John_Deutzman's posts about:
Traffic
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27 Points in 1 Traffic Stop
Jun 25, 2008 | 8:34 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
This STORY ABOUT A TEENAGER who got 27 points on his license in one traffic
stop is bound to strike a nerve. You either think the kid was on a dangerous
rampage on residential streets or the cop went overboard writing tickets. For
those of you writing your opinion, I will play Devil's advocate and respond
with the other side.
Here are some things I learned doing this story:
It's totally the cop's call as far as how many tickets are written. A cop
could give anything from a warning to writing everything the officer observed.
In New York City and certain other cities and counties, you cannot "plea
bargain" or make a deal on a traffic ticket. In most other places you
can cut a deal.
The way most deals work is that the judge will look at your driving record. If
you have a clean record the judge may cut you a lot of slack. You come in with
a speeding ticket, you plead "no contest," the judge sees you are a
good driver and chooses not to put any points on your license. You may have to
pay court costs, but that's it.
Since you can't plea bargain, you are left with two choices:
1. Plead "guilty" and hope that the minimum number of points and
penalties are given out.
OR
2. Plead "not guilty" and hope you win the case. If you lose,
however, the judge can use discretion when handing out penalties and the length
of your suspension.
In traffic court the standard of proof is "clear and convincing evidence."
It's not "beyond a reasonable
doubt" like in a criminal case or the "preponderance of the evidence"
like in a civil case.
Cops come into court swear under penalty of perjury that what they observed
is on the ticket. They are trained in observing traffic violations and their
testimony carries a great deal of weight.
The average motorist comes into traffic court with zero proof, no video
witnesses, etc. to prove their side. That's why the cops with their "clear
and convincing evidence" win in Staten Island 96 percent of the time.
I'd love to hear your opinion.
>>WATCH MY FOX 5 REPORT
>>SPEEDING-TICKET CONVICTIONS: BOROUGH BREAKDOWN
Garbage Can Shuffle
Jun 10, 2008 | 2:52 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
This is the second story in as many months about hogging parking spots in a
neighborhood. If you remember, last month we did a story on a guy who created an illegal driveway and had
cars that parked there ticketed and towed away.
The strange thing about this neighborhood
in Queens is that all of the people on this block have big long driveways that
go all the way deep into the back yard. For some reason, they don't utilize
their long driveways but insist on using the street, scarfing up as many spots
as possible.
I read somewhere that the city considered issuing permits for people who
live in a neighborhood to allow them to park near there house. But that never
happened.
I'd love to hear your parking horror stories!
Street Sign Goof
Apr 14, 2008 | 8:18 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
There are certain things that can get really ugly if you make a mistake. Hand
grenades come to mind. So do signs, especially signs that are supposed to tell
you where you are. It appears that it was a simple mistake that turned Shore
Parkway in Bensonhurst into Shore Road (which is actually in Bay Ridge), but
can you imagine how stupid this would seem in your neighborhood?
I grew up on Cherry Lane in Smithtown and if someone made a sign that said
Cherry Street or Cherry Drive, my mom probably would have started a riot or at
the very least she would have gone into a monologue about how stupid the person
was who made the sign.
At this point, I'd like to know if this is a one-time deal. This company is
eventually installing thousands of new bus shelters around the city. Please let
me know if you see any goofs and we'll check it out.
STOLEN TRUCKS-TICKET DUMPING
Mar 25, 2008 | 7:38 AM PST
Category:
Traffic
Now that I've done two back to back ticket dumping stories and have had some time to think about it, my guess is ticket dumping is all about getting brownie points with your commanding officer. He tells you that you have to write tickets so you go out and write what ever is easy and quick. Forget about real police work, like checking to see if the vehicles you tag are stolen, missing or contain something dangerous.
So if it's about brownie points, don't you get more brownie points from recovering stolen vehicles than for writing tickets?
Also, I wonder why in this day and age of rapid and accurate computers isn't it mandatory to run every plate before you write a ticket. I'm sure more stolen cars would be recovered.
