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Post by rider95 on Feb 22, 2016 15:18:54 GMT -5
Last yr Indiana scooter laws changed so that we had to reg them and pay for tags , this we all agree was a good Ideal having a scooter stolen I was all in favor of . Well in January I went to the BMV to get my tags was told yes I needed to do this but they the BMV @ 86n michiann rd
didn,t know how too doit come back so I did was told again month later the same . So I told my gf when I start seeing tags on scooters I will go back well yup you guessed it I got pulled over I give the cop my state ID was sitting there wondering how much a failer to reg my scooter ticket would cost me . That's about the only ticket I didn't get charged me with operating own a suspended drivers licen took me too jail impounded my scooter which has never ran since I got it out of impound , now its 8 months later I just got back from my latest court date its been 5 now the prosecutor that had been at the others the same one that offered me a plea that he wouldn't ask for any jail time if I plead guilty a few dates back is now replaced by a very young woman . We was set for a jury trial this wedsday I had requested one so I was a little surprised to see a diff prosecutor but my lawyer was happy it seems the prosecutor wasn't happy with what the BMV told him and my attorney the Judge said so he should have been charged with failure to register his scooter she nods to us, my attorney ask for a dismiss it wasn't given not at this time but she is gonna too but then sets a new trial date of the 24 of may . I am not gonna let the state this prosecutor or the cop change the scooter law that was written in 2015 it was a big deal to keep the you still don't need a drivers License that's the way the new scooter law was written and intended and still is .
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Post by oldchopperguy on Feb 22, 2016 17:17:42 GMT -5
Rider95,
Welcome to the site!Now, trust me... I'm 69 years old, ridden for more than half a century (much of that time as an outlaw chopper-jockey) and have, over the years, found it's SELDOM a good idea to mess with the authorities, now matter how much they, or their laws may suck... Yup! I'd highly recommend you get any legal problems straightened out, get a proper license and hit the reset-button. Bite the bullet and get the scoot registered regardless of how idiotic the process may be and show up to court licensed, no warrants, with the scoot titled, plated, and insured. You might be amazed at the different treatment you might receive... No promises: courts often don't give a rat's butt, but at least you'll be "in the right" in the court's eyes. Fighting the established system is like David and Goliath, EXCEPT most of us are definitely NOT David... LOL!  Get the scoot running, get legal and get riding!Ride safe, Leo in Texas
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Post by ricardoguitars on Feb 22, 2016 17:27:23 GMT -5
Agree with Leo, the law always wins  |
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Post by JerryScript on Feb 22, 2016 19:38:17 GMT -5
If you went yo the BMV twice attempting to register your scooter, and you were turned away because they didn't know what to do, you should fight all the way! You did the right thing, and your lawyer should be able to prove you acted in good faith. There is a legal concept that requires knowledge and intent to break a law in order to be held liable, I believe your lawyer should be able to prove your good faith based on what you have posted here.
I am one who has fought the law, and I won!
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Post by rider95 on Feb 22, 2016 20:03:56 GMT -5
I have been a member since it was scootdawgs I am a 58yr handicap with a bad heart A fib I ride with a handicap placard on my SR 50 , from some of the comments the cop made he wasn,t scooter friendly . I have carried Ins on my aprilla since I got it Indiana does not require this I am a older responsible rider. Putting me in jail instead of a ticket denying me my heart meds put me at great risk , I ride a scooter I am not a criminal
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Post by wheelbender6 on Feb 22, 2016 20:30:25 GMT -5
I thought "I fought the Law" was written by Bobby Fuller and recorded by the Bobby Fuller 4. I learned something today.
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Post by JR on Feb 22, 2016 23:35:07 GMT -5
If you went yo the BMV twice attempting to register your scooter, and you were turned away because they didn't know what to do, you should fight all the way! You did the right thing, and your lawyer should be able to prove you acted in good faith. There is a legal concept that requires knowledge and intent to break a law in order to be held liable, I believe your lawyer should be able to prove your good faith based on what you have posted here. I am one who has fought the law, and I won! Going to disagree with that and I'll tell you why? it's the simple thing that is always said and applies "ignorance is no excuse for the law" Now while I fully agree the DMV shoulders some of the responsibility for this members problems there were other options other than going ahead and riding "knowing" it was illegal to do so without tags. Could have asked for and called the State DMV asking for directions on how to properly tag a small scooter is one. I don't know Indiana law but in my state it's common for the DMV in each county to maybe not know how to do something with scooters so again they call the State DVM to get direction. Secondly after being told they didn't know how to do it a person could go to the State DVM and do it there, in my state you can do that, heck where I live you can live in one county and get tags in another if you have the proper paperwork? Lastly he could have went to the local police/sheriff's office and told them of his problem and they could have issued a temporary permit to ride the scooter or again you could have done that here with proof of ownership and insurance. So even though the DMV told him they didn't know how to do it didn't relieve him of his responsibility to obey the law and there was intent to break the law simply by riding it with no tags and knowing that he was indeed doing that. The DVM failed to help him but they didn't tell him it was legal to ride it still with no tags just because they failed and in fact they wouldn't have the authority to do so. JR |
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Post by JerryScript on Feb 23, 2016 0:31:48 GMT -5
Yep, it's a tough situation, and my position may be wrong. When the government fails to do it's job, citizens should not bear the burden, though we often do.
