seatbelt ticket advice?

[99caddysts]

Hello,

The other day I received a citation for two offenses. The first is a 'left turn while prohibited' offense and I have no problems with receiving this. The second violation is a seatbelt violation.

The officer had his blue lights on so I pulled over to the side of the road and shut my car off. I then removed my seatbelt so that I could more easily retrive the documents when asked (I don't reach into my glovebox until the officer has asked for license, registration, ect.). The officer approached my vehicle and told me he stopped me for making an illegal left turn. He then paused for a second and stated 'and you're not wearing a seatbelt.' He then proceeded to return back to his vehicle before I could properly address the situation...aka I was confused because I always wear my seatbelt when driving and I WAS wearing my seatbelt. I did not discuss this with the officer as I felt there was nothing that could be done and he had already handed me the ticket.

Is there any advice to help with the situation? I feel like this could just be a 'my word vs officers' word' situation. Is there anything that I can do about it? Who would I contact to discuss this?

The seatbelt fine is only $25 but money is tight and I do not want any unnecessary points. The offense code is 90113A and this was in Chelmsford, MA. I have no previous traffic violations.

Any advice would be appreciated.

This was in Chelmsford, MA.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

You are correct. It boils down to your word against the officer's. One idea you can try is to try to negotiate a guilty plea for the primary offense in exchange for dismissal of the seat belt citation. You can also try to negotiate a reduced fine for the primary offense.

 

[svtcop]

You are correct. It boils down to your word against the officer's. One idea you can try is to try to negotiate a guilty plea for the primary offense in exchange for dismissal of the seat belt citation. You can also try to negotiate a reduced fine for the primary offense.

+1

Unless you have a terrible driving record you will usually have a good chance of getting things reduced. Even the primary offense as Lt. stated. (which would probably save you the point(s) but fines may be similar.

 

[mustanginky]

i gotta ask you, as a leo myself, why in the world would you make a movement towards your console/lap/belt area without informing the officer of what you were doing anyways?

if i pulled you over, and saw you reaching down to that area of your vehicle/body i'm thinking two things 1)he may have a gun 2)he just pitched dope between his seat/console.

from now on, a piece of advice, what you did is called a "furtive movement" despite it's innocence. i am not trying to be a jerk, just educating you. when pulled over, best thing you/anyone can do, is place your hands on 10 and 2 and roll down the window. inform the officer before you make a move.

at minimum, it would have kept you getting your seat belt ticket, at maximum, it could end up with you being pulled from the car and having a search of your vehicle conducted.

 

[99caddysts]

Thanks for the responses. In order to attempt to negotiate a plea of sumsort would I need to check off the "request a hearing" and wait until my court date or is there anyway I could contact someone beforehand?

i gotta ask you, as a leo myself, why in the world would you make a movement towards your console/lap/belt area without informing the officer of what you were doing anyways?

This is exactly what I was trying to avoid by not grabbing my license/registration until the officer came to the window. I guess I took the seatbelt off out of instinct right after I shut off the car, along with improved mobility to retrieve w/e from the glovebox. The officer had not yet approached my vehicle when I removed my belt but I went for the glovebox after he asked for the documents. I just want to make it clear that all I did was unbuckle my belt; I wasn't moving around the vehicle at all besides that. I had/have all intentions of trying to make things easier/safer for the officer for the exact reasons you stated.

 

[COBRA_ESQ]

Thanks for the responses. In order to attempt to negotiate a plea of sumsort would I need to check off the "request a hearing" and wait until my court date or is there anyway I could contact someone beforehand?

Every jurisdiction handles plea bargains differently. Call the court and ask if there is a procedure, you may be referred to the Prosecuting attorney or Asst. D.A.

I note that you are from New Hampshire, if you are far from Chelmsford you may even be able resolve it over the phone with a fine and guilty plea to the lower charge mailed to the court. Alternatively the court may allow you to appear by an attorney with authority to enter into a plea bargain.

 

[MARK C]

Seat belt ticket has NO points.

 

[Lt. ZO6]

Did NH recently adopt an adult seatbelt law?

OP,

What was the exact statute which you were cited under for the seatbelt violation?

edit: Never mind, just noticed the violation was in MA.