Traffic ticket for stickers on rear window

[bikehikeskifish]

Not really, the WMNF parking sticker must be displayed on your windshield and I'll bet it's not authorized by the NY commissioner

But if you're careful to put it outside the forward view area the cop will probably ignore it

I notice it does not say where you are supposed to put it. I put it in the lower corner on the passenger side, which to all reasonable ways of thinking could never impair my vision. Never been ticketed so they must see it there.

Tim

 

[NewHampshire]

I have to wonder if non-NY people are exempt. The reason I ask is that in the military your vehicle has to conform to the state in which it's registered, not in the one in which you're in.

Sometimes a military bumper sticker gets you a ways too. My Uncle was stationed at Plattsburgh AFB and used to drive home on his "weekends" (IIRC he did a 6 day on, 3 day off rotation). Obviously with that kind of distance involved he got to meet a lot of State Troopers, more in VT than anything . He said showing that he was in the military had its benifits . He still got pulled over, but back then, more often then not, he got a "now you just slow on down son and be on your way" rather than a ticket .

Brian

 

[ALGonquin Bob]

I think it's because New York State needs the money, but I'm leaving my little "Adirondacks" sticker (looks like a tiny license plate) in my back window.

 

[Peakbagr]

I'd be in big trouble if they looked at my company car. DEP hiking permit hangtag on mirror, GPS on the dashboard, mobile phone holder just below, and memo pad holder on windshield.
I can just see the deer between the stuff as it jumps out in front of me.

 

[Remix]

It seems to me that the OP was selected for prosecution for whatever reasons and that sucks. After all, this does not seem to happen alot.

Reading the law, it seems that if you put a sticker on your pickup rear windshield that is lower than the height of the inside seat (and thus not even visible when looking back over your shoulder) , you are still liable for a fine.

The WMNF sticker on the front windshield should be some kind of federal document that the commissioner must accept, but make sure it does not obscure your VIN plate.

 

[marty]

Reading the law, it seems that if you put a sticker on your pickup rear windshield that is lower than the height of the inside seat (and thus not even visible when looking back over your shoulder) , you are still liable for a fine.

Yeah, I was wondering about that when reading this thread. My truck proudly sports a VFTT sticker, an Appalachian Mt. Club sticker and an Oquossoc, Maine sticker on the rear window's lower rear corner. They all sit below my line of rear vision, because they are covered by the back seat's head rest.

Although I frequently get out to NY State, I have no plans to remove them. Like others have said, chances of getting a ticket for this are likely remote and my VFTT sticker is priceless.

Marty

 

[AOC-1]

Kind of hard to believe, but like teejay said, he could have been doing you a favor, if you were pulled over for another violation.
Last winter I got pulled over for speeding on my way home from the ADK's by a rather nice state trooper, I even got a chuckle out of him. He explained I was going a little too fast to be let go with a warning so he gave me a ticket for failure to obey a traffic device, which in his words...."that big white sign with big black numbers on it."
The ticket was still costly, but much less so than a speeding ticket and I didn't get any points.

There may be something else going on here. Several years ago, the New York State Police Superintendent prohibited troopers from plea bargaining tickets in local criminal courts. The troopers had previously acted as prosecutors and plea bargained with motorists who showed up in court. Many county-based district attorneys don't have the resources to handle these cases, and many small, cash-strapped jurisdictions can't hire private lawyers to act as prosecutors. The New York Legislature sought to overrule the State Police Superintendent with legislation, but the bills were vetoed by Governors Pataki, Spitzer and, most recently, Paterson.

Consequently, troopers have adopted a novel strategy of "plea bargaining" tickets at the scene. They will write you up for a lesser offense, often a non-moving violation, when the ticket is issued. However, they discreetly note somewhere on the ticket the actual violation as a signal to the court (e.g., they might write "74/55" in the corner). The judge then sets the fine for the lesser offense with knowledge that the stop was for speeding. Also, troopers will sometimes issue new tickets for the higher offense when a plea of not guilty is entered by mail to the lesser infraction.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

...Sometimes a military bumper sticker gets you a ways too.

Actual veteran's plates gets you even further. Can't tell you how many times that's "saved my bacon" when it comes to a ticket.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I hope it helps, but I don't think I'll drive my other car to NY anytime soon, just in case.

