So a cop was two cars in front of me in the turning lane and we had a green arrow. While turning he stopped to pull a car from oncoming traffic over. I did not realize he was a cop (unmarked) and somehow I didnt see his tailights flashing. While not realizing this I looked around for pedestrians or an accident and since there was nothing I gave a little honk to get the show moving. Immediate regret. He got out of his car while i was in the middle of the interesection to come lecture me. then sent me over to a curb and gave me a ticket. Now not only is this a pretty good stroy I was curious if anyone knew how an equipment violation went.

my violation

§ 46.2-1060. Illegal sirens, whistles, etc.; unlawful use of warning devices; exceptions.

It shall be unlawful for any vehicle to be equipped with or for any person to use on any vehicle any siren or exhaust, compression or spark plug whistle, or horn except as may be authorized in this title. It shall be unlawful for any vehicle operated on a public highway to be equipped with any warning device that is not of a type that has been approved by the Superintendent. It shall further be unlawful for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning or to make any unnecessary or unreasonably loud or harsh sound by means of a horn or other warning device. However, vehicles of common carriers or extraordinarily large and heavy vehicles may be equipped with such type of warning device as the Superintendent may require or permit.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this article, a siren, bell, or supplemental horn may be used on a vehicle as a noisemaker for an alarm system if the device is installed so as to prohibit actuation of the system by the driver while the vehicle is in motion.



This doesn't go on my insurance or anything right? I am just looking for peace of mind if someone could help. Thanks.

I guess that depends on the insurance company... I guess the answer is to only honk at people in foreign cars :)

The cop was being an ass. Take it to court and it will get thrown out. The judge will probably bitch at the cop for such nonsense.

I am planning on going to court. Granted I know this is a Fairfax County forum, but I am at JMU in Harrisonburg, so I have a feeling the judge will be a little less forgiving of a college kid in a college town. I only posted here because Ive been reading this forum for a while and figured it was the best place to ask.

I gotta say it: You wouldnt have this problem if you would just be less impatient. Damn kids!

Now, I would have done the exact same thing. I HATE people who do that sort of thing.

My advice: familiarize yourself with what an unmarked car looks like.

I see what you are getting at, but I mean you only have a split second to make a decision while sitting in the middle of an intersection. Unfortunately I made the wrong decision, but the result of my mistake didn't cause one bit of harm to anyone. Especially when the first words out of my mouth to the cop was, I apologize officer I didnt see that you were a cop or that you were pulling someone over. because obviously i would never honk at a cop and expect them to get out of my way. I just dont think you can see that I wrote that I was a college kid and automatically assume I was being impatient. We had the right of way, and we suddenly stopped and it was an automatic reaction to honk after not being able to see anything stopping traffic.

Its impossible to not fuck up

take this to court.

2 things wrong here:

1: you beeped at a police officer
2: You go to JMU.

i cant blame him for giving you a ticket

were you in that much of a hurry?

Im sorry, when did I ask anyone for their sympathies? I just thought the situation was ridiculous and hilarious. and yes I was in a hurry. to get out of the middle of an intersection so I wouldnt get side swiped when the other side turned green.

Be more aware of your surroundings & don't be so impatient & and such an ass. If you take this to court, you have no shot. Zero. Thank God a cop was around this time, there's never one around for situations like this...kudos to the officer.

The cop was being an ass, unless you actually laid on your horn like a jerk.

It is not illegal to honk your horn.

the code referenced isn't even correct..

"or horn except as may be authorized in this title." The horn on your car is authorized as part of the title..

Take this to court..Get there early and speak with prosecutor before the judge starts the session.

i dont think i asked for advice either, but thanks jojo!

You didn't ask for a ticket either, but you got it!

Please update us after you go to court & lose, that will be a real knee slapper.

The police have a real double standard. I called the Fairfax non-emergency number to find out if anything could be done about a neighber who is too lazy to get out of his car, he always honks his horn to get people to come out of the house. The police said they would not do anything about it.

