I'm a 22 year-old graduate student; I drive a 2002 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R, and this is the reason I believe I got pulled over. If you are a lawyer, think you can help, or have some sound advice, PLEASE email me at jtmiller@utdallas.edu.
This post will be broken up into:
A short version of the event.
A long version of the event.
What I'm doing to fight the ticket.
What I need help with.
SHORT VERSION: Officer stated I was following too closely on a freeway in moderately heavy traffic.
LONG VERSION: I was driving on southbound US-75 north of Dallas in the left part of the leftmost lane because there is a large median to the left which I can swerve into should the situation demand it. I was within five miles per hour of the speed limit, wearing armored boots, gloves, a jacket, a DOT and SNELL approved full-face helmet with a tinted visor, and jeans. The temperature was around 95 degrees (closer to 98) and I was still wearing all my safety gear. The officer entered the freeway in an unmarked police car, a red sedan with low-profile antennas and the search light on the driver?s side. The officer was in his uniform and other cars obviously noticed the officer because some slammed on their brakes. The officer proceeded across three lanes of traffic to the left lane. The officer in effect created a line in front of him which the other cars would not pass. I gladly would have changed lanes and passed the officer but could not because there was a barrier of cars around me. After driving behind the officer for around ten minutes, the officer briefly flashed his red and blues. At this point I had no idea what was going on, I had both the clutch and brake covered, and I backed off a bit from the officer. There was a good deal of space in front of the officer, because the traffic did not want to pass. A little while later, the officer turned on his red and blues and began slowing. The traffic slowed with the officer and I had no idea what was going on. I knew that I no longer wanted to follow this vehicle. I looked to the right, signaled, the lane was clear, and I proceeded to pass the officer. I looked into his car as I was passing to see if what was amiss and it looked like he was waving me over. I pointed incredulously to myself and the officer signaled yes, he meant me by shaking his head, and motioned to the left median. I passed the officer and gradually slowed down in the left median, dodging the various road hazards. The officer got out and told me I was following him too closely. We did the license and insurance bit. The insurance card I was carrying in the bike was for thirty days from when I got the insurance because the bike was brand new. I did not know this. I have valid insurance, so this isn?t a problem. The officer curtly explained it was a law that I was required to follow at least two seconds behind him. He repeatedly asked me to take off my helmet. I didn?t know why he wanted my helmet off since I was answering his questions and he could hear me just fine. He kept repeating the law was two seconds and I was nowhere near that, and kept asking me to take off my helmet. After taking off my helmet he asked me how close I thought I was. I was quite flustered at this point and more worried about re-entering into the fast lane of traffic on a major highway. I believe I said ?I?m not sure, maybe a second, second and a half. I don?t really know.? And the truth is I don?t. When I was driving, I hadn?t counted off my seconds in some time. This was a cop, I didn?t think following a bit close was a risk since most cops don?t drive erratically. I took the Motorcycle Safety Course before I got my motorcycle?s license, before I got my bike. I know what the two-second rule is, and I employ it most of the time. I know about safe lane positions, etc. For the specific conditions, I thought I was in the safest place on that freeway. After answering the ?How close do you think you were?? statement with my helmet off the officer cut me off in mid-sentence and told me to look for a current insurance card and went back to his squad car. At this point I was pretty sure I was going to get a ticket for invalid insurance, but wasn?t really worried. Again, I was more concerned with getting back onto the freeway safely. The officer returned with two citations. One for the invalid insurance, but the first citation was for following too closely. I simply couldn?t believe it. I became irate, but still managed to address the officer in what I would deem a respectful manner. A heated argument ensued. The officer didn?t really answer any of my questions about what statute spelled-out safe following distances, etc. He effectively ending the conversation by telling me he had me on tape saying one second and telling me to get back on my bike and leave. The officer then went into his car and proceeded to write quite a bit. I still had my gloves on and was struggling with the strap-retention system on my helmet. I stood staring at the officer for a good deal of time. He glanced up at me several times. I was doing two things here. I was waiting for him to re-enter the freeway hoping to create a space for me to do so, and I was venting steam. I didn?t think it was a good idea to start driving as upset as I was. Eventually I took off my glove which made it much easier to find the little elastic band of material that holds the helmet strap in place. I probably took five minutes to do this. The officer just sat in his car, writing, glancing up at me periodically. He did not help me re-enter the freeway. A Harley biker created a space for me to re-enter.
WHAT I?M DOING TO FIGHT THE TICKET: I will be getting the insurance citation dismissed today. I wrote down another, even more detailed description of the event as soon as I got home. A friend said the tapes were by law publicly accessible and I will be getting the tape from that day. Later today I will also take pictures of similar traffic conditions. Same time of day, same place on the freeway. I will also be filing a complaint against the officer.
WHAT I NEED HELP WITH: I don?t know the law that well. A friend also told me there is a law concerning following distance that is actually three seconds. I need to know what this law is, where it is, how to find it and read it, etc. I want the ticket dismissed, obviously. I want a better guarantee than ?the officer probably won?t show up to court.? I want to file a complaint against the officer, possibly a lawsuit. In my estimation, he pulled me over merely because I was on a flashy sports bike. I was not driving in an unsafe manner. I was in full safety-gear. I?ve taken the MSF course. My license and registration, as well as insurance are all in proper order. The fact of the matter is that pulling me over into that left median, which is fraught with hazards, was much more dangerous than me following him a little closely. Making me re-enter rush hour traffic into the fast lane on a major freeway is much more dangerous than me following him a little closely. If I was following him too closely he should have done what I do when someone is tailgating me, speed up and move over, or slow down and move over. I?m still a little upset, as you can tell.
