E-cigarette lands man a traffic ticket in New York

[CabinetGuyScott]

The Hysteria & lunatics-run-amok continues...

[h=1]Electronics cigarette lands man a traffic ticket in Upstate New York[/h]
Just speechless... and that's rare for me...

 

[RuDawg7890]

That's crazy! Well, at least the article states the positives in vaping while driving over analogs.


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[Whatnametouse]

I got pulled over by a Native Peacekeeper. Looked at my SVD, smiled and said "Oh thought you were on a cell phone, have a good day"

 

[zoiDman]

I wonder if the Guy in the car got a Little Lippie with the Cop who pulled him over?

 

[pianoguy]

While I applaud the crackdown on cell phone jockeys, this is beyond ridiculous.

 

[Sundodger]

I read this, went back to bed, woke up again. Thought I had to have been still sleeping while reading this the first time, but no, it wasn't a nightmare, it's real. UNBELIEVABLE!

 

[JerryRM]

Maybe they have defined e-cigs as cell phones, for regulatory purposes.

 

[wv2win]

The height of hubris. The "nanny-state" is gravitating towards the "nazis-state". If there was anyway to sue the state over this lunatic action, I hope this guy can do it.

 

[BuGlen]

I saw this story yesterday, and my first (gut) reaction was one of amazement and disgust. But then after a while, I went back in my memory bank to some of the discussions I've had with LEOs a quite a few years back (they were in-laws). Being a law officer is not an easy job, and just like any other profession, there are those who are good at it and those who aren't.

We don't know what type of e-cig / mod this was, and if it was one of the many box mods on the market, it could cause confusion from a distance. Beyond that, I don't know why this LEO would press the issue after the fact when he must have been made aware of his mistake during the traffic stop. Not really enough information in this article for me to make any sound judgments on the situations.

I wonder if the Guy in the car got a Little Lippie with the Cop who pulled him over?

That's quite possible. Or the LEO was just having a bad day/week/month and decided to take out his frustrations on an innocent citizen. Again, not really enough information provided to make that call, IMO.

 

[zoiDman]

...

That's quite possible. Or the LEO was just having a bad day/week/month and decided to take out his frustrations on an innocent citizen. Again, not really enough information provided to make that call, IMO.

Seems like One can Read into this Story just about Anything they want.

Maybe the Dude was Speeding and had 17 Outstanding Traffic Tickets?

Maybe he got all Bent with the Cop?

Maybe the Cop's wife Ran Off with somebody who Uses an e-Cigarette?

I dunno.

I'd just like to Know a Tad More about what Actually Happened.

 

[LaraC]

This doesn't explain what happened during the pull over, but it's interesting to see what happened later in court.

www.facebook.com/cnn/posts/10152411878081509?stream_ref=10

Jason Dewing writes to CNN about what happened when he went to court over the ticket:

________________________________

Jason Dewing ‎CNN
March 20 at 2:04pm ·

CNN, I have a huge story for you it upstate NY. I was charged while driving my vehicle and using a portable hand held devise(cell phone) i went to trial on this and proved to the judge that it was not a cell phone in my hand. I also proved the states case because the item that was in my hand was an E-Cigarette. E cigarettes are an electronic devise, but not defined in 1225-d of the NYS traffic law because an e-cigarette does not have the ability to communicate by phone,text, or data. Yet I has found guilty of using an e-cigarette while driving. I have proof coming from the court that the devise I am being charge with while driving was that of an e-cigarette. I believe I am the first person to be charged with vaping and driving. Wanna good story contact me and I will release anything that you need.
_________________________________

Further down in comments, Jason writes:

I had all my documents subpeoned and the judge stated that he was satisfied that it was not my cell phone that was in my hand. He also said that an e cigarette is an electronic devise. I advised him that the law states that the devise needs to have communication abilities. Judge said that if I mentioned that part of it before closing than it would have turned out differently, but because I did not that it is grounds for overturn in an appeal.

 

[zoiDman]

Thank you for Posting some More Info LaraC.

It is Baffling why the Plaintiff did not mention this Earlier?

... I advised him that the law states that the devise needs to have communication abilities. Judge said that if I mentioned that part of it before closing than it would have turned out differently, but because I did not that it is grounds for overturn in an appeal.

Seeing that it Should have been the Basis of his Argument for Dismissal.

BTW - Did you see any Case Number for any of this?

 

[zoiDman]

BTW - It would have been an Ironic Twist if the Dude in the Car was Hitting on a Mech-Mod when he got Pulled Over.

LOL

 

[zoiDman]

NY Code - Section 1225-D: Use of portable electronic devices


N.Y. VAT. LAW § 1225-d : NY Code - Section 1225-D: Use of portable electronic devices

 

[rurwin]

"Anyone who defends themself has a fool for a lawyer." He did not have an "electronic device" and he was not "using" it under the law, but the court can only consider the evidence placed before it.

Over here there's laws against mobile phones too, but the cops have a catch-all they can use if they want: driving without care and attention. Someone was done a while back for eating an apple while driving.

 

[CabinetGuyScott]

Thank you for Posting some More Info LaraC.

It is Baffling why the Plaintiff did not mention this Earlier?

Seeing that it Should have been the Basis of his Argument for Dismissal.

BTW - Did you see any Case Number for any of this?

Yeah, it's pretty stupid on the guy's part to not have explained the law to the police officer and the judge better than he did.

What a doofus that vaper is...

[/sarc]

 

[zoiDman]

Yeah, it's pretty stupid on the guy's part to not have explained the law to the police officer and the judge better than he did.

What a doofus that vaper is...

[/sarc]

My Dad used to say... "Some People Deserve what they Get."

I'm not saying that the Cop was Right to Ticket someone with an e-Cigarete for driving while using an "Electronic Device". But I wasn't there. And didn't hear what Mr. Dewing said to the Cop. Or if what he did say ...... the Cop Off.

But to walk into Court and to Not Mention that your e-Cigarette does Not Have the Ability to Communicate, so the Case should be Dropped, well, this Dude got Exactly what he Deserved.

Stupidity is Not a Defense in Court.

 

[AgentAnia]

It would appear a precedent has been set in a court of law that an ecig is an "electronic device." Therefore it cannot be a tobacco product, right? Just cogitatin'....

 

[rurwin]

It will be on record that the judge agreed that an appeal might be successful given this new evidence. Given a decent lawyer, who will point that out when the opposition tries it on, it should not be an impediment.

 

[Milkhoney]

Stupidity is Not a Defense in Court.

No, it's not, but it's still pretty common on both sides of the court. Which is why we have the appeals process.

I'd have also mentioned the legality of smoking while driving, which has got to be far more dangerous. Or am I the only one that's dropped a cigarette into the floorboards or ended up with fire in their lap while driving?