Tweet
All right, so here's the story:
I was coming back from a weekly therapy session, when an officer pulled in behind me. I usually tend to notice a big black and white car with big lights, so I just happened to notice it following me for four miles until I got up to my house. That's beside the point, but I just felt I'd comment to ask... Do you think he was running my plates, or was he "waiting" for me to do something wrong? I really dislike it when police officers pull behind me; they tend to get extremely close, and even seem as if they want me to speed, as if they're coercing me to break the law.
Anyway, back to the point, as I turned into my apartment complex, the cop lit up his lights. I pulled over, and was issued a ticket for expired tags, simple as that. Wished the officer well, and went on my now ruined day. Never had a worse day from someone just doing their job, actually.
My tags were over two months out of date, so I don't blame the officer at all, he was doing his job; however, the people at my DOL did not do their job informing me that I would not be automatically notified of my tag expiration that year due to a title change. I originally thought that the notification was lost in the mail due to a change of address, however we had moved in soon enough that if it was mailed, it should have got to my old house, though there was about only a week of wiggle room for that to happen, and I recall changing our address a few weeks before we actually moved to the new place; however I'm still confident it was the DOL's mistake. I only learned this was the case recently, as my family had to sell our car and move out because of financial issues. The unfortunate aspect of this, is that my mother had not had the time to mention to me my tags might be out of date until it was too late.
I'm not sure at all what the laws are in Washington state concerning tags. Am I legally within my rights to expect notification in the mail, and how can I prove that the DOL employee failed to inform me? I do not feel that I deserve this ticket. I have been extremely involved in family crisis, mental issues, and moving into a new home. I'm not aware of what obligation I have to continually check whether my tags are up-to-date, because I have always received notification in the mail of this.
I have chosen to contest the ticket in court and explain the circumstances to the judge, but I am wondering if any officers, especially those from Washington state, can give me their opinions on the likelihood of the infraction being over-turned.
edit:
D'oh, sorry for not seeing that "Traffic Violations" sub-forum before posting this guys. Hopefully a mod will move it soon.
I was coming back from a weekly therapy session, when an officer pulled in behind me. I usually tend to notice a big black and white car with big lights, so I just happened to notice it following me for four miles until I got up to my house. That's beside the point, but I just felt I'd comment to ask... Do you think he was running my plates, or was he "waiting" for me to do something wrong? I really dislike it when police officers pull behind me; they tend to get extremely close, and even seem as if they want me to speed, as if they're coercing me to break the law.
Anyway, back to the point, as I turned into my apartment complex, the cop lit up his lights. I pulled over, and was issued a ticket for expired tags, simple as that. Wished the officer well, and went on my now ruined day. Never had a worse day from someone just doing their job, actually.
My tags were over two months out of date, so I don't blame the officer at all, he was doing his job; however, the people at my DOL did not do their job informing me that I would not be automatically notified of my tag expiration that year due to a title change. I originally thought that the notification was lost in the mail due to a change of address, however we had moved in soon enough that if it was mailed, it should have got to my old house, though there was about only a week of wiggle room for that to happen, and I recall changing our address a few weeks before we actually moved to the new place; however I'm still confident it was the DOL's mistake. I only learned this was the case recently, as my family had to sell our car and move out because of financial issues. The unfortunate aspect of this, is that my mother had not had the time to mention to me my tags might be out of date until it was too late.
I'm not sure at all what the laws are in Washington state concerning tags. Am I legally within my rights to expect notification in the mail, and how can I prove that the DOL employee failed to inform me? I do not feel that I deserve this ticket. I have been extremely involved in family crisis, mental issues, and moving into a new home. I'm not aware of what obligation I have to continually check whether my tags are up-to-date, because I have always received notification in the mail of this.
I have chosen to contest the ticket in court and explain the circumstances to the judge, but I am wondering if any officers, especially those from Washington state, can give me their opinions on the likelihood of the infraction being over-turned.
edit:
D'oh, sorry for not seeing that "Traffic Violations" sub-forum before posting this guys. Hopefully a mod will move it soon.
Comment