Well it is California but, if you were told by the cop that you were free to leave AND there is no other witnessing officer - I think it would be pretty easy to beat. BUT (yes, it's a big but) it may only be easy for a lawyer to beat. So that means, basically, is it gonna be worth hiring a lawyer, maybe making one or more appearnces over in their court to MAYBE get a dismissal or reduction or probation.

The other side to consider, what happens if you pay it and the insurance co. finds out? How expensive will that be?

Also, if there is ANYTHING wrong on the citation, wrong date,time,names,numbers etc. it is not a legal document. again generally - this is one way lawyers get these things dismissed. I wouldn't take my post or anyones elses's as legal advice, I'm not a lawyer, even if I were, I'd only be familiar with the law in my state.
good luck

 

They must make alot of revenue citing people for things they know the person could beat in court, but never want to hassle with...

At least where I live, if no-one sees you driving 40 over, the judge will throw the ticket out. I had a friend who got a citation for reckless driving when she slid on ice into the back of a pickup. When it came to court, the judge simply asked the trooper if he actually witnessed her driving recklessly, and when he said no, the judge dismissed it. This was after she had cussed the cop out and questioned his sexual orientation, too... He was sooo pissed.

 

it is my understanding that as soon as the cop turns his lights off, the arrest is over.

 

I am a police officer and we issue both criminal and traffic citations via investigation all the time. In the case of accidents, the officers first goal is to check for injuries and then get the roadway cleared. After doing all this, we usually try to get the info and talk to all drivers and witnesses. Our department says to issue a citation at the scene if we can, but it is not required. If I am not going to issue a citation at the scene, but later, I will usually tell the person to expect it in the mail. If he didn't tell you, he may have had to do some calculations to determine your speed, direction...etc. which take time and he later determined what to cite you with. The officer still fills out a PC statement on the ticket and signs it, but puts "investigation" where you would have signed and submits it to the court. The ticket is exactly the same except it is issued by the court and not the officer directly. Accidents are one of the few exceptions to having an officer actually view the violation i.e. speeding, following to close, because we respond after the fact.

Sorry for the long post, but I like to clarify the way the public perceives how police do their job.

 

At what point did traffic become the police's primary concern? Is it because there's more money there? I think it's sad that we naturally associate police with traffic management now, and not real crime prevention.

 

I didn't say that traffic enforcement is a patrol officer's primary concern, but it is one of the many things we do on patrol. These included arresting people with warrants, welfare checks, in-progress details, busting dopers, etc, etc. When I am dispatched to an accident scene, I investigate, find out what caused the accident and cite the party that committed the infraction. I was simply saying that sometimes this can't happen right at the scene, so it happens later through the court.

There are some officers who's only duty involves traffic, hence they are called traffic officers. However, in a medium size city, I would say that there are about 20 regular patrol officers for every 1 traffic cop. That's how it is in my department....King County Sheriff's Office (Seattle).

 

Maybe it's just that traffic cops are the ones people interact with the most, so they assume the police are always driving around looking for people to pull over for minor infractions.

It really sucks driving behind a police car on a highway, too, 'cause no-one will pass him. They just block both lanes and stay there, holding everyone up.

I know a few troopers, though, and they're pretty reasonable people. I've been pulled over a few times, but never gotten a ticket. (knock on wood)