Venting – Milwaukee County Sherrif

Well, a bit embarrassing to admit, but I got my first ever boating citation from the Milwaukee County Sheriff. If it was anything that was within my control, I would probably chuckle about it and pay the fine and move on. But now that the citation came yesterday in the mail, the rage of anger continues to grow, as I don’t understand when common sense fails to supersede.

Citation – $85.00 for operating a vessel after sunset without the 360-light in operation.

A couple miles out on Lake MI at sunset, I plugged in my Nav lights as I normally would. After about 5 minutes of having them on, the 360 light went out. I did every reasonable thing I could do to get it operational. Wiggled the connections, cleaned all the contacts,…and attemped to replace the bulb. Unfortunately my pack of spare bulbs must have taken too many bumps in the front compartment of the boat as they were both broken.

The front Port and starboard lights were clearly visible and in operation as I drove back to the boat launch. The first MCS boat that I passed imediately hit the pretty flashing blue lights and pulled up to me at about 500 yrds from the boat launch.

From there, it all went down hill like an avalanche.

I was cited for the 360 light – regardless of what I had done to attempt to be compliant.

A warning for life jackets – This is just funny! Two adults in the boat. I took my inflatable off when the sheriff approached me. I had 2 throwables, and 3 standard adult rated PFDs clearly out in the open with ZERO obstructions.This is in addition to my inflateable! Perfectly legal for having THREE adults in my boat. Because I took my inflateable off, I got a warning for exceeding the minimal standards set forth by our WI boating regulations????????? All because the inflateable is not legal when it isn’t worn.

Next, I get a warning for my battery covers. Not to mention the long spiel that took forever. Like so many other bassboats, I have the battery “brackets” that secure the battery by the rim or perimeter. I have factory fabricated plastic covers on each of the terminals. From viewing directly above, the terminals are covered. Unforetunately, if you view the terminals from about a 30 degree angle from another boat, you can see a portion of 2 of the lead terminals. The sheriff then returned to his spiel on how they do these safety inspections for “The safety of everyone”.

Now, I still ask myself what was I to do? Should I have called the coast guard while I was still out on the lake and requested assistance as a boat in distress and wasted taxpayer dollars?

Should I have called 911 and…..then become a ridiculous recording that gets passed around the web for months…

Should I have called the County attorney and asked for a legal procedure to return to land?

I know it all comes down to money, and I am sure the Milwaukee County Sheriffs are instructed to write a citation for any and everything. But, what the heck happened to common sense? I wasn’t parading up and down the river. Just simple direct line to the boat launch which I captured on my H/Bird tracking. Now, how many hours will it take to fight an $85.00 fine???

I forgot to mention – My boat has been inspected by the United States Coast Guard every spring, and I have been 100% compliant every year with both Wisconsin and Federal regulations.

I hear ya Randy…but on the other side, do you think they ever hear “it was working, it just went out” ??? Just because we get a citation, does not mean we did anything wrong, sometimes it’s bad luck and timing, which was your case.

big G

Fight it, dude. Part of the anger seething just under the surface if this country is based on people with a valid complaint not fighting back when they have the chance.

been there-you get as warning for a headlite out from the highway way patrol–would be nice to find out why not working before the fight–good luck

I feel your pain-a few years back I got hung on a bogus dyed fuel violation. After doing the research, I paid it. I found out that it was cheaper to pay the fine than hire an attorney. They know this, no matter the outcome, Bubba’s gotcha. Like I was told, learn from it and move on jerr

Warned for having too many life preservers???

Randy, I don’t get this part – how can you be warned for having too many pfd’s? Doesn’t make sense or I’m not understanding.

It’s always a bit scary when you see the WDNR glassing your boat on Lake Michigan and then give twin 200’s the throttle to come take a look. They’ve always been cordial and no problems, but this sounds like someone was having a bad day (in addition to you).
Pete

I feel your pain. I received a ticket for my parking job at the Hudson launch today. 2-3 years ago I was told that the end spot in the city resident row wasn’t a legal parking spot because it’s too narrow and it also isn’t marked as a spot(all the others in the row are). For the last few years when I park in the spot next to it I have hugged the line or been a little over (to give me more room getting in and out and less likely to get a door ding). Today when I went to get my truck I see I have something on my windsheild, they gave me a parking ticket for taking up 2 spaces?????? A warning I could understand because they have apparantly changed the rules but decided not to tell anyone but a ticket just sucks. I have parked that way at least 6 times this year but probably closer to a dozen and never had an issue. There was also only 1 other person when I parked it there and about 4 others when I left (plenty of empty spots). There are a lotof things about this ticket that bugs me but my wife told me to just pay it.

