had a run in with Johnny Law today
 

I took a trip to the west coast the other day by trailer to get the builder to look at the boat, and returned after hours and wasn't able to put my boat back in the rack and stack so i left it on the trailer at the marina for the night.
today i launched it and was on my way to get it racked. It is a 600 foot transit from the ramp to the rack pickup. 100 feet from the trailer ol johnny law comes up along side to give me the run down.
he asks for my registration, which is in the truck, and i tell him i can get it really quick i am just putting the boat back in the rack. he says no worries and runs my reg number and DL. and it comes back registered to me with matching addresses.
he then asks to see all my safety equipment.
-Life jackets: check
-horn: check
-fire extinguisher: check
-throw able life saving apparatus: he says the uscg approved cushion with straps is not adequate and that i need a ring buoy.
-flares and visual distress signals: i dont have because i am inland, he says it does not matter, i need them.

i ask about the previous two very politely because i was un aware that those were necessary. he says he has been doing his job for a very long time and knows the laws better than a weekend boater such as myself.
He asks my profession, i say "im a professional mariner"
"charter captain?" (he ASSumes because i am 25 years old)
"no i work in the oil feild, i have a master unlmited license"
"what size master? 50 ton?"
"i have an unlimited license."
i then hand him my USCG Masters any gross tons apon oceans, and tell him again i work in the oil feild and have an unlimited masters license. and say "as best as my knowledge serves me, within 3 miles or inland, a vessel my size is not required to have flares and that a coast guard approved cushion is adequate for throwable life saving device.
"I'll let you slide on that one this time because you seem responsible" he says

by this time we have drifted down the canal about 1/4 mile, and he starts to write me a ticket for no regestration. i told him it was in the truck and i can get it really fast when he first stopped me'
"i'm not here to wait for you, its 90 bucks you can pay over the phone, sign here have a nice day"

What a dick! can i get it dropped?

Write him a DWA ticket dick with arms:evilb:

Cops suck!................................Robertjr..... ...........................

In jersey I believe it depends whether it's written as unregistered or failure to show docs. With the later you can usually show up with current reg and have it dismissed. With the unregistered they usually will drop it to failure to show docs, a $30 or so ticket. Once again, that's the courts I've been to though...

i would fight it just because he was a dik

go to court and say it was in the boat the whole time but that you thought it was in the truck because it wasnt in its normal spot. They will probably drop it!

I usually just have nice conversation with them and then tell them how sorry I am and how I cant believe I messed up like this etc etc and they drop it because they figure youre not the kind of guy who would normally do this. LOL

Never get smart with them because they have the upper hand IMO Tell them what they want to hear and be respectful.
Just my .02

Yes if a local cop, not sure if it is CG..... Make a court date, show up with your registration and the court magistrate (not a judge, but rather an attorney standing in as a judge) will review and drop it. You may have to pay court costs of a few bucks ($10-20).

Sounds like you were at the 15th St ramp in Lauderdale where the Ft Laud. Cops have a waterfront police station!

Wow. $10-20? The latest scam the local PD is pulling is writing a bunch of BS crap tickets(like 3 over in a 25mph zone that should be 40), then when you go to court they throw the ticket out and just charge you court costs of $75. I guess the local city court gets to keep a larger % of court costs than if you just pay the ticket outright. The guy I'm working with has been ticketed three times this year, and every one gets dismissed in court so long as he pays court costs.

Yup, you can get it dropped. Just because you didn't have your reggie, doesn't mean it's not registered. If he did his job and stopped worrying about being a dick, he could have radioed it in and matched it to your license. Up here on Long Island we always say the cop was too busy counting his 6 figure base salary, but that doesn't apply to Ft. Lauderdale, so he just must have been a dick

I just read my own reply, and it kind of sounds like I'm being a snooty dick. I meant that cops here make a whole lot of money in comparison to the rest of the country.