Not long ago, I was stopped by a Cobb County cop for supposedly "laying drag". What actually happened: I was going north on Sandy Plains Rd. and was going to turn right onto Post Oak Tritt. There was a car in front of me who was going to do the same thing, but suddenly hit brakes hard before making turn. I wasn't in any danger of hitting him, but it startled me so I was on my brakes while making the right turn. Just after completing turn, my right foot slipped off brake onto gas, going into boost slightly, no chirping of tires, but rear-end did fishtail once. I immediately let off gas and straightened up. Drove for about a mile and one-half before cop stopped me. He wasn't listening to my explanation about what happened and how weight transfer (loading up front end while braking and unloading rear end, causing fishtail when gas was hit) caused fishtailing.

I've had a clean driving record for 26 years since moving to Atlanta and I'm mad. I've hired a lawyer and already requested a jury trial. Unfortunately, you can only get your driving record for a maximum of 7 years, so hopefully that'll help! I also own a Supra and understand cobb county police harass people with performance vehicles. I've posted on supraforums and getting feedback,but no actual documentation on abuses by cobb county or Officer Wilson. Know that some with Supra's, Honda's, etc are kids and might have been deserving of citations. I don't want to be guilty of same thing the cops are and assume because someone has a high performance vehicle that they are irresponsible and reckless.

I'm looking for documentation of harassment or abuse of authority by cobb county police in dealing with L or other high performance vehicles. Bogus citations and final results of dealing with them. With proper documentation, I might help not only myself, but all of us find a little justice. If significant number of examples, i even might get media attention. If ou've noticed the news lately, media loves exposing cops bad behavior. NOTE: I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT HONEST COPS, WHO ARE VAST MAJORITY! Maybe even this cop is basically honest, but I do know he made some false statements on police report! Please be honest, if your ticket was righteous don't use as example!

If you've head this experience in cobb county, please PM me to see if we had same officer whom I do not want to name publically on this forum.

If this applies to you or anyone you know, please respond and maybe help us all!

 

HEH HEH HEH ... you mean officer WILSON ?????

 

Sorry for the 'mis-understanding'(I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt.) with the police. I can't offer any help towards your situation.

You probably don't want to 'hear' this but if you left-foot braked, that might not have happened. I'm an ol' fart but I've been doing that for 30+ years.

Dan

 

jakemarietta, Seems like you did'nt mean for this to happen. I guess all I can say that you were in 100% control of your vehicle at the time. If the rear end was a waggin in the wind? Well then.......? You are responsible.

IMO the LEO having seen that you were a bit older and had a clean record..... he should have just given you a warning.

Rich

 

jakemarietta, you got mail.

 

Lrod, Dan, I'm clumsy enough as it is. don't ask me to left foot brake. I'd get so confused, I'd look like I was dancin'!

I neither confirm or deny and personal references to a specific officer. Thought I had proofed and removed all the specific references. SVTKy, I see your LASIK procedure is holding up for a "senior" guy!

 

Ok guys, I'm thinking maybe you thought I'd try to get you to testify in court if you gave specific documentation? that was not my intent! Those with actual experiences in Cobb county, I'd like to hear about them without using your name, just your "handle". The name of the judge would be useful though.

Have had a couple guys PM me regarding bogus tickets they've received. One guy already had his dismissed in court after cop was caught lying!

While having my truck recently serviced, a SVT tech volunteered to testify for me, documenting weight transfer, axle hop and other handling issues that could make truck do that unintentionally! I may have this wrong, but think there is issue of "locking differential" being a contributory factor?

 

Jake,

I just thought I'd chime in since I got a similar ticket last year. I was making a U-turn around a median in the road. I gave the truck too much gas and it fishtailed a bit at the end of the turn. A cop saw this pulled me over and wrote me up for "exhibiton of acceleration." I accepted the ticket and took defensive driving. It was my fault and my fault alone that I was giving the truck too much gas. While it was not my intention to spin the tires on my truck, the end result was the same. From the cop's perspective, or any other obersevers' perspective, I was spinning my tires. Does it really matter why? Bottom line is that YOU spun your tires - deliberately or not. Don't blame the cop for being there to write the ticket.

-Edward

 

ok i'm in the field and we see some stupid things done but most deserve a i saw that and be more careful unless your a repeat offender. since your not i will see if i can help.

this site is good as far as i can tell and most states and areas are up to date with feed back. maybe some of it will help you and maybe you can leave your feed back.

how i checked it was compared to my local areas and the way they handle their selfs and there patrol areas.

hope the link works if not pm me
speedtraps for cobb county

 

i got a ticket, not in cobb but in east point, for not having a red flag on a ladder i was carrying. the cop was nervous as hell giving me the ticket cause he knew i was pissed for it. it also happened on the ONE DAY that i left my wallet at home, and he gave me a ticket for not having drivers llcense on person too. I was talking with someone and they said its all about meeting their quota for tickets but i dunno.

btw if i had an L i wouldve prolly lost my license by now

 

If you "really" were "fishtailing", unless you can "prove" the officer was lying, you're probably going to have to take the ticket. I don't think I'd want to tell too many that my "foot slipped on the brake and onto the gas". And the court is not going to be impressed with "front end loadings", "differential loadings", etc. That would imply to me that all L's have this as an inheret feature and "fishtailing" is to be expected on a regular basis anytime you pass another car as in your case. Just sounds to me like you momentarily lost it a bit and just happened there was a police officer nearby. Unlucky break for you. And unless the officer is lying and you can prove it; I'd just take the ticket and be done with it and life moves on.

 

Left-foot braking? Improper at best. I've seen people doing this and their brake light never shuts off. It's difficult to tell when they are actually braking or just riding the pedal. Plus, they are dragging their brakes. Yeah, yeah, I know. You left foot brake w/out doing any of the above. Have to disagree with any recommendation to left-foot brake.

Anyway, a lot of times these traffic attys can attack the accuracy of the radar's calibration, by asking if calibration is w/in the required time frame, a well as the officer having his certificate of training, etc. Plus, if the cop doesn't show, it should be dismissed for lack of prosecution (if the judge is not a jerk by continuing the case).

 

Deputy, thanks to your link, I just joined NMA. Unfortunately, they do not have an activist or coordinator for Georgia. I emailed their office and asked how to get info for Ga. They seem to be primarily concerned with speeding tickets.

I think I said in original post that I did NOT spin tires--no chirp or laying of rubber. Rear-end fishtailed once only. No other car to pass either, so was not doing that! I appreciate the feedback guys, but please read more carefully.

 

Don't accept the ticket. You'll regret it with insurance rate hikes for years to come. Get an attorney and fight it. Prob no more than $200-250 altogether and you'll be better off in the long run.

 

Jake,

If you did fishtail, your tires WERE spinning. If your tires had maintained traction, you wouldn't have gone sideways Just because you saw no patch of rubber or didn't hear any noise doesn't mean they weren't. Bottom line is that fishtailing is not an acceptable driving practice on public roads. You've stated that YOU made a mistake by slipping your foot from the brake pedal to the gas pedal. This was YOUR fault. Believe me when I say that I'm no fan of revenuing by the police. However I think that your trying to mistakenly apply this to your ticket. Just accept responsibility.

-Edward