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Warned for having too many life preservers???

Randy, I don’t get this part – how can you be warned for having too many pfd’s? Doesn’t make sense or I’m not understanding.

Pete

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Pete – that is what made it so funny to me. He went on and on about how the inflatable is not legal if it is not worn. He just couldn’t get past that point to comprehend the fact that even though I shown him the EXTRA life jacket. In his mind, I didn’t have a legal PFD for myself because I took my inflatable off.
My personal SOP is if I am “fun” fishing with no clients, I have a standard PFD in the cockpit for myself, and I wear my inflatable when traveling high speed. So, when I am not guiding, I always have at least one extra life jacket out in the open. I also have 2 to 4 extra PFD in a front compartment for just in case. I’ve plucked a couple people out of the water over the years, and it pays to have an extra with you.

I just followed a Dakota County Sheriff’s boat from the landing in Hastings with the plug clearly still in.

Are they not supposed to be removed? Or are they exempt?

I had a great one years ago that peaved me to no end.I was speeding.not going to argue that was running 8 mph over on an empty highway.. saw a single light coming at me and didnt slow down then got the joy of getting pulled over by a Kansas Highway patrol officer with a head light out.Mentioned it to him and his response was that it had worked when he went on shift…Now theres some bs. there.

Not worth the $85 to fight….

I agree with you Randy – but some times that economics and time just don’t makes sense.

Dog.

Chris –

Ditto – I saw the same things – different county

Amazing.

Must be too much trouble to take it out or they have already forgot to put it back in – once.

Dog

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I hear ya Randy…but on the other side, do you think they ever hear “it was working, it just went out” ??? Just because we get a citation, does not mean we did anything wrong, sometimes it’s bad luck and timing, which was your case.

big G

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Ditto. Pay the $85 and move on. The warnings are just warnings.

BTW, I got a no light ticket once here in Mn, well over $200. Want to hear my story?

=J.

That sucks Randy. There’s always one or two power hungry LEOs out there.

You should have fished yesterday, there is now was visibility was over 100′. Unless they have radar, they don’t know you are there.

IMO you should fight it, why let them collect $85.00 from you when you full well know you do not deserve the citation? You have inspection reports from previous years, you are responsible and law abiding, in all honesty you should be able to mail that in and they should drop that instead of making you waste more time than you already have. Don’t let them stick that to you, thats BS!

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Warned for having too many life preservers???

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I think it’s more like warned for having an inflatable on board but not being worn.

I’m with barebackjack… you may end up paying more than the $85 in the long run (although from what I understand in WI you shouldn’t need a lawyer due to the way tickets are handled in the court system), but at least you’ll deprive them of the money. It’s not about the actual amounts, it’s about the principle.

It’s about enough people standing up and saying enough. Because that’s what it’ll take… and as long as people keep saying “eh, it’s cheaper to just pay the ticket” we’re gonna keep getting f’ed in the @$$.

Unless I read this wrong, the $85. is for not having a working navigation light.

Randy didn’t have a light. Thus a ticket. A cheap pinch if you ask me, but a broken law none the less. Fighting that would be a waste of time. No light (for whatever reason)…you lose.

I would complain about the warning though by phone and letter if needed.

The reason being would be that if someone gets stopped again and the CO or whoever sees the warning it would add to the though that this person is a violator or doesn’t know the laws at best. My 2 pennies.

I lost all my lights one time out in the river due to a bad battery so Now I have on board a backup. All you need to fix that issue is a roll of black tape and a small led flashlight. put the cover from your blown light over the led flashlight tape it on there and tape it to the post.

Great point Whisker!

I’ll add that the warning for not wearing an inflatable when there are other (type III) PFD’s on board is almost unbelievable. That should be fixed with a phone call to have it removed.

he reason being would be that if someone gets stopped again and the CO or whoever sees the warning it would add to the though that this person is a violator or doesn’t know the laws at best. My 2 pennies.