There is unfortunately a ticket mentality throughout the city that goes beyond just the NYPD. It's about hitting the numbers and writing whatever you can. Please tell me how the ticket writing in the two stories we've done helps keep the roads clear or keeps the public safe.
I'd love to hear your opinion...especially from some cops out there.
Ticket Dumping
Mar 17, 2008 | 10:14 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
Ticket dumping is a sneaky and lazy way for ticket writers to hit their daily or monthly "performance goal" or "activity" both safe terms for quotas.
Cops and traffic agents locate cars and other vehicles that they can write multiple tickets on over a long period of time. The vehicles are usually in industrial or run down areas where the general public wouldn't necessarily complain about them. For example, I doubt that here would be a large abandoned truck trailer sitting outside Mayor Bloomberg's house on the Upper east Side for months, racking up tickets without it being investigated or removed by the city.
The primary motivation for writing dumpers is laziness. However, some cops and traffic agents might take the position that they should not be forced to write a certain amount of tickets in a given time period. So they write "dumpers" and hope that they get credit for writing the ticket even though after several days of observation and mounting tickets, they should be conducting an investigation into the vehicle that has been left on the side of the road.
You might also be wondering why these trailers are left abandoned in the first place. The simple version is that most stuff is shipped around with three parts 1) The container, 2) The chassis/trailer and 3) The cab or "tractor". In many cases the three parts can be owned by three separate companies with different responsibilities in the shipping process. A container owned by company "A" can come from overseas and put on a trailer(which has a license plate on it) owned by company "B" and hauled off by a private trucker or company "C". If the trucker doesn't want to deal with the container or the trailer anymore or if is broken down he just leaves it on the side of the road. Some shipping companies that own hundreds of thousands of containers and trailers may never be able to figure out what happened to the ones that are lost. However the tickets ultimately will go back to the registered owner of the trailer and guess who ultimately pays....YOU DO! Yep, it's a cost passed along to ship goods that you pay for.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Free Parking a New York "Thing"
Feb 21, 2008 | 6:18 AM PST
Category:
Traffic
Like many New Yorkers, I have no problem with police, fireman court officers etc. using either legal parking permits or union signs to help them park so that they can do their jobs. However, this story is an example of the degree of abuse that can go on.
It would be best for union members to stop handing out these things to people who shouldn't have them because the more we do stories like this, the more heat will be placed on the mere use of the parking signs/permits in the first place.
At least in my world, there are certain courtesies that should be extended to people who wear badges but if they allow people to in effect impersonate someone with a badge by being too generous with their parking signs they could in the end loose their perk,
Early Tickets
Feb 12, 2008 | 10:19 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
You would think that if the city is going to hold you within seconds of the proper time, that they would at least make sure their clocks are right. The so called "accurate" ticket scanners are only as accurate as the people who program them or use them.
The scanners allow ticket writers to scan bar codes off your registration in the windshield. If it can read the barcode (and there are many problems with that) the accurate information about your car will be entered on the ticket. However the violation you committed is entered by the ticket writer, the time is based on the scanners clock which can be screwed up.
When my Dad used to go get his car fixed the mechanic would always say "I think the problem is "the nut behind the wheel". The same applies to ticket scanners.
If you met Noelia Cruz like we did, you would get the impression she is a decent, honest person. She is also the apparent victim of fraud, it looks like somebody is running around with a clone or copy of her license plate. However, the first time she tried to point her dilemma out to a judge in the parking violations bureau, she was found guilty. We've done several stories of people who are victims of fraud who are found guilty and have no where to turn for help. The system simply does not seem to believe or want to hear the "it's not my car defense" but once again I will list situation in which we've prove the "it's not my car" argument is true: 1) Ticket writer fraud: Occasionally ticket writers make up fake or phantom tickets. They use or collect legitimate license plates and make up bogus violations which go to innocent people when clearly it was not their car committing the violation. 2)Ticket writer mistake: Ticket writers enter the wrong number or letters from a license plate and the violation goes to an innocent victim. 3)Altered License Plates: We've caught people changing license plates with masking tape to avoid tickets. Innocent people wind up with numerous violations because the plates have been altered and match the innocent victims plates. 4)Counterfeit License Plates: If you look real closely at this story you can see the "4" in the suspected fake plate looks different. the horizontal line doesn't completely cross though the stem of the "4". Cloned or counterfeit plates can cause innocent people to become victims. Even the red light cameras can be fooled. Yet despite all of the stories we've done on this problem, there does not seem to a mentality in the Parking Violations Bureau to consider this possibility. To at the very least set aside bizarre and possible fraud cases for other agencies to look at. To add insult to injury, the judges just scribble their names, there is no place on the red light violations for the judges name to be printed and when we tried to find the recording of Noelia's hearing with the judge, the city lost it.