I go to JMU, too. I thought that most of the cops out here were pretty nice. That sucks that he did that to you.

yeah man most of them are, i think he was just so dumbfounded that i honked at him that he freaked thinking i did it on purpose.

Take a Stand Wrote:
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>> the code referenced isn't even correct..


I think the cop will make the point that the horn sounding was not used as a reasonable warning. Because, as the judge may ask Mr. Honker, "What were you trying to warn him of?"

Saying something like "I was warning him that I was about to beat his ass if he didn't move his car" isn't going to work so well.

"It shall further be unlawful for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning"

Fight it, you will win. You might add that the car in front of you had a bumper sticker saying "Honk - if support your local police".

Should be an easy win.

Was it Deputy Sheriff H.G. Lawson? That dude is a faggot. He runs around Harrisonburg like he runs that place. In reality, he's just a fat redneck bitch. Take it to court. Live free or die hard.

Go to court, it sounds like you have a reasonable explanation.
The cop sounds like he is being too harsh.

I was in court in ffx a few years ago and a guy was in court for same thing....I remember a car stopped to let a cop out of a parking lot n dumbass beeped his horn and gave cop hard time.....the guy got something like a 200 or 250 dollar fine....judge slammed the guy...so i would say just pay it n move on

Yeah you are probably right, but since i am in Harrisonburg, I should make good use of my free time. The court house is a mile away, and i didnt give the cop a hard time. My violation is only 92 bucks too, so it wont kill me. But i will agree i was a dumbass for it, but it was just an honest mistake.

seems like he woulda honked if it was anybody BUT a cop. why give a cop special treatment?

he was only sorry once he realized who it was.

why not exercise that kind of respect for your fellow regular drivers too? at least enough to assess the situation before deciding a honk is warranted.

if you dont tailgate cops then you shouldnt tailgate regular drivers
if you dont cut off cops then you shouldnt cutoff regular drivers
if you dont honk at cops because you're impatient then you shouldnt do that to regular drivers

if you think a honk WAS warranted, then you shouldnt have apologized to the cop. Shoulda been like "yea, i honked, officer. my ass was in the intersection and it woulda been a hazard when the light changed"

instead, you were like "OMG, i am SO sorry Mr. Officer. would you like me to shine your shoes? it was totally MY fault, i didnt realize you were a cop. can i give you a blow job? please? i give good reach-arounds too. just forgive me, i implore you!"



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/18/2008 09:46PM by itsme333.

"It shall further be unlawful for any person at any time to use a horn otherwise than as a reasonable warning"

You should have said that you thought an oncoming car was coming too close to his car, and you were trying to reasonably warn him.

I wouldn't say that in court unless you did tell the cop that, because he'll tell the judge you didn't say that at the time. But if you had told him anything even remotely reasonable and something he couldn't prove either way, he probably wouldn't have wasted his time writing the ticket.

I'd just tell the judge that you were adjusting the radio using the steering wheel controls, and accidentally honked the horn.

I wouldn't just pay the ticket.

You have a good chance of having the judge drop it completely. You didn't give the cop a hard time, in fact you apologized and said you didn't mean to honk at him.

I'd just do like my above comment, tell the judge you accidentally hit the horn while using one of the other steering wheel controls. I've done that once or twice adjusting the volume on my E320.

bob Wrote:
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> I'd just do like my above comment, tell the judge
> you accidentally hit the horn while using one of
> the other steering wheel controls. I've done that
> once or twice adjusting the volume on my E320.

Unless you told the cop something else, that might actually work. Just make sure you dress nicely and go in with zero attitude.

trogdor! Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> bob Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
>
> > I'd just do like my above comment, tell the
> judge
> > you accidentally hit the horn while using one
> of
> > the other steering wheel controls. I've done
> that
> > once or twice adjusting the volume on my E320.
>
> Unless you told the cop something else, that might
> actually work. Just make sure you dress nicely
> and go in with zero attitude.


Right. Just go in and lie under oath. It's really no big deal.

what model car was the cop driving?

I believe it was a Bentley Continental GT, but I couldn't really see from the back.