My thought exactly. I make a very good effort to live by the law and set the right examples. As insignificant as it may seem, I’m proud of how many years I have gone without any type of traffic citation or any resource violations.

Perception is a very powerful tool. The next time anything in question happens, this could result in a more serious offense.
The argument can easily be made – the light is out = ticket. But there is also a difference of intent. If I knew it was inoperable, launched my boat, and proceeded knowing I was not in compliance – by all means; I would deserve to receive a citation. But equipment failures happen and a reasonable effort needs to be made to remain compliant with the law. I had spare bulbs and I spent the time to clean the contacts,…..all my effort in this situation failed and I had no other alternative than to return to the launch, trailer my boat, and then fix the problem.

Not that I don’t think you should have been given a warning, but how would the Sheriff know you didn’t head out knowing it was not working? They have no way to determine intent other than you telling them it worked earlier. You could have tried fixing it that morning and then just said screw it, I’m going anyway. Anyone they ask is most likely going to say it was working earlier. For reference, O.J. claimed he didn’t kill his wife and Clinton claimed he did not have sexual relations with that girl. Were they telling the truth?

The ticket sucks, I hear you. Understanding by the officer’s would be nice and appreciated, but they really have no choice but to write the ticket.

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Unless I read this wrong, the $85. is for not having a working navigation light.

Randy didn’t have a light. Thus a ticket. A cheap pinch if you ask me, but a broken law none the less.

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I suppose, I hadn’t really thought of it that way. I’m still smarting from getting pinched by the Prescott cops for speed postings set up by the WI DoT. Another case of “but you still broke the rules”, no matter why. And I will end up paying that particular ticket also… however I’m still going to a hearing with the city atty to try to get it lowered a bit because the stretch of road in question is CRAZY AS CRAZY CAN BE with the speed zones.

Point is, I guess, at the very least I’d try to negotiate a compromise if one can be made… I still wouldn’t just take it lying down (or like this: ).

And as to the notion of backups, you can get inexpensive clamp-on battery-op LED flashlight-style nav lights that work incredibly well. I’ve had them out on at least a half-dozen trips, running most of the night straight, and am only now thinking about changing the batteries.

They’re $24.99 for the bow light and $26.99 for the stern light… together they’re still barely more than half the cost of the ticket for no lights. Something to think about I guess.

Bow and stern lights – clamp on

I’d go the the clerks office and pay the fine in pennies, wait there till they are done counting, thank them for letting you waste their time, just as the County Sherrif wasted your time. Trust me it helps you feel better, I speak form experience.

LOL I LIKE IT!

That is a good idea, but go in 5 minutes before they close and mix in a few dimes and nickels and a Susan B or 2 just to make it interesting.

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I’d go the the clerks office and pay the fine in pennies, wait there till they are done counting, thank them for letting you waste their time, just as the County Sherrif wasted your time. Trust me it helps you feel better, I speak form experience.

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Coins are not legal tender for settling all debts, only currency is. They can refuse to accept pennies are you are still on the hook for the fine.

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I’d go the the clerks office and pay the fine in pennies, wait there till they are done counting, thank them for letting you waste their time, just as the County Sherrif wasted your time. Trust me it helps you feel better, I speak form experience.

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I would for sure take all my frusterations out on the clerk. It is their fault, and why not ruin a few peoples day since one officer gave you a ticket. It is the clerks fault for sure

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I’d go the the clerks office and pay the fine in pennies, wait there till they are done counting, thank them for letting you waste their time, just as the County Sherrif wasted your time. Trust me it helps you feel better, I speak form experience.

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I would for sure take all my frusterations out on the clerk. It is their fault, and why not ruin a few peoples day since one officer gave you a ticket. It is the clerks fault for sure

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No doubt.. I would pay my fine (which I earned) and keep them guessing if I was an azzhole… rather than pay in pennies and remove all doubt….

big G

G, you crack me up!

Randy, I feel your pain in trying to do everything possible to ensure compliance…but it really doesn’t matter if you had the Coast Guard acting as a delivery boy bringing out a light to you.

Dark + no light = ticket.

Not wearing an inflatable when you’re covered with Type III’s? That one still has me scratching my head.

Have you called on this yet?