Seatbelt Tickets in Texas

That is what i have researched regarding mph and have never been pulled over because of going 10 or less over the speed limit! I did get a ticket for going 15 over once. That was because i went from one street making a right onto another street and my tires squealed. The cop said i was going too fast, 20 when i was suppose to be going 5. Go figure.

 

Seat belt laws in Texas are NOT moving violations. Pay the ticket and go about your business...if you're guilty that is.

The seatbelt law is a serious cash cow for local and state officers. Better to wear a seatbelt and not feed the bears.

As far as weigh stations are concerned...I always keep my drivers door locked. I've even had DOT get extremely upset when they went for the door handle and came up with a locked door. I don't know where some of these characters get the idea that it's perfectly alright to go ahead and open a drivers door just because he's in their scale house.

 

Just because you have never been pulled over doesn't make it the law, that is a pretty big jump there. One could get into all sorts of trouble with that line of thought.

 

Hey I live in Texas and I would rather everyone that get a ticket pay it than have a State Income tax we are taxed enough now.As for Cal.they deserve state income tax all the movie stars screaming about smog while riding in thier limo or flying in theyre private jets.Now they want us to buy new trucks to enter the state.

 

This is the craziest thing I ever heard. My son was driving in Texas yesterday morning and saw a cop pulled over on the shoulder, so he put on his signal, moved into the left lane to go around the cop, put his signal back on and moved back into the right lane.

Next thing he sees is the cop coming up behind him with his lights on, took him a few seconds to realize the cop was pulling him over because he knew he had done nothing wrong. He pulls over, cop comes up and tells him he pulled him over for not wearing his seat belt. My son STILL had the seat belt on and informed the cop that he was wearing it, cop didnt care, made him get out and walk back to his car with him, my son kept pleading his case that he was wearing the seat belt, cop didn't care, wrote him a ticket anyway.

He asked my son where he was headed, son said Taylor, Mi, cop says okay and gives him a court date of July 23 (ticket on Saturday, court date on Wednesday) knowing that he won't be able to make it back to court by that date. Son gets into truck absolutely furious because he is one of those drivers who is paranoid about safety and wears his seat belt 100% of the time and can't believe he was just ticketed for not wearing one. Starts off down the road, gets maybe a mile, and gets pulled over AGAIN by another cop for the same thing!

At this point he is so mad and upset he can't hardly think straight. He tells the cop that he is wearing his seat belt, cop tells him to stay in the seat while he goes around and stands in front of the truck and looks in at him to see if he can see the seat belt. Then he tells my son to get out and stand in front of the truck. Then cop gets into the truck and puts the seat belt on himself and says oh now I see the problem. You're not wearing it properly. You must be putting your arm out of the shoulder harness, that's why we can't see you wearing it. Son says no, this is not the case, he was wearing it and wearing it properly.

Son tells cop that he was just ticketed less than a mile back for the same thing. Cop says yes, he is the supervisor of the prior cop. Will not hear anything my son says regarding the fact that he was wearing the belt. At least the 2nd cop didn't ticket him again.

My son is so upset and mad that he wants to fight the ticket, but we don't have any experience with this kind of thing. Is it worth fighting? I believe the ticket is $145 but that's not the real issue. He doesn't want any negatives on his driving record.

Any suggestions or advice?

 

There won't be any negatives on his driving record over a seatbelt violation...they just want the money. I'd definitely fight it, though. Get a lawyer to prove that they can't see inside the trucks...it would definitely help the rest of us out.

 

Maybe that's why the Fedex drivers wear that bright florescent orange pad over their seatbelt harness, you can't help but see they're wearing a seat belt. But I guess if a cop wants to give you the ticket, he may not care even if you have that showing. And cops wonder why they get a negative rap!

 

This is traffic enforcement. Being accused is equivalent to being guilty. If you decide to fight, you'll spend a day waiting in court for the officer to show. He won't, and you'll be told to come back in a month. Then it'll happen again. They'll inconvenience you until you give up and pay the ticket, plus court costs.

If the officer does show up, it's his word (respected officer of the court and infallible upholder of justice*) against yours (scumbag perp). Guess which way that one's gonna go.


*who just happens to bring in $10K a month in traffic tickets...

 

they do it because they know you can't prove you did have it on. Plus TX was running a seat belt push the last month or two. I got one myself. The other thing is that ticket is going to run him around $155

 

lol, I lock my door too and it sure does make them mad doesn't it!! I hate to have someone open my door more then anything