This post will be broken up into:
A short version of the event.
A long version of the event.
What I'm doing to fight the ticket.
What I need help with.
SHORT VERSION: Officer stated I was following too closely on a freeway in moderately heavy traffic.
LONG VERSION: I was driving on southbound US-75 north of Dallas in the left part of the leftmost lane because there is a large median to the left which I can swerve into should the situation demand it. I was within five miles per hour of the speed limit, wearing armored boots, gloves, a jacket, a DOT and SNELL approved full-face helmet with a tinted visor, and jeans. The temperature was around 95 degrees (closer to 98) and I was still wearing all my safety gear. The officer entered the freeway in an unmarked police car, a red sedan with low-profile antennas and the search light on the driver?s side. The officer was in his uniform and other cars obviously noticed the officer because some slammed on their brakes. The officer proceeded across three lanes of traffic to the left lane. The officer in effect created a line in front of him which the other cars would not pass. I gladly would have changed lanes and passed the officer but could not because there was a barrier of cars around me. After driving behind the officer for around ten minutes, the officer briefly flashed his red and blues. At this point I had no idea what was going on, I had both the clutch and brake covered, and I backed off a bit from the officer. There was a good deal of space in front of the officer, because the traffic did not want to pass. A little while later, the officer turned on his red and blues and began slowing. The traffic slowed with the officer and I had no idea what was going on. I knew that I no longer wanted to follow this vehicle. I looked to the right, signaled, the lane was clear, and I proceeded to pass the officer. I looked into his car as I was passing to see if what was amiss and it looked like he was waving me over. I pointed incredulously to myself and the officer signaled yes, he meant me by shaking his head, and motioned to the left median. I passed the officer and gradually slowed down in the left median, dodging the various road hazards. The officer got out and told me I was following him too closely. We did the license and insurance bit. The insurance card I was carrying in the bike was for thirty days from when I got the insurance because the bike was brand new. I did not know this. I have valid insurance, so this isn?t a problem. The officer curtly explained it was a law that I was required to follow at least two seconds behind him. He repeatedly asked me to take off my helmet. I didn?t know why he wanted my helmet off since I was answering his questions and he could hear me just fine. He kept repeating the law was two seconds and I was nowhere near that, and kept asking me to take off my helmet. After taking off my helmet he asked me how close I thought I was. I was quite flustered at this point and more worried about re-entering into the fast lane of traffic on a major highway. I believe I said ?I?m not sure, maybe a second, second and a half. I don?t really know.? And the truth is I don?t. When I was driving, I hadn?t counted off my seconds in some time. This was a cop, I didn?t think following a bit close was a risk since most cops don?t drive erratically. I took the Motorcycle Safety Course before I got my motorcycle?s license, before I got my bike. I know what the two-second rule is, and I employ it most of the time. I know about safe lane positions, etc. For the specific conditions, I thought I was in the safest place on that freeway. After answering the ?How close do you think you were?? statement with my helmet off the officer cut me off in mid-sentence and told me to look for a current insurance card and went back to his squad car. At this point I was pretty sure I was going to get a ticket for invalid insurance, but wasn?t really worried. Again, I was more concerned with getting back onto the freeway safely. The officer returned with two citations. One for the invalid insurance, but the first citation was for following too closely. I simply couldn?t believe it. I became irate, but still managed to address the officer in what I would deem a respectful manner. A heated argument ensued. The officer didn?t really answer any of my questions about what statute spelled-out safe following distances, etc. He effectively ending the conversation by telling me he had me on tape saying one second and telling me to get back on my bike and leave. The officer then went into his car and proceeded to write quite a bit. I still had my gloves on and was struggling with the strap-retention system on my helmet. I stood staring at the officer for a good deal of time. He glanced up at me several times. I was doing two things here. I was waiting for him to re-enter the freeway hoping to create a space for me to do so, and I was venting steam. I didn?t think it was a good idea to start driving as upset as I was. Eventually I took off my glove which made it much easier to find the little elastic band of material that holds the helmet strap in place. I probably took five minutes to do this. The officer just sat in his car, writing, glancing up at me periodically. He did not help me re-enter the freeway. A Harley biker created a space for me to re-enter.
WHAT I?M DOING TO FIGHT THE TICKET: I will be getting the insurance citation dismissed today. I wrote down another, even more detailed description of the event as soon as I got home. A friend said the tapes were by law publicly accessible and I will be getting the tape from that day. Later today I will also take pictures of similar traffic conditions. Same time of day, same place on the freeway. I will also be filing a complaint against the officer.
WHAT I NEED HELP WITH: I don?t know the law that well. A friend also told me there is a law concerning following distance that is actually three seconds. I need to know what this law is, where it is, how to find it and read it, etc. I want the ticket dismissed, obviously. I want a better guarantee than ?the officer probably won?t show up to court.? I want to file a complaint against the officer, possibly a lawsuit. In my estimation, he pulled me over merely because I was on a flashy sports bike. I was not driving in an unsafe manner. I was in full safety-gear. I?ve taken the MSF course. My license and registration, as well as insurance are all in proper order. The fact of the matter is that pulling me over into that left median, which is fraught with hazards, was much more dangerous than me following him a little closely. Making me re-enter rush hour traffic into the fast lane on a major freeway is much more dangerous than me following him a little closely. If I was following him too closely he should have done what I do when someone is tailgating me, speed up and move over, or slow down and move over. I?m still a little upset, as you can tell.