Happening Now Hollywood Accident

[BernieP]

Whaaa? The cops already said who is at fault, according to people here, that's the end of it. Anyway, wonder if we'll ever hear any more about this.

I know someone who was t-boned (more or less) by a local cop. Cop didn't have lights or sirens and was exceeding the speed limit in a congested area.
The first thing the officer did was write a ticket and try to intimidate the young person.
There was no investigation, no questions asked, basically no recourse. Oh, the person could have plead not guilty to the district magistrate, who would have automatically sided with the officer and stuck out his hand (for his portion of the fine). See there was the fine as defined by state law, then there were various local and state fees. Out of a $125 ticket, the actual "fine" was maybe $25.
Of course you could "appeal' to a real court, but to do so you had to pay court costs and post a bond.
If that didn't convince you to just pay the fine, it was also made know that should you appeal, you would be advised to never drive in that township again as you would be spending a lot of time on the side of the road.

 

[awpitt]

I know someone who was t-boned (more or less) by a local cop. Cop didn't have lights or sirens and was exceeding the speed limit in a congested area.
The first thing the officer did was write a ticket and try to intimidate the young person.
There was no investigation, no questions asked, basically no recourse. Oh, the person could have plead not guilty to the district magistrate, who would have automatically sided with the officer and stuck out his hand (for his portion of the fine). See there was the fine as defined by state law, then there were various local and state fees. Out of a $125 ticket, the actual "fine" was maybe $25.
Of course you could "appeal' to a real court, but to do so you had to pay court costs and post a bond.
If that didn't convince you to just pay the fine, it was also made know that should you appeal, you would be advised to never drive in that township again as you would be spending a lot of time on the side of the road.

What's a "district magistrate"? We don't have those in southern MD. We do have District Court Judges though and I know many people (myself included) who have fought tickets in court, and won.

 

[Ken King]

What's a "district magistrate"? We don't have those in southern MD. We do have District Court Judges though and I know many people (myself included) who have fought tickets in court, and won.

Pretty sure he wasn't talking about MD. Out here in WV we have the magistrates too and the outrageous court costs. Wife had a minor accident last year, crossed center line and nicked a vehicle. Crossing center line $7, court costs $165, total $172. And the fine portion is flexible (magistrate makes the call) but the court costs are fixed by law.

 

[Grumpy]

What's a "district magistrate"? We don't have those in southern MD. We do have District Court Judges though and I know many people (myself included) who have fought tickets in court, and won.

I've fought and won disputing a $70 ticket in court...and then paid $70 in court costs.

 

[Hannibal]

I've fought and won disputing a $70 ticket in court...and then paid $70 in court costs.

Got nailed for 15 over in a 50 mph coming into Mt. Olive, NC I believe on my way home from a hell run down to Myrtle Beach to visit family. It was one of those areas where one minute your on their back-woods interstate system and the next thing you're on their wide open, multi-lane, divided highways where the speed drops down from 65 mph.

Because it was 15 over, it was a mandatory court appearance. No "pay the fine" and stay home. So, being that court was 9AM on a Friday morning (thankfully), I headed down Thursday night with the family, grabbed a hotel about 10 minutes from the court (at a cost of $150) and went to court Friday morning.

Sat for about 15 minutes and was called before some table (no judge) occupied by two ladies who read my charge. Said they were not there to judge the case or impose verdict. They simply said they were offering me an opt out discount (my words) where I could pay a fine of $150 then and there (at cashier), admit no guilt/get no points and did not need to wait to stand before a judge. I gladly took the agreement, paid and left. Now why couldn't I do this via mail?

All in all, it was a ploy to generate money of course. I was 7 hours away so with my mandatory court appearance, I'd likely spend money on a hotel, food and their "court fee".

They got me for about $400 all said and done because of a suspect speeding ticket.

 

[OldHillcrestGuy]

St. Mary's County the Volunteer Squads are not self insured, the have insurance through an insurance company just like everyone else. Can't speak for Charles or Calvert, but each company in St. Mary's buys it's own insurance and is not self insured.

Self insured wouldn't that mean they purchase their own insurance through a insurance company. I just finished meeting with our agent for our yearly update and renewal. His company insures probably half the Fire and EMS stations in So.Md.

 

[officeguy]

Self insured wouldn't that mean they purchase their own insurance through a insurance company. I just finished meeting with our agent for our yearly update and renewal. His company insures probably half the Fire and EMS stations in So.Md.

No. 'self insured' means you don't buy insurance. It means you just pay claims if they arise out of your own reserves. Cities, counties, state government and some large corporations do that. It cuts out the middleman and if you are well capitalized it is a way to cut your expenses. Volunteer fire and rescue organizations are small businesses. They don't self insure. In some jurisdictions the city or county may assume their liability risk, SoMD is not one of those jurisdictions.

 

[TimTheToolMan]

Self insured wouldn't that mean they purchase their own insurance through a insurance company. I just finished meeting with our agent for our yearly update and renewal. His company insures probably half the Fire and EMS stations in So.Md.

Sorry, I thought you were referring to self insurance like the State does, instead of actually purchasing insurance through an outside vender.

 

[BernieP]

Pretty sure he wasn't talking about MD. Out here in WV we have the magistrates too and the outrageous court costs. Wife had a minor accident last year, crossed center line and nicked a vehicle. Crossing center line $7, court costs $165, total $172. And the fine portion is flexible (magistrate makes the call) but the court costs are fixed by law.

correct, not MD, PA. District Justice, Justice of the Peace, all pretty much the same thing. No requirement to have a law degree or any degree. Get elected and they take a course.
In most municipalities (another thing you don't have in MD), they support the local police, one hand washes the other.

Part of the reason I'm so suspect of traffic tickets is what I saw in PA. State Police were not big ticket writers, maybe on the turnpike because they had a special branch for the PA TP.
But it was local municipal police forces that ran speed traps. They used three things, you being ignorant of the law, fear and the district court (your first stop)
By ignorance of the law, the state had very strict regulations on how roads were to be marked, and PA, like NY and a few other states have a massive number of state owned roads - not many roads are county or locally owned. But local cops can still write tickets. For example, when the speed limit changes, it has to be posted something like a mile in advance, and the warning as well as the speed limit has to be posted every quarter mile - by state law. There's a reason the state did this and banned local cops from using radar - speed traps.
That doesn't mean they wouldn't try.
I learned this from a couple of state trooper friends. One was retired but he still had the regulations, he even made me copies of some of the pages - he detested the local cops who milked people outside the community with traffic tickets.