Ohio riders read this..

[DayRider]

Ok…So I won my case. A while back I was leaving the gym to go home. As I was leaving I noticed a cruiser in the parking lot. I thought nothing of it down the road I got pulled over by the cop in the cruiser. He said I didn’t have a helmet on which I didn’t. So he gave me a ticket for a temporary permit violation 2141.02b, meaning I had a motorcycle permit and wasn’t wearing a helmet. Issue is I had a motorcycle endorsement at the time not a permit which I told him and he acknowledged he knew that. So I should have got a license restriction violation 2141.11 because in Ohio after you pass your motorcycle test and get your license you have to wear a helmet for a year. So I decided to fight it because it was for the wrong violation. However after researching city and state codes I found the officer, court, and myself had the law wrong as it was written. The law says a novice is to wear a helmet for a year on the highway. After going through city and state traffic codes and noting that they have street and highway and almost every code together except the novice code I knew it was a win for me. (Because in the many of the codes it says street and highway.) Get it yet. That means they are clearly defined differently and are not one in the same. (And as stated above the novice requirement only refers to the highway). The first time the prosecutor wanted to dismiss the case with me paying court cost $80 dollars for 5 minutes in court for a ticket I should never have gotten. Today at court when the prosecutor came to wheel and deal with me I represented myself and all the info I had. He said he would have to look at the codes I cited. After 30 minutes he couldn’t find anything so he asked someone else to look. They looked through that book for about an hour as I waited patiently and watched at one point the officer who gave me the ticket even helped. For a moment I saw a smile on one of the prosecutors’ face she thought she had something, but once she showed the head prosecutor he told her it wouldn’t work. So after an hour and 20 minutes they went to the officer and told him they had to dismiss it because the way it was written: I wasn’t on the highway... I won.
But now I wonder: if he had given me the right ticket as I thought before I did my research I would have paid it got two points and never knew it was wrong.
How many other motorcyclists have gotten this ticket, not fought it and paid for something they didn’t have too?
Most officers and court personal don’t really know the law to the T, there's a lot of assumption out there, so it’s up to you to do your own homework. I wonder if had got an attorney to fight this would he have found the same info I did and get me off as I did?
I respect the law as all should and the CPD do a great job. I have friends who are CPD officers so this is not to bash them. But I think we could learn a lot from this…fight for your rights especially when you know your right….

[Dryxel]

what was the reason for him pulling you over in the first place? if you did nothing wrong to be pulled over isn't there an argument there?

[midnight_1]

Little older, I know, but do you happen to have any info on the resources you used? In case other Ohio riders would need to present it in court for their defense, we couldn't just say that a person on a forum said it was This, not That. lol

[adlowe]

Originally Posted by DayRider

So after an hour and 20 minutes they went to the officer and told him they had to dismiss it because the way it was written: I wasn’t on the highway.

And you accepted that without recovering any of your costs?

[Espiritus]

Most cases unless you hired an attorney you can't "recover" costs in traffic court even if it is dismissed. They probably snuck in a statement that acknowledged probable cause for the stop. Standard procedure. Most people don't read the law or research the issue, or even know that there are legal definitions behind alot of statutory wording, such as "may" and "shall." Glad you got this resolved and even more thankful that you acknowledge that the police are not always just "bad guys."

[RocksBlues]

My girlfriends best friend is the police chiefs wife. The officers around here know me and wave when they pass by even if I am speeding. Of course I obey most traffic rules but who hasn't goosed the throttle from time to time just to blow out the cobwebs?