Cursing School Bus Driver Pt 2
Feb 6, 2008 | 5:07 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
The story speaks for itself about all of the potential risks that parents are taking with renegade bus operations but it also points out the improper use of out of state plates which is a common practice in NYC to avoid high insurance rates.
Here are the rules as I understand them:
1) The vehicle and traffic law requires that you register your car within 30 days of moving to your new address. Your car needs to be registered to the place that it's routinely "garaged" For example, It's ok to have a car registered at your summer house in the Poconos if that's where your car stays most of the time. If you really live in Brooklyn and your car stays with you most of the time in Brooklyn then you are cheating on your insurance company if it is registered in the Poconos. It's called rate evasion and at the very least you could get in big trouble with your insurance company for lying to them. You could also wind up with a citation from the cops if they think you are cheating.
2) In New York, if a business is caught intentionally registering vehicles out of the area to avoid higher insurance rates the business can be charged with commercial rate evasion, which is a crime.
3)If you get caught by the state where the car is fraudulently registered to,,you can be in big trouble with them too.
Insurance rates are based on the risk of you getting into an accident that's why the same car my cost 6k or more a year to insure in Brooklyn than in the Poconos. It's like fixing a horse race. You are messing with the odds and the payout and everyone gets screwed.
It also presents a huge problem for cops trying to track down criminals. Let's say a terrorist is seen taking off in a car after he plants a bomb. The plates go back to some phony address or some.
John
DRINKING LIMO DRIVER
Jan 21, 2008 | 9:28 PM PST
Category:
Traffic
There was a very subtle part of this story that I'm sure many defense lawyer's might have cringed at. After the driver was read his rights (the Miranda warning "You have the right to remain silent"etc) it went like this:
driver: I have the right to lose my job I know
cop: Well dude you're not found guilty.
driver: What?
cop; You're not guilty.
a: Yeh I am..i am
The above confession is a real tough one to get out of. The cop was being nice, trying to help the guy out! You sure wouldn't argue that "My client was too drunk to understand his rights," Anyway , he seemed like a nice guy but what was he thinking? Stopping for a few drinks when your job is to drive people home safely on New Year's is not the brightest idea.
John
STRAPHANGERS ARE DISPENSABLE
Oct 31, 2007 | 8:55 AM PST
Category:
Traffic
As I ride to and from work everyday I continue to notice that most subway riders are carrying backpacks bigger than washing machines and if they are loaded with explosives, are capable of blowing up a good chunk of Manhattan.
At least once a week I see someone who looks exactly like Osama Bin Laden with one of those washing machine sized backpacks. But hey, not to worry. The geniuses in charge of our safety somehow have determined that it's much more acceptable for subway riders to be blown to pieces than airline passengers.
Of course there is the sporadic "voluntary" NYPD bag search that most terrorists carrying explosives I'm sure will volunteer to go through.
At this point you might think I want the subway stations to have airport type security. Nope!
I think it's all a big waste of our money. In our free society, getting blown up by from crazy people comes with the territory. Airport security is just a big expensive show that accomplishes nothing. Airports are constantly failing tests as plastic explosives are smuggled through by inspectors checking the system. I much rather see billions of dollars spent on making planes take off and land on time, than stupid security checks of 85 year old grandmothers forced to take off their orthopedics.
My suggestion would be to go back to the old airport security, screen for weapons and dump the ludicrous idea that the billions spent on elaborate airport security really works.
