Ham Gets Traffic Ticket For Cell Phone Use

Hi Guy's,

Here is a letter my friend Joe sent me. I can't Believe this has
happened to him please send this to anyone you can. Post it in as
many forums as possible and forward all traffic to www.wb2hww.com
where his complete story is located. We need as many hams to read
this as possible. This ticket was just written to all of us lets do
something about it.

Thanks Please Read Below,
Keivan W2KTU

Click On This Link For The Full Story
http://www.wb2hww.com/viewtopic.php?
p=131&sid=7177ab750e453915e417f44c8ae440b7#131

Guilty Guilty!

Back in May 12 2005 I received a "cell phone in use" ticket on 23 rd
street and FDR drive Manhattan. The Hearing was today and the judge
found me guilty.

I am so angry I feel violated and I feel every Amateur Radio Operator
received a ticket today.

How it unfolded:

The officer swore in and explained that "he saw me using a cell
phone, pulled me over and explained that I cannot use a cell phone
while driving". The judge asked If I wanted to speak I said " Your
honor, after the officer stopped and explained that he was going to
give me a ticket for "cell phone in use" I told the officer that this
was not a cell phone it is an amateur radio" I explained to the judge
that I was a licensed amateur radio operator and handed him my
original license and also pointed out that my licence plate was an
amateur radio license plate. I also presented a written letter
motorized from KCCBA Tom Bolero that explained that at the time of
the ticket I was talking to him on amateur radio like we do every
morning.

The judge did not buy it and I told him, "your honor with all do
respect NYV TRAFFIC LAW TITLE 7 ARTICLE 33 1225 C (B) DEFINES
A "MOBILE TELEPHONE AS ONE CONNECTED TO A PUBLIC SWITCH". Amateur
radio is not connected to a public switch its Radio to Radio.

Then he opened his law book read it and still was in doubt. He was
clearly confused. He asked me to describe the radio and how I was
using it and I described the Mobile radio and made it clear that it
was a microphone with a cord held in front of my mouth. THAT WAS
ENOUGHT FOR HIM TO HEAR AND HE SAID I WAS GUILTY because I held it in
close proximity to my ear.

Bull crap! We all got a ticket today. WE ALL GOT A TICKET TODAY.

I will appeal.
I might need all the help I can get.

Joe W2JLH



73 de Joe W2JLH
www.joeyhernandez.com

Click On This Link For Full The Story
http://www.wb2hww.com/viewtopic.php?
p=131&sid=7177ab750e453915e417f44c8ae440b7#131More Info On WB2HWW Website

 

Judges are like a$$holes, every town has got at least one.

 

My defense would have been something like this:

Your honor, the device I was using was a radio, not a telephone. I would like to know how the officer contacted the dispatch officer to notify them that he was pulling me over. Did he use a radio or a telephone? Maybe both?

 

A cell phone is a radio.

 

The questions I have are the following:

Were you only stopped for the use of the 'cell phone' or did the officer observe anything that caused him to think that said usage was imparing your driving?

Although the ban does cover cell phone usage, most of the enforcement I've heard about came after the driver was observed being obviously distracted and the direct cause was the cell phone usage, and for that reasoning they were written up for it. (distracted being determined by improper lane travel, forgetting to signal for a lane change, etc etc)

I've also read a few of these laws and they seem to have that kind of clause in them.  They appear to be more after the distraction caused and observing something that caused them to stop you because you were distracted, not just because you were on the phone.

Just an honest question, and I don't know how your law is written/interpreted.

 

So, do the cops there ticket anyone using a commercial rig? Probably not. Anyone using a CB? Proably not. People are too ignorant about ham radio. Most people say to me the same stupid thing," Do you talk on radios made of ham?" I have heard that at least 50 times. I now say amateur radio, and people say "Whats and amateur?"

 

This cop and judge need a talking to....

 

Hi New Yawkahs,

What wasn't explained is the intent of the traffic enforcement in "The City" which is generation of revenue by any and all means possible. I for one (and I personally know several others) received a summons regarding a vehicle I scrapped and ignored all the threats I received by mail for years to follow. There are variations like a friend who got one for a car he hadn't owned in years at a time he was in Ohio. How it showed up in Brooklyn registered to him is another mystery, it too was scrap metal at the time. Oh, the same guy got one for a motorcycle sold several years previously. The irony of it is we live in New Jersey and have no reason whatsoever to drive into New York, hell, I don't even own a car. Never mind the stories of how NJ plates attract NY cops like, well, you know.

Then there is this nagging question. With one of the finest public transportation systems in the world, why are there ANY cars in New York? I learned MY lesson when the first car I ever owned was wrecked in a hit and run at Columbus Circle within sight of that famous 59th Street Bridge and I wasn't particularly "feelin' groovy" about it.

 

I remember seeing a report on, I want to say 20/20 but I could be wrong, about NY's parking meter enforcement unit, where they taped a tow truck hauling a van away and the van striking another vehicle while it was being pulled out.

The parking enforcement denied that they caused the damage to the van, and even when presented with the video, they then tried to blame the towing company.

They eventually got them to pay for it and drop the parking citation, after they proved the tow truck SAT there and waited till there was 10 mins left on the meter, then quickly snatched the van. I guess they figured 10 minutes left was 'close enough' to do it.

This was over 10 years ago though as I remember seeing it when I still lived in the Bay Area.

 

Using cell phones is forbidden while driving in Europe.
But,fortunately police recognize phone from portable radio or mike.
So I have never had such stupid cop on my way.
I hope this misunderstanding will be solved soon.
Andy sp9hzx

 

Good point! That would make him a hypocrite.

 

This seems to me to br similar to "anti-antenna zoning", in that according to the FCC, they and only they have the right to regulate the use of a transmitting device and associated equipment. In other words, state and local authorities can't make it illegal to use your rig under any circumstances. That's at least how I understand it. Perhaps if the gentleman would appeal with the weight of the Federal Government behind him (a copy of Part 97?) that could make the judge think again.

73 and Seasons Greetings

 

I'm thinking H/F (handsfree) option now for my Mobile...???

 

What do you call an attorney with an IQ of 50?.............Your Honor..no wonder so many people in prison are actuall innocent!

 

The law enforcement agencies and court systems are so money-driven these days that in order to generate the revenues they need, they must 'create criminals'.

Without going into long detail, I have fallen victim to this also.

Seat belt laws, lowered DUI thresholds, and headlight laws are all examples.

In my opinion, a person who does not wear a seatbelt only poses a threat to himself. (ever hear of a person being ejected in a crash and flying into an innocent bystander?)

A person with a blood alcohol content of .08% (1 beer or less) does not kill innocent drivers in head-on crashes- people that are really intoxicated do.

In my state, if you have your windshield wipers on, you must have your headlights on also or you will get a ticket.

All of these laws are put into effect to generate revenue, not to protect the taxpayers. The more criminals that can be 'created' the more money is available to law-enforcement, lawyers, bondsmen and the courts.

Cell phone usage (in my opinion) is a legitimate hazard to those driving and to others sharing the streets with them. I find talking on the phone while driving to be no more distracting than talking to a passenger in the car but dialing or text messaging while driving is very dangerous. (tried texting once- will never do it again)

Same goes for the rig in the car. I can drive in city traffic safely while talking into the mic but changing freqs or worse- entering a vfo freq is flat dangerous.

You did not deserve a conviction for cell phone usage but the way the courts are set up today, innocent people must spend several thousand dollars in order to prevail over a hundred dollar charge. Most won't or can't.

I almost forgot to mention I've never been in trouble for seat belts, DUI or headlight violations. merely used them as examples!