Traps that aren't speed traps

[Duke87]

That's interesting. I'd think an expired inspection sticker would be a violation only in the state in which the vehicle is registered.

You are required to have a current and valid vehicle registration even if you are driving out of state. Now, an expired sticker may not necessarily indicate that the registration is no good (see my above example), but this is DC we're talking about. You might be able to get a ticket overturned in court if you got one but are you gonna travel all the way back to DC from wherever to challenge it? No, and they know that and take full advantage.

Washington DC issues ridiculous numbers of traffic and parking violations because they are partially or entirely denied a lot of the common more over the table means of raising revenue. The federal government is exempt from paying taxes so DC collects no property taxes on all of the federally owned land, which is a huge percentage of the land in DC. And while states can collect income tax on people who work in the state even if they do not live in the state, DC is not allowed to do this. So they ticket the shit out of Maryland and Virginia drivers instead.

[jeffandnicole]

What is the NJ state statute regarding using the shoulder. As far as I'm aware, shoulder use is prohibited at all times (except for parking).

One of my coworkers got nailed for it not too long ago - I'll see if he remembers.  Just looking at the point violations chart, I would guess it might be 39:4-85 "Improper passing on right or off roadway", which is a 4 pointer.  A quick Google search also finds a couple of attorney sites noting this violation as the "shoulder riding" ticket.

I knew the one that prohibits passing on the shoulder.  I wanted to know the law that *permits* using the shoulder, as empirestate mentioned.

[SteveG1988]

Mt Holly NJ recently put out a trap, had a cop in plains clothes looking up the hill on a main road in and out of town, maybe all 4 of the main routes in and out, with binoculars, radioing in expired stickers. Until recently there was a 2010 expiry sticker near my house. I still occasionally see them.

One thing that has changed since the 2000s, they track the stickers a lot more now, and can run the barcode/serial # to see if it is really an issued one or if it was just stuck to the windshield. It is a lesser fine to have no sticker than it is to have one of those. So any NJ resident that thinks about a lickem and stickem type, be careful, and you cannot plead "i didn't know" since it is your word vs whoever put it on, and if it is a local garage....they probably have a relationship with the police. As the sticker only serves for emissions now (Aug 2010 they changed) it is a revenue generator for small towns to check that sticker. Prior to Aug 2010 it would have been a safety thing, and prior to 1999 it would have also meant your registration was expired (1999-2004 we used plate stickers for reg, now it is a secondary offense. So that sticker checkout can also serve for that nowadays)

[empirestate]

What is the NJ state statute regarding using the shoulder. As far as I'm aware, shoulder use is prohibited at all times (except for parking).

One of my coworkers got nailed for it not too long ago - I'll see if he remembers.  Just looking at the point violations chart, I would guess it might be 39:4-85 "Improper passing on right or off roadway", which is a 4 pointer.  A quick Google search also finds a couple of attorney sites noting this violation as the "shoulder riding" ticket.

I knew the one that prohibits passing on the shoulder.  I wanted to know the law that *permits* using the shoulder, as empirestate mentioned.

Yes, me too. Having read it myself, I'd be most curious to find it again if anyone can figure out where I got it from!

(I'm starting to remember that it specifically dealt with passing a left-turning vehicle by using the shoulder for a short distance.)

[signalman]

(I'm starting to remember that it specifically dealt with passing a left-turning vehicle by using the shoulder for a short distance.)

I'm pretty sure that is technically illegal in NJ.  Although almost every driver does this, me included.  I've never seen someone get stopped for doing it.  I'm quite sure it's something that cops look the other way on in an effort to keep traffic moving. 

[Roadrunner75]

(I'm starting to remember that it specifically dealt with passing a left-turning vehicle by using the shoulder for a short distance.)

I'm pretty sure that is technically illegal in NJ.  Although almost every driver does this, me included.  I've never seen someone get stopped for doing it.  I'm quite sure it's something that cops look the other way on in an effort to keep traffic moving.

The text for 39:4-85 does address passing a turning vehicle ("making or about to make a left turn"):

39:4-85.  Passing to left when overtaking; passing when in lines; signalling to pass; passing upon right
The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left thereof and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.  If vehicles on the roadway are moving in two or more substantially continuous lines, the provisions of this paragraph and section 39:4-87 of this Title shall not be considered as prohibiting the vehicles in one line overtaking and passing the vehicles in another line either upon the right or left, nor shall those provisions be construed to prohibit drivers overtaking and passing upon the right another vehicle which is making or about to make a  left turn.

