Advice needed

[mild67]

A few months ago i was pulled over in my audi, the officer was going to give me a canary for not being able to turn off my DRLs, he went back to his car and drove off, so i thought no canary.
A few days later i recieve a fine for using fog lights in clear conditions.
Problem is i have no fog lights only thr DRLs, so i refuse to pay fine and now ill be off to court. Also on the ticket and sumons he has the wrong rego number.
What do i have to do to bet this?
Iv had more than my fair share of fines in the past but refuse to pay this as i believe its wrongly issued.


Sent from my GT-P1000 using Tapatalk 2

[NUT347]

Why can't you turn them off? Do they not turn off?

[EFFalcon]

I thought that was the whole point of DRL's... on all the time.

[TUFED6]

No experience but I think you should front up to court and point out that they are daytime running lights (just like a volvo lol) and that they are OEM equipment (are they?) and there is no off switch.

Presumably if they came from the factory they have passed the relevant ADRs etc.

[nstg8a]

I'm guessing it was during the day? By the 'clear conditions' anyway...

IMO it should be a simple case, they're drls, and are supposed to come on with ignition and off with headlights on or ignition off, that was my undstanding anyway.

Wasn't there just a big bleat by vic pol about one of their members being targeted in a facebookmpage because of exactly this sort of thing?

[NUT347]

That's what I was thinking.

If they are on all the time the car was imported like that, which means its passed ADR rules.

[t1MMy]

Which station was he from?

Tried calling him and explaining it to him?. Sometimes mistakes happen.

You say ticket & summons? It's either one or the other, it can't be both.

[Rollin]

You need to obtain more proof than just making a claim that they are DRLs.

Your best bet is to contact Audi Australia via email or post (phone calls get lost, letters generally don't) and ask them for a letter explaining the operation of the lights on the particular vehicle you were driving.

Mention in the letter that you need it in a hurry as you received an infringement notice and you need to explain their operation to a magistrate.

Alternatively, if you have the owners manual and it clearly states that the lights (that were on at the time of the intercept) are daytime running lamps and not fog lights, you could tender that in court.

If you still have enough time in between obtaining the above information and the end of the 28 day period in which you need to elect to go to court, you can go to the police station and ask to speak to the Station Sargent, show him the infringement notice and also the letter/owners manual and ask him to have the ticket pulled.

If he won't pull the ticket, take it to court. It would be a safe bet that he'll pull the ticket if you can show him evidence on paper that the lights in question are actually daytime running lamps.

[[D1SCNT]]

contest the fine, wait for summons, go to court, show judge the Audi brochure stating the fact the lights are a factory thing, hope judge see the common sense in your argument and rules in your favor, then counter sue Vic police for making you loose a day of work as you had to front court over this bullshit.


if more people did this, it be harder for vic police to get away with issuing these fines as most people just pay them thinking if i dont il go to jail
ive got 2 im contesting atm. **** em!

[mild67]

Which station was he from?

Tried calling him and explaining it to him?. Sometimes mistakes happen.

You say ticket & summons? It's either one or the other, it can't be both.

i recieved a ticket and opted to fight it, so now they summonsed me to court.


they are on all the time until you turn the headlights off.

[mild67]

What about the wrong rego number? should i just say iv never driven a car with that rego?

[mines bigger]

i would advise against using that to try and over rule the ticket, its a mistake, just prove you didnt commit the offence in the first place!

[superhuS!]

I thought the tickets weren't valid if there was incorrect information on it, hence why it's 99.9% of the time done in pencil so they can correct the mistakes?

[mild67]

I thought the tickets weren't valid if there was incorrect information on it, hence why it's 99.9% of the time done in pencil so they can correct the mistakes?

thats what i thought as well

[Chargd]

did you put the drl's on yourself or are they from factory?

[mild67]

I insralled them.
And i forgot to say it was dark and had my headlights on so the DRLs were off at the time.
But the frankston officer said they were on and blinded him. They are 1watt leds.


sent from where ever i am

[nstg8a]

I insralled them.
And i forgot to say it was dark and had my headlights on so the DRLs were off at the time.

Your screwed.
they're not factory fitted, so you would need to prove every aspect of them meets ADR, including placement etc.

[Rollin]

I thought the tickets weren't valid if there was incorrect information on it, hence why it's 99.9% of the time done in pencil so they can correct the mistakes?

I've seen people attempt to get off tickets in court because the information is wrong, and the magistrate just asks the police prosecutor what the correct info is and then amends the ticket. Pretty fucked, hey?

Also, tickets aren't done in pencil, they are done in pen, but they are carbonated paper, they keep the top copy to send to their prosecutions to have the ticket recorded against your name, the second one stays in the book and then the bottom one is the bit you get.

[misk]

just get something from audi that proves they are OEM as rollin suggested.
cops are generally retarded mechanically and at times, logically, but any dealings i've had with a magistrate has proved that the buck stops with them and even though they may not know mechanical specifics, they are very well versed in logic and love it when you have documented proof that is verified by a well known and well respected source.

having something documented and signed is a sure way of them finding in your favor and you'll probably find the magistrate will have a bit of a wtf moment and be done with it nice and quick.

even though you don't hear about it often, alot of people contest stupid fines or similar, so its definitely not something out of the ordinary for the court.

[misk]

err i wrote that post at like 2am but didn't hit post til just now lol.
if its your word against his then you will have trouble.
i'd maybe suggest getting something from someone (dunno who, another police station, vicroads maybe?) stating that they are classified as parkers basically, or actual DRLs and not fog lights, maybe that will help?
if you can go down that road then the cop basically gave you a fine for having your parkers on which might be easier to dispute.

thats how i would try and tackle it anyway!

[TUFED6]

Wait, how can he ticket you when your fog/dr lights weren't even on? Is he actually complaining about your headlights?

I'd go get your whole lighting system tested by a mechanic and take written proof that they are operating correctly to court with you.

Note that if your car is lowered theres a good chance that your headlights are actually misaligned (eg. pointing up).

[TUFED6]

Wait, how can he ticket you when your fog/dr lights weren't even on? Is he actually complaining about your headlights?

I'd go get your whole lighting system tested by a mechanic and take written proof that they are operating correctly to court with you.

Note that if your car is lowered theres a good chance that your headlights are actually misaligned (eg. pointing up).

[misk]

you said what i was thinking in a way that actually made sense john lol.

if your lights actually are illegal, then your pretty fucked, but you'd be a silly billy for starting this threading knowing you were dicked for having illegal lights

[Chargd]

if you installed them i doubt you can fight it.

[DJV8T5]

Does your Audi even have fog lights? Maybe post a pic of the front of your car to see where the DRLs are? If your Audi doesn't have fog lights, just take that info into court with you and you may have a chance. Without all the info no one can really help.