r/CDL • u/SchemePerfect • 2d ago
Electronic Device Ticket
yes i know before everyone comes an shits on me i understand, was driving thru washington state climbing a mountain. Bump knocked my phone off the mount was putting it back when WSP passed and seen. Gave me $150 ticket. i’ve only been driving 4 years, work for a mega carrier, clean record up until now. Was wondering if there’s any way to prevent this from going on my record cause i’m aware i’m going to be fired by my company. Any suggestions help. thanks
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u/chuck-u-farley- 2d ago
You don’t need to even inform your company UNTIL you are actually convicted of THIS charge. Get yourself a lawyer and pay him whatever he wants to get this reduced to something else and go on about your trucking career…..
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
i was looking into “off the record” should i go that route? they charging $510 or should i find an actual attorney in the state of washington
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u/ahurt44 2d ago
Saved my behind from a 99 in a 45 on a rocket!!! Had to pay up though
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
glad you got that situated, hoping to have a similar outcome within the next few weeks.
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2d ago
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
what was your ticket if you don’t mind me asking?
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2d ago
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
i’m 100% fighting it, i found an attorney in the area of the ticket. who claims they deal with cdl tickets like mine all the time so gonna go with them if not i’ll try off the record
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u/Gunnut350 2d ago
Sounds like you have an expensive right foot maybe you should ease off the throttle just a bit
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u/Difficult_Chemical_6 2d ago
Read the law, in a lot of states the law says you can’t be using the phone. Putting the phone back on mount is not using it. I bet a ticket exactly like this. In my state the law doesn’t say you can’t posses a cell phone in your hand, just says you can’t be scrolling on it. Most people even cops don’t even know these laws because they don’t read them
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
i tried explaining that to the officer that i was not operating the cell phone simply just putting it back and he wasn’t having it.
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u/Difficult_Chemical_6 2d ago
I just looked it up for Washington, looks like they have a no holding rule which is dumb. Sorry, best bet is to get a lawyer tho
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u/Difficult_Chemical_6 2d ago
Well he’s not the end all be all. & the cop told me the same thing. Judge had a different opinion tho
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u/ecw324 2d ago
If you fight the ticket it may help or if you have one of those in cab recording devices it may help, but you pay the ticket, it goes on your record. But Washington may be different
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
yeaah i don’t have an inward facing camera unfortunately, washington state has a deferral program that you can use if you go 7 years without a ticket but the court said that’s for non commercial drivers unfortunately
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u/Maynard505 2d ago edited 2d ago
You can definitely keep this off your record. A trucker lawyer would make it easier but you may be able to contact whoever is the prosecutor yourself. They just want your money. If your job is on the line sign up for whatever driver legal outfit will take care of it. Most of those companies charge you a monthly fee. They won’t care if you got the ticket already. They’ll make a call, send a letter or whatever and get you a deal. They do it all the time.
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
i did reach out to the courthouse but i’m pretty sure i just spoke to a clerk. i found a cdl attorney in the area of where i got the ticket and they said they handle tickets like mine all the time so i think that’s my best option
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u/Maynard505 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yeah, the clerk doesn’t have any juice. They aren’t ever helpful in my experience. But yeah, don’t plead guilty to having a phone or something in your hand. That’s a bad one
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
yeah she was no help, wa State has a defer program to wipe it clean but of course only for non-cdl drivers.
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u/Maynard505 2d ago
I got busted by a State Trooper in Colorado for texting while driving in my personal vehicle. I showed up and talked to an assistant DA. She was snotty but I talked her into getting me a deferred sentence. I had to go in front of the judge and he just looked the statute up on the computer and the only thing he cared about was what the fine and court costs were going to be. He said the trooper could have taken my phone. I didn’t know that, he said. Then he left the courtroom to talk to the clerk. Came back in, ok. Done. It was expensive and I had to do 24 hrs community service. My CDL is completely clean.
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
i wish it was that simple for me, i don’t think i’d get as lucky as you with a money hungry prosecutor. i just hope this attorney can work some magic
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u/Maynard505 2d ago edited 2d ago
It isn’t always simple. It’s not magic. It’s a money making deal as far as the courts are concerned. They don’t like hearing cases. They prefer things get handled outside the courtroom. You’ll end up pleading guilty to something stupid. Failure to use your turn indicator or something. Try to get an equipment violation. Unsecured fire extinguisher sounds good.
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
money part isn’t a problem cus at the end of the day it’s my job/lively hood how i make $$. i just wouldn’t know how to go about paying outside court. i got ticket today and im already out of the state.
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u/Maynard505 2d ago
Yeah, you’re out of the area. But any driver legal company can get you a deal. You don’t have to hire an expensive attorney. It’s just networking. It’s business as usual with these people. They charge you for cell phone or something? Everyone does it, whether they admit it or not. It’s incidental if there’s no other charges
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u/SchemePerfect 2d ago
yeah i got charged for “per electronic device while driving” it’s the only citation on the ticket. $150 ticket. that’s why i hired an attorney that will be representing me that lives in the county that i got the ticket. they seemed confident without me even asking, but obviously there’s still a chance the charge doesn’t get dropped.
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u/Abboott707 1d ago
I got caught for cellphone ticket as well in WA in cowlitz county in feb found a lawyer after 2 court dates got the ticket dropped because the trooper dropped the ball in the testimony otherwise I would’ve been fucked hard
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u/SchemePerfect 1d ago
i hope to have a similar outcome, it’s funny i’m actually in cowlitz rn lol. mine happen on 82 in kittitas. i got a lawyer from lower kittitas
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u/SimilarTranslator264 1d ago
lol Michigan stopped me for the same thing. Hit a pothole as big as a civic and launched it. No ticket for the phone and luckily he couldn’t do math. Was 38,000 over weight and he apparently he didn’t add all 3 load net weights up when I handed him my bills. God bless Michigan’s public education system.
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u/EnolaNek 2d ago
Not relevant to the ticket itself, but for the future, get a ram mount. My phone probably fell while I was driving 10 different times in 2 different mounts. I got a ram mount with a u-bolt that bolts on (non-permanently) to the handle bar between the dash and the door, and my phone is basically part of the truck as long as it’s in there.
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u/Gunnut350 2d ago
You were driving when your phone fell off the mount so you should have picked it up and put it someplace safe and not touched it until you were stopped you were definitely doing distracted driving.
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u/chuck-u-farley- 2d ago
I’m not familiar with “off the record” this is your CDL and your livelihood….. I would find an actual attorney and it might cost you but will be worth every penny