The driver of an overtaking motor vehicle not within a business or residence district shall give audible warning with his horn or other warning device before passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right  as provided in this section only under conditions permitting such movement in safety.  In no event shall such movement be made by driving off the pavement or main-traveled portion of the roadway.

[Pete from Boston]

I guess when cops are looking at registration stickers they are typically looking only at in-state vehicles since they don't know what the regulations in other states are.

Except in the District of Columbia.  D.C. parking ticket writers are notorious for checking inspection stickers on vehicles parked on D.C. streets and ticketing those with expired stickers (especially cars from Virginia, since D.C. stopped inspection of most cars, and Maryland has never had an inspection requirement that includes a windshield sticker).

That's interesting. I'd think an expired inspection sticker would be a violation only in the state in which the vehicle is registered. I can't imagine a Kentucky copy writing a ticket for a Virginia driver having an expired inspection sticker if he's cited for speeding.

I got a ticket for expired inspection out of state many years ago.  I promptly forgot about it, and for reasons I can't recall, it came back to haunt me several years later and caused me a day of driving around to clear it up. 

Here in Mass., getting a parking ticket for expired inspection is a parking ticket and nothing more.  Being pulled over for it, though, is a surchargeable moving violation (one that causes one's insurance to go up for six years). 

[J N Winkler]

The driver of an overtaking motor vehicle not within a business or residence district shall give audible warning with his horn or other warning device before passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

Great:  another obsolete provision that needs to be abolished (similar to the "driver's permits" instead of real driver's licenses that NJ issues to deaf drivers).  Now I have visions of the police setting up traps to catch drivers who don't use their horns when they overtake.

[Pete from Boston]

Around here, particularly in Cambridge, there are often plainclothes officers crossing streets at crosswalks as bait to catch people who failed to yield them the right of way.  Interestingly, bicyclists are frequently stopped in these traps as well.

[Mr. Matté]

The driver of an overtaking motor vehicle not within a business or residence district shall give audible warning with his horn or other warning device before passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

Great:  another obsolete provision that needs to be abolished (similar to the "driver's permits" instead of real driver's licenses that NJ issues to deaf drivers).  Now I have visions of the police setting up traps to catch drivers who don't use their horns when they overtake.

Actually that provision was recently deleted: http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2014/11/let_your_ram_run_free_christie_signs_nj_bill_to_remove_outdated_laws.html

TRENTON – About two dozen dusty old laws were wiped from the books today when Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill to remove antiquated and anachronistic statutes.
...
And you won't have to use an "audible warning"  when passing a vehicle on the road anymore.

So I guess when I mouthed "shut up" to the car drivers who honked at me while biking, I was technically in the wrong. But the one I did to the guy in Burlington Township yesterday, that was my first legitimate shut up.

[vdeane]

Around here, particularly in Cambridge, there are often plainclothes officers crossing streets at crosswalks as bait to catch people who failed to yield them the right of way.  Interestingly, bicyclists are frequently stopped in these traps as well.

In Fort Lee they dressed the officer up as a duck.  Yes, really.

[theline]

I'm proof that your vehicle registration doesn't even have to be expired for an officer to use it as an excuse for a traffic stop.

A few years ago, I was driving my beat-up van home at 2 AM after working the night shift. I was pulled over and told that my registration was expired. I begged to differ, because I still had two weeks before expiration, according to the sticker on the plate and according to my registration certificate. I showed the officer the certificate, and he mumbled something about the BMV data base showing that my plate was expired, despite the evidence to the contrary. He let me go, of course.

When I related the story to my co-workers the next day, they told me that the officer was probably expecting a cloud of smoke to emerge when I opened the van's window, from my portable meth lab. 

[Pete from Boston]

Around here, particularly in Cambridge, there are often plainclothes officers crossing streets at crosswalks as bait to catch people who failed to yield them the right of way.  Interestingly, bicyclists are frequently stopped in these traps as well.

In Fort Lee they dressed the officer up as a duck.  Yes, really.

Karen Haigh, of River Edge, said she was issued a $230 ticket for not stopping for the decoy.

