Update:
I decided it just wasn't economical to go to court and fight this! It's total BULLSHIT and would cost me 300-400% more than what the ticket is! What I did do though was file complaints with the city of Edgewater, Fl. and the county seat County Clerk's office in Deland, Fl. Don't expect anything to come of it, but it felt good getting it off my chest! Here's what I sent them:
"I feel as if I'm in a no win situation here! City of Edgewater & Volusia County created a situation to entrap people into violating a state statute (316.211 -2- No eye protection while operating a motorcycle(knowing very well people will lift their visors at stop lights), or whatever else your Officers could drum up at the time! Not to mention the attitude the officer exuded, and the coerced insinuation of going to jail if I didn't sign the citation while I was reading the citation. Here's a little history of what happened:
It's Bike Week ‘07 and it's 3/09/07. My wife and I are coming home from Daytona on US 1 south on our motorcycle. We enter Edgewater city limits and come to US 1 & Boston St. where traffic is backed up from Boston St. to "No Name Saloon. Police have setup a cross walk on US 1 and are in the process of stopping traffic to let pedestrians cross (never mind the drunks coming out of the bar and riding off). Now mind you, my wife and I both wear fullface helmets w/visors and the helmets are both DOT approved. Well, we have crossed over the intersection and stopped again. I lift my visor to get some fresh air from the exhaust fumes and heat accumulating in my helmet from sitting still (yeah, that hardened criminal with no eye protection on under the helmet visor with a windshield on the bike). As soon as we started to move again(<5 mph), one of your finest, waves me into the median and proceeds to tell me he's issuing me a citation (3947-EWR) for no eye protection (State Statute 316.211 -2). He says my visor isn't properly displayed (no mention of my bikes windshield either). Now I find this very disturbing in the fact that Fla. Law says you don't even have to wear a helmet! I wear a helmet and the statute states that eye protection will be worn above the eyes, not in front, but above! My visor was attached and was above!(note: 90% of the other riders weren't even wearing helmets)
You can say I am a little upset about this! This is my first citation in over 20 yrs. and I believe it to be a totally bogus, trumped up charge! If it had been a legit charge, you would not have heard a peep out of me! I'd have accepted it, paid it and moved on. You have me over a barrel here because, to take off work and go to court, it would cost me 300% what the fine is, plus the fine and court costs if it doesn't go my way, not to mention travel time and expense from Titusville to Deland. This is "Highway Robbery" due to the fact you know people will just pay it without fighting it (could just about feel the gun in my rib). Very UNJUST! I believe this was just a "Revenue Generator" for the city/county! I can tell you this, because of this, I will not be making any contributions to any police charities in the future. In fact, I'll suggest they contact OCPD Officer ID # 21126, maybe he'll contribute! I'll also not patronize any of your area businesses if I can in any way avoid it! I know this complaint will most likely fall on deaf ears, or I should say blind eyes and be filed in the round basket, but it makes me feel a little bit better getting it off my chest! My annual spending in your city/county, I can tell you, far exceeded the $78.50 your Officer extorted this day by issuing this BOGUS citation. I'm going to pay this citation, but know it's under duress that I do so! To add insult to this, you also charge an online $5.00 processing fee! I feel OCPD Officer ID# 21126 extorted any and all future cash contributions on 3/09/07, so do not expect me to contribute! It's a sad day when your officers treat the public this way! I always believed the Police were there to protect and to serve the public, not to fill their greedy little pockets by extorting the public. Guess I was wrong! You've lost my respect! I'm quite confident I'm not the only person this happened to during FLEESE WEEK in Edgewater! Hope you put that ill earned money to good use, because that will be the last penny I'll willingly spend there! Just so you can get an idea of what I was wearing that day, here's a picture-"
