's good to know the option is available if someone gets caught doing something really serious.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've had 1 accident, 2.5 years ago, on my record and 1 speeding ticket, 4 years ago. Accident was bullshit because I was sandwiched between 2 cars, but I missed the court date and was unable to defend myself. I do plan on pleading not guilty. There's no lying being planned in defending my self as there is really no point in lying. Also David, the ones with the mods is me. The Altima was the only other one modded with 20" black wheels, lowered, with a heavy tint. The Elantra is bone stock. You can't say I put myself into the situation because these guys don't usually do this. Shit. We were just on our way to eat dinner with a bunch of other people. How was I supposed to know that they were going to put their foot down all the way when the light turned green? There was also a blue 2011 Civic that was with us at the light too. He wasn't pulled over.
Laying drags I believe comes with a ton of points. I got cited for this YEARS ago when I was 16. I went to court and told the judge what happened (similar story) and they ended up dropping it down to nothing. Best bet is to talk to the solicitor. Provided you were polite to the police officer and they don't have you on camera doing something stupid, they will more than likely realize they have no case and plea bargain. When I was a cop our city solicitor cut deals with people ALL the time. For them, they usually still get some revenue and don't have to spend the time and resources building a case on you (which it sounds like they have none).
Court date was today. Unfortunately, all the solicitor was able to negotiate with me was a $40 fine dropped from $119.00 and 0 points with a nolo contendere. I figured it would save the headache of a bench trial, let alone a jury trial (which would not be worth anybody's time), so I decided to just go with a nolo. Thanks everybody for the input. Also, it seems the Judge didn't believe my story. He asked me about my car, I told him about my wheels and my oh so powerful cold air intake. Seems that's all is needed now a days to be a proven street racer in the courts of Gwinnett County.
Doh.... Should have saved the nolo for the ticket that'll make you lose your license. Hopefully you don't get in any serious trouble for the next 3 years :-/
I was thinking about it, but I don't drive dangerously nor do I speed over a ridiculous amount if at all. I just don't like that idea of taking another day, maybe even 2 days, off of work to get out of a $119 dollar citation. All I'm really worried about is points on my license hiking up my insurance. Our insurance just dropped to $288 a month for 4 people. It used to be $288 just for me. Maybe. But that was all the solicitor offered. Judge was telling people left and right today that the fines requested/offered are not really up to him but the solicitor.