"They told me that I was getting a ticket for not stopping for a duck," she told WABC-TV. "But it scared me. I'm a woman. This huge duck scared me."

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/11/donald_duck_pedestrian_decoy_draws_criticism_in_fort_lee_report_says.html

[roadman]

Here in Mass., getting a parking ticket for expired inspection is a parking ticket and nothing more.  Being pulled over for it, though, is a surchargeable moving violation (one that causes one's insurance to go up for six years). 

As I understand it, it's because parking enforcement can only issue tickets for parking violations, and nothing more - even if the other violations are obvious (like an expired inspection or registration sticker).  And if you're pulled over and have an expired inspection sticker, it's not only considered a moving violation, but the cops can legally impound and tow your car if they choose to do so.

Yet, in Massachusetts, if you're caught texting while driving, it's only a $100 fine that's NOT a surchargeable violation.

[empirestate]

(I'm starting to remember that it specifically dealt with passing a left-turning vehicle by using the shoulder for a short distance.)

I'm pretty sure that is technically illegal in NJ.  Although almost every driver does this, me included.  I've never seen someone get stopped for doing it.  I'm quite sure it's something that cops look the other way on in an effort to keep traffic moving.

The text for 39:4-85 does address passing a turning vehicle ("making or about to make a left turn"):

39:4-85.  Passing to left when overtaking; passing when in lines; signalling to pass; passing upon right
The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left thereof and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.  If vehicles on the roadway are moving in two or more substantially continuous lines, the provisions of this paragraph and section 39:4-87 of this Title shall not be considered as prohibiting the vehicles in one line overtaking and passing the vehicles in another line either upon the right or left, nor shall those provisions be construed to prohibit drivers overtaking and passing upon the right another vehicle which is making or about to make a  left turn.

The driver of an overtaking motor vehicle not within a business or residence district shall give audible warning with his horn or other warning device before passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right  as provided in this section only under conditions permitting such movement in safety.  In no event shall such movement be made by driving off the pavement or main-traveled portion of the roadway.

Yeah, I found that too. I suppose it's possible I misinterpreted the first italicized passage, but the presence of the second makes me doubtful of that.

[Laura]

Around here, particularly in Cambridge, there are often plainclothes officers crossing streets at crosswalks as bait to catch people who failed to yield them the right of way.  Interestingly, bicyclists are frequently stopped in these traps as well.

In Fort Lee they dressed the officer up as a duck.  Yes, really.

Karen Haigh, of River Edge, said she was issued a $230 ticket for not stopping for the decoy.

"They told me that I was getting a ticket for not stopping for a duck," she told WABC-TV. "But it scared me. I'm a woman. This huge duck scared me."

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/11/donald_duck_pedestrian_decoy_draws_criticism_in_fort_lee_report_says.html

Something similar happened to an acquaintance of mine several years ago here in Maryland. There was a police officer who was standing in the middle of the road waving people over. She thought he was a hitchhiker, swerved into the other lane to avoid him, and sped up away from him. Naturally, he followed her and pulled her over. She was so terrified and shook up that the cop just let her go. She was about 18 at the time and it was her first time being pulled over.

I personally hate when they stand in the road like that. I almost hit one when I was 16 because he stepped out into the road in front of me to wave me over. WTF. I could have killed him.

Thankfully I haven't seen this kind of enforcement in MD since I was a teenager, and it needs to stay that way. I'm not so much scared that they're some sort of rapist, but more so that I'm going to plow them down for acting like an idiot pedestrian.


iPhone

[Pete from Boston]

I agree, I don't like anyone standing in the lane of traffic, but in most of the pedestrian enforcement scenarios here the streets have low de facto or de jure speed limits, and there is usually something like a parking lane. 

[jeffandnicole]

Around here, particularly in Cambridge, there are often plainclothes officers crossing streets at crosswalks as bait to catch people who failed to yield them the right of way.  Interestingly, bicyclists are frequently stopped in these traps as well.

In Fort Lee they dressed the officer up as a duck.  Yes, really.

Karen Haigh, of River Edge, said she was issued a $230 ticket for not stopping for the decoy.

