[*BCM*] Just got "pulled over" for running a red on Mass. Ave.

[Eric A. Stratton]

I say just pay the thing, and take an alternate route/don't get caught  
next time.  How many times have you blown those lights?  $20 for 100's  
of run lights seems fair.

-E

On Mar 6, 2008, at 11:20 AM, Jim Leonard wrote:

> Since either no one has mentioned the following or in one case  
> gotten it
> wrong, I figured I'd weigh in here.
>
> On Thu, Mar 06, 2008 at 09:29:59AM -0500, Gondaba wrote:
>> Ridiculous. I was in Cambridge on Mass Ave, right in front of the  
>> large
>> MIT crosswalk. The crosswalk had a red light, sure, but it was pretty
>> clear and I was in no danger of hitting the poor little  
>> pedestrians. A
>> Cambridge Cop standing next to his motorcycle flags three of us down
>> after the crosswalk and tells us to stay put. He proceeds to ask  
>> for our
>> IDs and issue each one of us a $20 fine.
>
> At this point you are not required to show ID in Massachusetts, it's  
> just
> a convenience to the officer.  The supreme court has recently  
> determined
> that a state law requiring you to show id to a police officer is not
> unconstitutional, but Massachusetts has no such state law except for
> drivers of motor vehicles.  You are on the other hand, required to  
> give
> a non-fraudulent name (though not necessarily what is on your birth
> certificate/ social security card just not something to hide your  
> identity)
> and address.  If you fail to do so this turns a ticketable offense  
> into an
> arrestable offense.  Similarly if the officer doesn't believe the  
> name you
> gave is real, it's the same thing.  Showing ID goes a long way to  
> convincing
> an officer that the name you gave was real.
>
>>
>> The ticket itself seems to be some kind of civil violation; there  
>> was a
>> nice little place for "Bicycle / Red Light" that he checked off,  
>> amongst
>> a host of other bicycle violations and, for example, "Improper  
>> disposal
>> of dog feces," which is a $25 fine.
>
> That is because the officer is not allowed to write a the ticket on  
> the
> same type of form as (s)he would for a motor vehicle offense.  The
> ticket goes through a very different process from motor vehicle  
> violations.
>
>>
>> Has this happened to anyone else before?
>
> Yes but I convinced the officer that I went through on yellow (which
> I did) since she had no idea where the start of the intersection was.
> She did write me a warning and gave me a completely bogus excuse for
> doing so and never admitted to actually being in the wrong about it.
>
>> And, because I don't have a car, insurance, or even a license, do I
>> really have to pay this fine? What're they going to do?
>
> Even if you did have insurance or a license, this ticket would not  
> have
> any effect on them per mass law.  As others have said, yes you do have
> to pay it and failure to either pay or contest it could earn you an
> warrant for your arrest (I'm not sure of the exact charge, possibly
> contempt of court or maybe a more specific charge).
>
> --jim
>
>>
>> Be wary, fellow red-light runners...
>>
>> Chris
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