Hey I have to go, Osama Bin Laden just sat next to me on the subway...and he's ticking!
1) If you truly deserve a parking ticket pay it! I don't like people who try to weasel out of their responsibilities.
If you can swear under oath that the ticket you got was unjust, proceed with the following steps:
A )Fight the ticket on line, via mail or you can fight it in person. The City's Department of Finance actually has a brochure that helps you fight a ticket it can be found at:
NEW YORK PARKING GUIDE
You can also pick up a brochure in person at any help center where you go to fight tickets.
If you fight by mail, send a certified letter to avoid the "lost in the mail" horror show. Make copies of everything for your records. Printout copies of all "on line" ticket cases. If you go in person, your hearing is supposed to be recorded by the city, this might come in handy if you have to appeal.
B) Present a simple and clear argument why the ticket was wrong.
C) Study the Young vs. City of New York court decision and consider using it in your case. The decision basically says that as long as your argument is not "patently incredible" which means not "obviously a lie" or not "obviously unbelievable" that it's up to the city not you but up to the city to prove their case. The Story we did on the Young case complete with various helpful links can be found
BY CLICKING HERE
D) If you are unsuccessful using the method above, we'd like to hear from you. e mail me directly at:
john.deutzman@foxtv.com
Good Luck!
John
IT BLOWS!
Feb 16, 2007 | 9:42 AM PST
Category:
Traffic
Horn blowing is one of those New York " things". It’s perfectly ok to blow your horn and give the hi sign to somebody who cuts you off in traffic but I am tormented by horn blowers who have to be mentally ill.
I live on a pretty narrow street in Manhattan and once and a while the street gets clogged by garbage trucks and delivery guys. By my rules , it’s ok to blow your horn once in that situation, More than once... you need to take a Valium...If you lay on the horn multiple times you need to be transported to a looney bin.
First of all, it’s against the law to blow your horn excessively on my street. There are big signs all over the place that taxpayers paid for. I doubt anyone has been convicted of excessive horn blowing in the city.
Secondly, I have never seen horn blowing achieve any movement of traffic or levitation of garbage or delivery trucks so all it does is keep me and my neighbors awake.
Thirdly, I must confess I have some "Dirty Harry" fantasies of how I can deal with these horn blowers. Those fantasies also apply to car alarms and barking dogs. The fantasies involve a very bright light followed by a loud explosion. But as the song goes "You can’t go to jail for what your thinking"
Last Spring, NYPD Traffic Agent Nivea Cloud was fired and arrested after being caught red handed writing fake parking tickets. According to police, investigators observed the agent sitting in her NYPD car... parked in a handicapped spot...concocting tickets for violations that did not exist.
Fox 5 broke the story and it was reported on all of the other local stations and in the papers. Yet, amazingly, despite that fact that the tickets were fake, the city still treated them as real. Until Fox 5 found out about it, close to $4,000 dollars worth of tickets were either paid by innocent victims or in the process of being collected by theCity's Department of Finance. People were sent the standard threats to pay up or face having their credit ruined or their cars towed.
This story more than any other demonstrates that something is drastically wrong with the city's parking ticket system.
We have proven through our investigations the following:
1) A certain portion of the 9 million parking tickets written per year in New York City are fake. Flat out phonies written by lazy ticket writers who are tying to hit their quota.
2) Countless totally innocent victims each year start receiving mysterious notices from the City's Department of Finance for tickets they never received on their cars. Most people don't even bother to fight the tickets and simply pay. Those who try to fight the ticket using the "It's not my car" defense are not taken seriously by ticket judges.
3) The end result is thousands, perhaps millions of dollars being collected by the city via fraud on the part of ticket writers and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. The city collects more than 500 million dollars a year in parking tickets. A former respected investigator into ticket fraud estimates that about 20% of the parking tickets in New York City are fake. If he's right that means 100 million dollars are being stolen from honest people by a dirty system that doesn't show any effort to clean itself up. Lets say just 2 % of the tickets are fake...that's still 10 million dollars being stolen from the public.