"They told me that I was getting a ticket for not stopping for a duck," she told WABC-TV. "But it scared me. I'm a woman. This huge duck scared me.”

http://www.nj.com/bergen/index.ssf/2014/11/donald_duck_pedestrian_decoy_draws_criticism_in_fort_lee_report_says.html

Something similar happened to an acquaintance of mine several years ago here in Maryland. There was a police officer who was standing in the middle of the road waving people over. She thought he was a hitchhiker, swerved into the other lane to avoid him, and sped up away from him. Naturally, he followed her and pulled her over. She was so terrified and shook up that the cop just let her go. She was about 18 at the time and it was her first time being pulled over.

I personally hate when they stand in the road like that. I almost hit one when I was 16 because he stepped out into the road in front of me to wave me over. WTF. I could have killed him.

Thankfully I haven't seen this kind of enforcement in MD since I was a teenager, and it needs to stay that way. I'm not so much scared that they're some sort of rapist, but more so that I'm going to plow them down for acting like an idiot pedestrian.


iPhone

I remember driving down I-95 in Maryland.  A cop would be on the shoulder of the highway, see a speeder, and step out into the middle of I-95 to point the driver over to the shoulder!  Honestly...stepping out into a highway of people going 70, 80 mph?

I haven't seen that occur for many years either.  Thankfully.

[Roadrunner75]

I remember driving down I-95 in Maryland.  A cop would be on the shoulder of the highway, see a speeder, and step out into the middle of I-95 to point the driver over to the shoulder!  Honestly...stepping out into a highway of people going 70, 80 mph?

I haven't seen that occur for many years either.  Thankfully.

About 20 years ago I got nailed in Delaware on US 13 by this type of setup.  They had one unmarked car running Lidar in a driveway well off the road, and then two patrol cars on the shoulder beyond with the troopers standing in the right lane waving people over.  I had never encountered anything like this.  They must have waved at least 5 cars over at once and I sat at the head of the pack on the shoulder as the troopers hopped in their cars and drove up.  I had a friend following me closely in his car and he pulled over behind me not realizing that I had been waved over.  I got the speeding ticket (70 in a 55 I think), and he ended up getting a tailgating ticket.  Haven't seen this type of thing since...

[empirestate]

I remember driving down I-95 in Maryland.  A cop would be on the shoulder of the highway, see a speeder, and step out into the middle of I-95 to point the driver over to the shoulder!  Honestly...stepping out into a highway of people going 70, 80 mph?

I haven't seen that occur for many years either.  Thankfully.

About 20 years ago I got nailed in Delaware on US 13 by this type of setup.  They had one unmarked car running Lidar in a driveway well off the road, and then two patrol cars on the shoulder beyond with the troopers standing in the right lane waving people over.  I had never encountered anything like this.  They must have waved at least 5 cars over at once and I sat at the head of the pack on the shoulder as the troopers hopped in their cars and drove up.  I had a friend following me closely in his car and he pulled over behind me not realizing that I had been waved over.  I got the speeding ticket (70 in a 55 I think), and he ended up getting a tailgating ticket.  Haven't seen this type of thing since...

That's what the guy was doing in my red light trap scenario. It struck me as pretty far over on the "good idea/bad idea" scale.

[J N Winkler]

I personally hate when they stand in the road like that. I almost hit one when I was 16 because he stepped out into the road in front of me to wave me over. WTF. I could have killed him.

Thankfully I haven't seen this kind of enforcement in MD since I was a teenager, and it needs to stay that way. I'm not so much scared that they're some sort of rapist, but more so that I'm going to plow them down for acting like an idiot pedestrian.

This is one of the reasons I have difficulty with move-over laws.  Laws in general should be designed to promote public safety, not to furnish cover for police misconduct.  I consider it misconduct when a police officer parks his cruiser right on the shoulder stripe, much less stands in the traveled way otherwise than to direct traffic moving at low speed.

[jeffandnicole]

(I'm starting to remember that it specifically dealt with passing a left-turning vehicle by using the shoulder for a short distance.)

I'm pretty sure that is technically illegal in NJ.  Although almost every driver does this, me included.  I've never seen someone get stopped for doing it.  I'm quite sure it's something that cops look the other way on in an effort to keep traffic moving.