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Post by JR on Feb 23, 2016 7:18:18 GMT -5
Yep, it's a tough situation, and my position may be wrong. When the government fails to do it's job, citizens should not bear the burden, though we often do. I agree with that 100% and I would hope in this case the member can get the people at his DMV to stand up and say they dropped the ball and a good judge will see his good faith effort over this but the whole thing is hard to understand unless there are other factors we don't know about? I do see where he said "other" tickets with one being driving on a suspended license and one doesn't get a suspended license for a ordinary no ticket on a scooter nor does one go to jail and have their scooter impounded over it either? I would lean toward there is some unknown history in the past that has this driver in trouble with this officer and court? JR |
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Post by kevinharrell on Feb 23, 2016 7:26:31 GMT -5
Let me see if I understand the situation:
1.) "Mopeds" including scooters 50cc and under do not require a license to operate on the roadways.
2.) The law changed so that "mopeds" need to be registered and plated to operate on the roadways, the licensing requirement was not changed.
3.) You did not register or plate your 50cc scooter, you were stopped and you were arrested for not having a license, not, for failing to register.
4.) You are taking this case to trial because you were charged with the offense that you were not guilty of.
Good luck, and listen to your attorney, not what someone tells you on the internet.
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Post by rider95 on Feb 23, 2016 10:40:58 GMT -5
Thanks Kevin good to see some fight in you I am sure the prosecutor thinks the same way or hopes that I do as JR and ricardoguitars just lay down and pay . I happen to know the scooter laws and are in favor of them and I am not gonna let a cop change the scooter laws , he should have written me a ticket for not having my scooter registered that's what the BMV s and now the judge both said . So why didn't the prosecutor file the right charge??? he had ample time and my lawyer had
tried to reason with him ? Because he see's ppl like JR and ricardoguitars too often . This case will have repercussions for any scooter rider with out a drivers Licen in Indiana and all the scooter shops that are so eager to tell you you don,t need a drivers Licen so buy my 49cc scooter!! no driver Licen needed . So I fight on next court date May 24
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Post by JR on Feb 23, 2016 12:18:13 GMT -5
Let me see if I understand the situation: 1.) "Mopeds" including scooters 50cc and under do not require a license to operate on the roadways. 2.) The law changed so that "mopeds" need to be registered and plated to operate on the roadways, the licensing requirement was not changed. 3.) You did not register or plate your 50cc scooter, you were stopped and you were arrested for not having a license, not, for failing to register. 4.) You are taking this case to trial because you were charged with the offense that you were not guilty of. Good luck, and listen to your attorney, not what someone tells you on the internet. This might shed some light on the 2, 3, 4. www.awmlaw.com/MAY-I-DRIVE-A-MOPED-WITH-A-SUSPENDED-DRIVERS-LICENSE-NOT-SO-FAST.shtmlVery good advice.  JR |
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Post by JR on Feb 23, 2016 12:29:01 GMT -5
Thanks Kevin good to see some fight in you I am sure the prosecutor thinks the same way or hopes that I do as JR and ricardoguitars just lay down and pay . I happen to know the scooter laws and are in favor of them and I am not gonna let a cop change the scooter laws , he should have written me a ticket for not having my scooter registered that's what the BMV s and now the judge both said . So why didn't the prosecutor file the right charge??? he had ample time and my lawyer had tried to reason with him ? Because he see's ppl like JR and ricardoguitars too often . This case will have repercussions for any scooter rider with out a drivers Licen in Indiana and all the scooter shops that are so eager to tell you you don,t need a drivers Licen so buy my 49cc scooter!! no driver Licen needed . So I fight on next court date May 24 Whoa hang on here! I don't think myself or the other member you mentioned said anything about lay down and pay? it's your right as a American citizen to be heard by a COURT OF LAW whether you are innocent or guilty doesn't mater. I also said that the DMV was partially to blame. So I can easily blow a hole in that theory. Let's say for example the police pull you over for speeding and you open your window and are smoking dope, drugs are laying in the seat and a gun to go with it. So the officer is only going to give you a ticket and ignore the other issues? I don't think so. Same thing with a scooter, he pulls you over with no tags, asks for ID, you hand him a suspended drivers license, smell like you've been drinking, give him a cussing, is he just going to ignore the other things? In your case you were stopped for no tags and it's now up to a judge to decide your case. A police officer can charge you with any crime as long as he stops you for a valid reason, no tags was a valid reason and even though the DMV may be partially to blame , so are you IMO. You new the law said it had to be tagged, it doesn't matter that the DMV didn't know, that didn't give you the right to ride it anyway. I don't care anyway one way or another but maybe you don't know the law. Do take note that it said Indiana Supreme Court and I'm betting the prosecuter knows this too. www.awmlaw.com/MAY-I-DRIVE-A-MOPED-WITH-A-SUSPENDED-DRIVERS-LICENSE-NOT-SO-FAST.shtmlLet's make one thing clear, I have no trouble telling you what I think, so DON'T presume what I think by saying the things you just said. I'll give you the same advice as Kevin did, get a lawyer. JR |
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Post by kevinharrell on Feb 23, 2016 21:11:57 GMT -5
Interesting link JR. But, the link is to an article from 2012, and, it looks like the Indiana Legislature has changed the law since then. This change of law may make JR's link meaningless, and it makes my brain hurt.  So, I am out of this thread. |
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Post by onewheeldrive on Feb 23, 2016 22:40:51 GMT -5
Yeah it's an old link- the link still says 25mph and over you need a license, but the other requirements still hold up. I live here in Indiana. The new law that has been in effect since Jan 2015, made us register and plate the little 50cc scoots and also bumped the max speed up to 35mph. Over the last 5 or so years, the max mph before the scoot needs to be registered went from 25mph to 30mph and finally to 35 mph. www.in.gov/bmv/3220.htmwww.in.gov/bmv/3221.htm |
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