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Originally Posted by Shoonra
Today (August 21st) the MSN website included an article on Traffic Ticket Myths. It's worth reading ...
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com...cketMyths.aspx
The myth that I see most often on this forum is about refusing to sign the traffic ticket.
Signing is not an admission of guilt, merely acknowledging that you received the ticket and promising that you will appear in court on the scheduled date.
If you refuse to sign (or you add words that indicate that you really won't show up in court on the scheduled date) the cop can take you in right then and there and you'll be in a courtroom within a few hours. And having indicated that you don't take the court date seriously may be interpreted by the judge that you won't take a mild punishment seriously either. |
You pass off this "mythbusters" website as the end-all of this arguement. Red cars and radar detectors are a non-issue. What is at issue is the autograph. "signing" the citation is viewed as agreement with the officer's assessment.
If someone walked up to you off the street and asked you to sign a piece of paper, would you do it? Of course not. You do not know who they are and they have no authority over you. By signing the officer's paper, you are in fact recognizing the officer's authority and jurisdiction over you.
The fact is, no one can make you do anything you do not want to do. The fact that Texas would drag you to jail for not autographing their paper raises a red flag- they
need that autograph to proceed.
This stuff is ridiculous. I have had enough with all the harassment and tyranny on us law-abiding citizens so I have stopped presenting a driver's license. If I get pulled over, I will state my
right to travel (I do not have the right to drive or the right to operate). The US Supreme Court agrees.