The text for 39:4-85 does address passing a turning vehicle ("making or about to make a left turn"):

39:4-85.  Passing to left when overtaking; passing when in lines; signalling to pass; passing upon right
The driver of a vehicle overtaking another vehicle proceeding in the same direction shall pass at a safe distance to the left thereof and shall not again drive to the right side of the roadway until safely clear of the overtaken vehicle.  If vehicles on the roadway are moving in two or more substantially continuous lines, the provisions of this paragraph and section 39:4-87 of this Title shall not be considered as prohibiting the vehicles in one line overtaking and passing the vehicles in another line either upon the right or left, nor shall those provisions be construed to prohibit drivers overtaking and passing upon the right another vehicle which is making or about to make a  left turn.
The driver of an overtaking motor vehicle not within a business or residence district shall give audible warning with his horn or other warning device before passing or attempting to pass a vehicle proceeding in the same direction.

The driver of a vehicle may overtake and pass another vehicle upon the right  as provided in this section only under conditions permitting such movement in safety.  In no event shall such movement be made by driving off the pavement or main-traveled portion of the roadway.

Yeah, I found that too. I suppose it's possible I misinterpreted the first italicized passage, but the presence of the second makes me doubtful of that.

The 'main-traveled portion of the roadway' are the travel lanes.  The shoulder isn't considered the main-traveled portion, thus it is illegal. 

Many people think that you can only pass on the left, such as on a highway.  That statute is what permits passing in any lane.

So, when is passing to the right for a left turning vehicle permitted?  When A) There's 2 or more lanes and the person turning is in the left lane, B) When there's a single lane but the person turning has moved far enough to the left so that you don't have to leave the marked lane, or C) When there's no shoulder line, thus making the width of the pavement a single travel lane.

FWIW, most people won't be stopped for using the shoulder to pass another vehicle.  In fact, NJDOT will design T intersections with a wider shoulder in order for people to pass left turning vehicles, even though it's technically illegal.  They should really be requiring left turn channels, but even in this day/age, they sometimes forgo that.

[NE2]

You get an added level of ambiguity if you're on a bike, where you can legally ride on the shoulder.

[mtantillo]

I used to see the Fairfax County police running checkpoints for the county sticker, but since we no longer have those in Fairfax they stopped.

Arlington County, which still requires the sticker, has its cops look for expired Arlington stickers, or no stickers on vehicles regularly parked in the county, right around this time of the year after the old stickers' November 15 expiration date.  I think it's usually cops on foot looking at parked cars, but occasionally I see checkpoints where it's obvious the cops are looking at windshield stickers.

I recall, when Fairfax County dropped its sticker requirement, some busybodies who really needed to get a life complained that they would no longer be able to rat on their non-complying neighbors.  I'm sure some such people still exist in other Virginia counties.

Virginia also requires current safety inspection stickers, with about one sticker in twelve expiring at the end of each month.  (Emissions inspections are also required in some counties, but that's enforced through the vehicle registration process.)  But the one time I let that slip (out of state the month of expiration, and didn't immediately realize when I got home that I had an expired sticker), I was able to get a new sticker without getting busted on my way to the shop. 

Why would they worry about "no stickers on vehicles regularly parked in the county"? It could very well be that the "offending" vehicle owner is legally domiciled in another jurisdiction and has reason to frequently park in Arlington, such as for work, for park-and-ride purposes (there are some unrestricted parking spots reasonably close to Metro in some places), or for visiting a significant other. DC does "ROSA" enforcement which is obnoxious...if they see your out-of state vehicle parked regularly overnight for more than a 30 day period, you get a warning that you either need to get DC license plates or go through the exemption process showing proof of residency outside of DC and providing a reason for being in DC overnight frequently (i.e. my girlfriend lives there). To me that seems rather heavy handed, bureaucratic, and unnecessary.

[mtantillo]

I guess when cops are looking at registration stickers they are typically looking only at in-state vehicles since they don't know what the regulations in other states are.

Except in the District of Columbia.  D.C. parking ticket writers are notorious for checking inspection stickers on vehicles parked on D.C. streets and ticketing those with expired stickers (especially cars from Virginia, since D.C. stopped inspection of most cars, and Maryland has never had an inspection requirement that includes a windshield sticker).

In DC, they migrated from license plate stickers to window stickers (IMO, the way it should be done in all jurisdictions so they don't get stolen). So the year they made the change, people were getting tickets because they had expired stickers on their plate (in the past, the new sticker covered the expiring sticker). So they ended up issuing plate stickers that said "SEE WINDOW STICKER".