Jester Wrote:
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> The cop was being an ass. Take it to court and it
> will get thrown out. The judge will probably
> bitch at the cop for such nonsense.


So it is suddenly illegal to use the horn that comes with the car? I think this is B.S. I agree. The court should throw this out.

Perjury Wrote:
--
>
> Right. Just go in and lie under oath. It's
> really no big deal.

As if they swear you in in traffic court...

They do, if you plead not guilty and want a trial.

just take it in the rear end moo like a cow and move on

Take a Stand Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The cop was being an ass, unless you actually laid
> on your horn like a jerk.
>
> It is not illegal to honk your horn.
>
> the code referenced isn't even correct..
>
> "or horn except as may be authorized in this
> title." The horn on your car is authorized as
> part of the title..
>
> Take this to court..Get there early and speak with
> prosecutor before the judge starts the session.


If you strike a deal with the ADA, then good for you. However, in traffic cases the issue is between YOU, and the Judge. Don't let the Prosecutor scare you by tossing threats of differing the charge in their favor.

Yeah, take it to court, but be wary-expect "small town justice" from those good ol boys in Harrisonburg, especially as a college student.

True story - During my time at VA Tech, 2 buddies and I went fishing 2 hours out west, off Route 460. My buddy is driving his car. A cop comes flying up on his ass, lights going. At the time, my friend is only doing 3 mph over.

Cop says he gunned us 3 miles back doing 25 over. Odd that it took him so long to catch a little 1992 Corolla, especially when other cars were flying by us and this car could barely push 60 on a mountain highway. Figured we could go to court and see if we could get it lowered.

Went to court in some backwoods Mayberry town. Some guy had his 3rd DUI and the judge was like "Bobby-Joe, when are you gonna learn. I'm gonna let you off this time, so you don't go to jail". Then some dude was in for busting a parking meter and taking the money. Judge was all "aw shucks" to that guy and let him go with 5 hours community service.

My friend gets up and the judge turns into a total hard ass and basically says "fuck you college boy".

Keep and eye on your cornhole and good luck.

I accidentally honked and flipped off an unmarked cop one time, then got pulled over by a marked cop. True story.

I was in a left turn lane on Route 1, and traffic in the double lane to my right was going in a steady stream. There was one car coming in the double on-coming lane. Coming out of the lane to the left that I was turning towards, was a minivan, with a marked FCPD car.

As soon as the oncoming car passed, I started to make the left turn, and the minivan roared out in front, stopped perpendicular in the road in front of me over one lane of traffic and the turn lane, and waited to merge. I slammed on the brakes, and had to make a right around the back of the minivan before making another left towards the road. I gave a short "beep" and held up the bird.

Instantly, the marked cop (some uptight "daddy never loved me" ginger bitch) pulls a u-turn and pulls me over. She gets up to the window, and demands license/registration in a most bitchy way. Our exchange went like this:

"So where you going in such a hurry?"

"To work."

"Did you know that was a cop you just honked at and flipped off back there?"

"No, ma'am, and I apologize, but that was some incredibly irresponsible driving. I was crossing less lanes of traffic, so I had the right of way. It was unmarked, and didn't have its lights on, or else I would have gladly yielded. However, it created a very unsafe driving condition by blocking my entire view of on-coming traffic, just to sit there and wait to merge into the high volume of cars that were in the other lane. So maybe I shouldn't have flipped them off, but it's not like I could pull them over and give them a ticket for failure to obey the traffic laws."

"Well, you uh... That... You shouldn't have beeped your horn, and that was borderline aggressive driving. Wait here."

Of course, she let me sit there for 20 minutes while she rubbed one out to my driver's license photo, but let me off with a vewwy serwious wahning about my driving habits.

So yeah. Go to court and fight it. You can always say that you didn't know it was a cop, and you thought they didn't notice the light had turned green. I've been honked at a billion times for that.

How can you be worried about honking at cops when there are Swingers in NOVA?

What if the cops are swingers? Then you'd be glad you honked.

Swinger Pig: