Not me personally but last night my girlfriend was pulled over for "exceeding the speed limit while passing" a truck that was going below the speed limit in the Left lane of a 55mph highway.

Apparently she debated with the officer about it since going 66 mph to pass the truck was what she felt the only way to safely get around him since he was driving erratically and touching the center line of the highway repeatedly.

I guess the cop agreed with her because he didn't give her a speeding ticket...instead he gives her a ticket for a 2" diameter spiderweb crack in the right side of her windshield! It happened in October when she caught a stray golf ball near the driving range.

She wasn't too happy about it but of course it beats a speeding ticket any day.

My assumption is this cop didn't want another recorded pull over without issuing a ticket of some kind.

Question is, how can you get a ticket for crack in your windshield? it makes no sense. The VA safety inspection sticker is still valid till August 2008!

If they can ticket you for this BS reason that means they could ticket you for a brake light that is out...even if it happened 5 minutes prior! It means they could ticket you for stuff you have no control over and in many cased don't even realize. Sure you should have a warning issued and if pulled over for that same issue a second time then get a summons.

It's in the county (fauquier) she lives in so she has asked me to find out of she should go to court with it. Would it even be worth it? I think the ticket is $30 + $55 fees or something.

Thanks.

- JL

 

sure you can get a ticket for a cracked winshield.
the inspection sticker doesn't mean anything. it just means
that at the time the vehicle was inspected, the minimum standards were met. however, the next time it gets inspected, it might not pass.
do yourself a favor and pay the ticket and be grateful that it wasn't for a moving violation.
get her insurance to take care of the crack since it's under the size of a dollar bill.
take the receipt and pictures of the repaired window to court and they'll probably drop the case.
better yet, the cop might not show up.

my 2 centavos.

 

x eleventy billion.

Pay it and move on. The ticket is legit and there is nothing you can do.

 

Cmon now.

1) Dont speed up to pass someone, slow down and fall back
2) The cop was NICE enough to let her off with the winshield ticket
3) Cracked winshield is a hazard to her and other drivers. Safelite or someone similar will come TO YOUR HOUSE and fix the crack, it doesnt get any easier then that!


I dont get the threads about this stuff. Just dont be dumb on the roads and you will not get tickets! Its EASY!

P.S. The money you will now have to pay in fines, Could have gone to fixing the winsheild.

 

any idea what the citation is called?

"Failure to maintain chip free windshield?"

Next we'll be ticketed for dents in our beater cars. dents could after all cause other motorists to stare and think "what a POS" possibly leading to an accident.

Believe me she's grateful that he let her off on a non-moving violation...we're just amazed you can be ticketed for a chipped windshield. What if you had just hit a bird on the way to work? Call a tow truck the vehicle is no longer legal to drive? haha.

EDIT: in hindsight it's probably better to have some kinda of equipment violation on your car...that way if an officer pulls you over for a moving violation like 57 in a 55 he's more likely to let you off on the moving violation of he can slap you with something else that you'll just prepay no questions asked.

 

The windshield is safety equipment. Just the same as your head lights or brake lights. I suspect the citation would read something like "failure to maintain equipment." Having a vehicle that is dropping fluids or parts is the same thing and will warrant a citation just as well.

If your vehicle is damaged while you are driving it and it becomes unsafe, you have the responsibility to get it off the road and repaired ASAP.

 

it doesn't state it on the ticket?

 

Makes perfect sense to me. I don't want other motorists driving around with unsafe vehicles.

But how is one to know what is "unsafe" when it comes to glass? Safety inspections out here in the redneck areas would pass a vehicle with a crack this small so long as it's on the passenger side of the car and not "in direct line of sight to the driver". In this case the rearview mirror blocks the crack from the driver's line of sight anyway.

I'm not fighting the fairness of the ticket. There is just no standard for glass damage is there? What is a citable amount of damage, what isn't? a 1" crack? 2"?

I have a 1/4" chip in my S2K windshield...stone hit. Should I be worried I'll get ticketed for it?

lol.

 

****Virginia****

According to the safety inspection guidelines of the Virginia State
Police:
In the Virginia Official Safety Inspection Manual, Section 19 VAC
30-70-210, page 210-2, paragraphs 7 and 8, states:

Inspect for and reject if:

7. There is a pit, chip, or star crack larger than 1

 

Yea, I have to agree with Jeff on this one. Safety equipment is a little different than dents or faded paint..

As for stuff happening and then getting pulled over immediately after.. sure it's possible but bloody unlikely. She got away with it since October and the odds simply caught up with her. Just like speeding. Every time you do it and don't get caught, your odds increase of being busted the next time.

It's ultimately the driver's responsibility to make sure the car meets state standards every single time you drive. That said, do I check the turn signals, brakes, etc every time I drive? Hell no. No one does...