 

[TEO]

Not really, the WMNF parking sticker must be displayed on your windshield and I'll bet it's not authorized by the NY commissioner

Well the WMNF isn't exactly big on conforming with the law, seeing as the parking fees are illegal in National Forests. So, it is kind of fitting that they sell passes to cover an illegal fee and require that it be placed illegally on your vehicle.

(Which should I use: , , , or?)

 

[Neil]

New Englanders enjoy making snide comments regarding New York's snowshoes law. Now this.

The sticker law.

 

[Jay H]

let me state that I haven't read through everybody's reply so I may be repeating info, but there are a lot of weird regulations on where and what you may sticker. Of course, most people's trinkets and stuff hanging from the inside rear view mirror is illegal as "obstruction of view". Many stickers that states require to use for registration, etc. are strictly governed. One of the things EZ-PASS had to go through is to get it legal to actually use one, because it would be stupid to implement an "EZ-PASS" system (called different in different states) if it was illegal to stick the transponder on your front windshield!

However, a lot of these tickets are in difference of say a speeding ticket... It is also illegal for many license plate frames to block the name of the state and I see a lot of dealership plates that do, to name anther weird and ticket collecting machine....

Jay

 

[Peakbagr]

And this is from 'sticker man'. Jay, post a picture of your car.

 

[Jay H]

Not on my rear window!, the stickers are on the wagon part of my Subaru. AFAIK, the regulations deal with front and rear windshields and the front windows (tinting)...

Jay

 

[Peakbagr]

Yeah, but I thought folks would like to see what a fully tricked out NYS ride looks like. Don't be bashful.

 

[Wanderer1]

I live in rural western New York and they obvisously don't enforce that law around here. I see pickups with full murals across their back window and young adult's cars with the name of their car, in big letters, across the top of their windshield. I have also seen some wild decals across the whole back window of these same cars. I don't understand the pickup window regulation either as most of them around here have caps or are farm trucks with racks that block the view anyway. That's why they have side rear view mirrors. I would think if you have side rear view mirrors it shouldn't matter. That's what big trucks use. I guess it depends where you are, who stops you and what kind of a mood they are in.

 

[rhihn]

Yeah, but I thought folks would like to see what a fully tricked out NYS ride looks like. Don't be bashful.

Suffice it to say that if a passenger was seated next to that window, they wouldn't get much of a view!

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Suffice it to say that if a passenger was seated next to that window, they wouldn't get much of a view!

As long as they aren't in the back seat... blocking your view out the rear window. I hear that is a ticketable offense in NY

Tim

 

[J.Dub]

3 possibilities come to mind
1-Have they just graduated a new class of enthusiastic state police from the Academy?
2-They need $$$$
3-Could they really be that bored? Perhaps the crime rate is so low the are looking for ways to pass the time.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner...

 

[Grumpy]

...
However, a lot of these tickets are in difference of say a speeding ticket... It is also illegal for many license plate frames to block the name of the state and I see a lot of dealership plates that do, to name anther weird and ticket collecting machine....

Jay

An old cop friend of mine says it's virtually impossible to drive a vehicle without having committed some kind of traffic law violation or creating suspicion that justifies a pullover. I believe him.

Traffic stops (too often) can be stop-and-frisk type rousts. Just try being very careful to observe all the rules about speed, turn signals, stop and yield signs, etc, while driving at 1 or 2 o'clock in the morning, even if that's your customary way at any time. Officer will assert, "you were being suspiciously cautious," as he runs a background check on you and your vehicle and evaluates your sobriety. And he may issue a ticket for some minor infraction, like a burnt out bulb on the license plate light, to justify the stop if you give him any guff.

By contrast, say you really are being a scofflaw, by speeding, and maybe doing a little tailgating. You're not really way out of line, say, 75/65, but the way you're driving is enough to get you stopped. Your papers are in order, you and the vehicle check out OK on call-in, and you are polite and maybe or maybe not quite adequately contrite. To justify the stop, or emphasize its seriousness the officer delivers a lecture and writes a minor ticket.

These guys have a lot of discretion, in the real world. And they do encounter a lot of both ridiculous and threatening things on the road. Be careful that you don't push 'em. (My old cop friend got into a roadside wrestling and clutching match, literally for his life, after stopping somebody who turned out to be deeply psychotic. That happened less than a week before he retired. Luckily, with help from a passerby, my cop friend won.)

G.