Editorial Comment: "Click it or Ticket" enforcement is in full swing
Editorial comment:
The state-wide "Click it or ticket" mobilization effort appears to be in full effect as of Sunday. Earlier today, my fiance and I were traveling southbound on Murrieta Road on the way to meet my Mother for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. I was the passenger in the vehicle. There had been a dispatch for a Vegetation Fire in the area of Murrieta and Holland Roads, so we took this route to see if it was going to be an actual incident.
While in the area, I was speaking with some of my peers on my hand held radio to inform them that it appeared there was no fire in the area. When I was doing this, a California Highway Patrol officer from the Temecula station passed us going northbound, opposite from us. My fiance is a very good driver and was only traveling 40 mph while the speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 mph.
After passing us, the officer made a U-turn and came up behind us with his lights on. My fiance, thinking that the officer was on his way to a call, pulled to the right of the road at the stop sign at the intersection of Holland and Murrieta Roads. The officer pulled up behind us and it became obvious that he was pulling us over. We turned right onto Holland Road and stopped. As the officer was walking toward the vehicle, my fiance and I were asking each other why the officer had possibly pulled us over. We came to the conclusion that it was probably because she doesn't have a front license plate on her vehicle. He approached the car and said "good evening. The reason why I stopped you is because your passenger wasn't wearing his seat belt back there."
What?!? I was completely caught off guard. I replied "sir, I can assure you that I was wearing my seat belt. I used to be a fire fighter and I am well aware of the consequences of not wearing a seat belt. Plus, I'm aware that you are doing a Click it or ticket mobilization and I wouldn't dream of riding in a vehicle while not buckled up at this time."
The officer replied "well let me assure you that I wouldn't have pulled you over if you were wearing your seat belt. Let me see your driver's license." I handed him my license and began to argue with him over whether or not I had been wearing my belt. I even asked my fiance to join me in telling him that he was wrong. The officer had a very rude demeanor and wouldn't believe that I was actually buckled up when he passed us by.
He asked me if I had unbuckled the belt while I was reaching for something. I replied "no, sir. I've been wearing my belt the whole time. I was talking on this radio when you passed us and it's possible that my arm obstructed your view of my chest." At this point, he threw my driver's license back at me and it landed in the center cup-holder of the car. He walked away from us and when he was half way back to his vehicle, he muttered "have a nice day" while not even facing us. He then pulled left onto Murrieta Road, made an illegal u-turn and blew the stop sign at the intersection to pull over the car that had just passed him. My fiance had already come to a stop at the stop sign and was almost hit by him as he ran the stop sign with no lights or siren on.
Apparently, this particular officer is more concerned with writing tickets to show that they are 'cracking down' than actually finding people who are violating the law. I would sincerely hope that other officers and departments aren't acting similarly during this "Click it or ticket" enforcement period. I encourage anyone who has experienced a similar event or feels they were un-justly written a ticket for a seat belt violation to contact me at joefanaselle@yahoo.com so that we can bring this issue to light. In the mean time, it might be good advice to take a picture or video of yourself buckling up every time you begin operating a vehicle so that you can prove your innocence if necessary.
The state-wide "Click it or ticket" mobilization effort appears to be in full effect as of Sunday. Earlier today, my fiance and I were traveling southbound on Murrieta Road on the way to meet my Mother for dinner to celebrate Mother's Day. I was the passenger in the vehicle. There had been a dispatch for a Vegetation Fire in the area of Murrieta and Holland Roads, so we took this route to see if it was going to be an actual incident.
While in the area, I was speaking with some of my peers on my hand held radio to inform them that it appeared there was no fire in the area. When I was doing this, a California Highway Patrol officer from the Temecula station passed us going northbound, opposite from us. My fiance is a very good driver and was only traveling 40 mph while the speed limit on that stretch of road is 50 mph.
After passing us, the officer made a U-turn and came up behind us with his lights on. My fiance, thinking that the officer was on his way to a call, pulled to the right of the road at the stop sign at the intersection of Holland and Murrieta Roads. The officer pulled up behind us and it became obvious that he was pulling us over. We turned right onto Holland Road and stopped. As the officer was walking toward the vehicle, my fiance and I were asking each other why the officer had possibly pulled us over. We came to the conclusion that it was probably because she doesn't have a front license plate on her vehicle. He approached the car and said "good evening. The reason why I stopped you is because your passenger wasn't wearing his seat belt back there."
What?!? I was completely caught off guard. I replied "sir, I can assure you that I was wearing my seat belt. I used to be a fire fighter and I am well aware of the consequences of not wearing a seat belt. Plus, I'm aware that you are doing a Click it or ticket mobilization and I wouldn't dream of riding in a vehicle while not buckled up at this time."
The officer replied "well let me assure you that I wouldn't have pulled you over if you were wearing your seat belt. Let me see your driver's license." I handed him my license and began to argue with him over whether or not I had been wearing my belt. I even asked my fiance to join me in telling him that he was wrong. The officer had a very rude demeanor and wouldn't believe that I was actually buckled up when he passed us by.
He asked me if I had unbuckled the belt while I was reaching for something. I replied "no, sir. I've been wearing my belt the whole time. I was talking on this radio when you passed us and it's possible that my arm obstructed your view of my chest." At this point, he threw my driver's license back at me and it landed in the center cup-holder of the car. He walked away from us and when he was half way back to his vehicle, he muttered "have a nice day" while not even facing us. He then pulled left onto Murrieta Road, made an illegal u-turn and blew the stop sign at the intersection to pull over the car that had just passed him. My fiance had already come to a stop at the stop sign and was almost hit by him as he ran the stop sign with no lights or siren on.
Apparently, this particular officer is more concerned with writing tickets to show that they are 'cracking down' than actually finding people who are violating the law. I would sincerely hope that other officers and departments aren't acting similarly during this "Click it or ticket" enforcement period. I encourage anyone who has experienced a similar event or feels they were un-justly written a ticket for a seat belt violation to contact me at joefanaselle@yahoo.com so that we can bring this issue to light. In the mean time, it might be good advice to take a picture or video of yourself buckling up every time you begin operating a vehicle so that you can prove your innocence if necessary.