SkyHog
Touchdown! Greaser!
- Joined
- Feb 23, 2005
- Messages
- 18,431
- Location
- Castle Rock, CO
- Display Name
Display name:
Everything Offends Me
I'll start with the statute:
Ok - here's the deal. My room mate and myself were driving to his old apartment to get some of his stuff to move into the house. On the way, we pulled in between two cops, and pulled up to a red light. Cop in front stops, looks, runs the red light and doesn't pull anyone over (I'll explain how I know in a minute). I immediately pull out my cellphone to report the police car (A105) because I have no tolerance for police officers that violate the laws they are intended to protect.
As soon as I pull out my cellphone, the other cop pulls right up on our tail. Light turns green, and she follows us very, very closely (almost dangerously close). The minute I finish my report, she turns on her lights and pulls us over.
Here's how I know the other cop was not doing anything important enough to run the light: He joins the other cop in the parking lot we pull into to harrass the hell out of my room mate (who was driving). They start bantering, obviously trying to get my friend to be disrespectful. It eventually works, after about the 10th time he's asked "How many beers have you had, seriously?"
"Give me a f***ing breathalizer if you're too dumb to take 'none' for an answer" he responds. Oops.
Cops immediately begin searching the car from the outside (perfectly legal, its a giant van). Turns out, my friend has a suspended license from a seatbelt violation that the system screwed up years before that he had taken care of. They tow the van because of the suspended license, refusing to let me drive because "I should have driven in the first place."
They have nothing else to write the van up for except "Failure to maintain lane," which is crap. The van is huge, and my roommate was doing his best to keep it in between the narrow lanes.
The road is 2 way, one lane each way with a giant shoulder on each side for bicycles I presume, but the lanes are really narrow. The wording on the ticket is as follows:
Now - using the cop's description, and the story, my roommate is going to fight this in court, because the second citation for suspended DL would not have mattered had it not been for the reasonless stop in the first place, which I believe was caused by my audacity to ensure that cops don't break the law.
Does he have a case?
NM Statute 7-7-317 said:66-7-317. Driving on roadways laned for traffic.
Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic the following rules in addition to all others consistent herewith shall apply:
A. a vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from such lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety;
B. upon a roadway which is divided into three lanes a vehicle shall not be driven in the center lane except when overtaking a [and] passing another vehicle where the roadway is clearly visible and such center lane is clear of traffic within a safe distance, or in preparation for a left turn or where such center lane is at the time allocated exclusively to traffic moving in the direction the vehicle is proceeding and is signposted to given [give] notice of such allocation; and
C. official signs may be erected directing slow-moving traffic to use a designated lane or designating those lanes to be used by traffic moving in a particular direction regardless of the center of the roadway and drivers of vehicles shall obey the directions of every such sign.
Ok - here's the deal. My room mate and myself were driving to his old apartment to get some of his stuff to move into the house. On the way, we pulled in between two cops, and pulled up to a red light. Cop in front stops, looks, runs the red light and doesn't pull anyone over (I'll explain how I know in a minute). I immediately pull out my cellphone to report the police car (A105) because I have no tolerance for police officers that violate the laws they are intended to protect.
As soon as I pull out my cellphone, the other cop pulls right up on our tail. Light turns green, and she follows us very, very closely (almost dangerously close). The minute I finish my report, she turns on her lights and pulls us over.
Here's how I know the other cop was not doing anything important enough to run the light: He joins the other cop in the parking lot we pull into to harrass the hell out of my room mate (who was driving). They start bantering, obviously trying to get my friend to be disrespectful. It eventually works, after about the 10th time he's asked "How many beers have you had, seriously?"
"Give me a f***ing breathalizer if you're too dumb to take 'none' for an answer" he responds. Oops.
Cops immediately begin searching the car from the outside (perfectly legal, its a giant van). Turns out, my friend has a suspended license from a seatbelt violation that the system screwed up years before that he had taken care of. They tow the van because of the suspended license, refusing to let me drive because "I should have driven in the first place."
They have nothing else to write the van up for except "Failure to maintain lane," which is crap. The van is huge, and my roommate was doing his best to keep it in between the narrow lanes.
The road is 2 way, one lane each way with a giant shoulder on each side for bicycles I presume, but the lanes are really narrow. The wording on the ticket is as follows:
cop said:Vehicle travelling WB - from San Pedro drove on line (shoulder, right side), 2 times, driver has suspended DL.
Now - using the cop's description, and the story, my roommate is going to fight this in court, because the second citation for suspended DL would not have mattered had it not been for the reasonless stop in the first place, which I believe was caused by my audacity to ensure that cops don't break the law.
Does he have a case?