Seat Belt Sting Operation?

[Carey]

I should add a tidbit I learned in my YEARS at UHH - have your friend write a letter to the court & most likely the ticket will be removed (it really doesn't seem to matter what is said in the letter, or the tone, just the effort of writing the letter seems to be enough). Unlike many areas of the mainland, this removal seems to be without any further costs or classes.

[Lin W]

I have a friend who is an insurance adjuster. Many years ago, long before seatbelt laws, she advised me to always buckle up before moving the vehicle because so many serious accidents occur in parking lots. Who knew? So, it's become habit with me to buckle up before turning the key. If some fool had smacked into your friend before or as she was buckling her belt while pulling out, she could have been injured or even killed, virtually in her parking space. She'd best accept the ticket as a wake-up call and revamp her seatbelt habit. Just MHO. Aloha.

blessed are the cracked for they let in the light

[PaulW]

"this kind of entrapment"
How was this entrapment?

The fact that there was more than one officer present possibly also reduced the amount of leeway they were able to give.

[missydog1]

I always thought "entrapment" is when the police do something to induce you to break the law -- like offering you prostitution services or selling you drugs, or any kind of invitation that could be construed as putting the idea in your head. (It still may not get thrown out.)

I think you mean something like a speed trap, where they lay in wait, only a seat belt trap? But she knew they were there ... she had even spoken to them.

Police can and do use discretion all the time, but the HPD are known for strict reading of the traffic laws. For example, it is well known up in North Kohala that if you buzz through the 25 mph zone doing a zippy 27 mph, they will ticket you (if they catch you).

A friend of mine who sat in on a traffic court date gave me this quote from the judge that I took to heart. He said that the traffic laws in Hawai'i are not relative. The speed limit is not relative to flow of traffic. The laws are absolute, and even if you make a good case that what you did was not unsafe, that's not good enough.

What annoys me about HPD enforcement is they don't ticket commercial trucks often if at all, and they let those big raised trucks with the too bright lights cause hazards ... and they don't necessarily patrol the stretches of highway where people routinely make stupid moves.

In the few times that I have conversed with officers on duty, they have always been entirely serious and strict. You hear about island attitude, and how lax people are here, but I've never seen that in a patrolman who thinks a law has been broken. They're dead serious.

Nice to know that writing a letter helps. Thanks, Carey!

[KeaauRich]

My partner and I do not willingly speed. Having said that, in the past three years, we have both gotten a legit speeding ticket here in Puna. In both cases, the officer said "I have to give you a ticket because you were over the limit, but if I were you, I'd write a letter or go to court to try to get the fine reduced or the ticket revoked."

[Anna]

Eight months ago I pulled into 1st Hawaiian Bank in Pahoa, went to get out of my car and a policeman pulled in beside me. He asked for my license. Said I didn't have a seatbelt on. Gave me a warning, but at that point we were on private property.
This started well before now.

Revenue generation is what it is.
Anna

[EightFingers]

Best place to get pulled over is at a bank, you can settle up right then!

[808blogger]

nothing but modern pirates in silly black outfits if you ask me. They even carry and use weapons and have "cruisers" LOL.... just remember

POLICE = PIRATE

[dmbwest]

I feel for your friend DaVinci, I know the police are also under pressure from above to write up some tickets for this .. Hence the 4 man operation ... I don't think about it 'till I pull out for my driveway either.

aloha,
pog

[DaVinci]

Got it! Message received... I was asking for a sense of how you all felt, and it seems to be (nearly) unanimous. Thanks for sharing. Will pass this along to my friend.