The City of Pittsburgh

Quick FYI to anyone traveling W. Carson St. from the the Fort Pitt Bridge to Station Square, there's a speed trap and they'll be there all week.  They have a computerized speed reader you can't see up the road that sits about a foot off the ground and gets you just as you're going down the hill under the bridge. By the time you see the cops, it's probably too late.
( 70k map of area behind cut )

Here's the summary:

Two weeks ago, I was pulled over by the ever lovely Cranberry Twp police and had my car impounded for expired & suspended plates. That was $600 for new plates and the impound fees.

Last week, I went to the magistrate to see what the damage was. Three citations for expired plates, suspended plates and no insurance (it was less than 30 days from lapse). $1200 payable at $100 per month.

Yesterday, three letters from PennDOT. Six month license suspension and three month plate suspension. I've called lawyers to appeal... up to $2000 retainer.

Suffice to say, I do not have $2000 for a retainer.  Should I just bend over & take this (and lose my job in the process)... or should I try to pony up the cash to at least attempt to get the suspensions lifted?
 
Note: I live near Moraine State Park and (due to the obvious reason) can't just say screw it and take the bus.  None of my co-workers live anywhere near me to carpool.  So, those two options are shot right out of the water. :-)

I got my first speeding ticket on Easter Sunday coming home from work.  Is there a way I can pay my fine online or in person without a court appearance?  I'm not going to contest it, he caught me fair and square, I just really don't like sending things through the mail because I want a receipt.

EDIT: Went to Magistrate's office today (had to find it first) and paid in person. Turns out the officer hadn't filed it yet, best they can do is mail me a receipt when he does.

Hi Pittsburgh, I'm 23 years old and I'll be getting my learner's permit soon. I'd like to know if people my age still need to be accompanied by someone over 21 while practicing driving. I looked at my driving manual, but the only part that mentions this is right after a section directed to drivers under 18. Does anyone have experience with this?
Thanks!!

Does anyone have experience with suspended license plates?  Mine were suspended at the beginning of the year for lack of insurance, and PennDOT has advised me that I'm without option as I did not get insurance in the timeframe they wanted (but did get it).  I really don't want to get new plates only to turn around and switch them over in a couple weeks.  I have the paperwork to get my new plates in OK (where I am moving in less than a month), but my mom is I'm slightly concerned about driving cross-country on expired tags.  Ideas? 

If you don't get to Oakland or the South Side much, you may be surprised by this, so it's worth a mention.

1) Birmingham Bridge reopened, all lanes and ramps, plus the new bike lanes in each direction along the outsides of both directions of the bridge, earlier this month.

2) Tonight at midnight, the ramp from inbound Fifth Avenue to inbound Blvd of the Allies will open. The ramp from the short section of Forbes inbound from Craft to Blvd of the Allies will presumably close. http://otma-pgh.org/ for more information.

3) Tomorrow the Hot Metal Bridge will open for bikes, rollerbladers, pedestrians, etc. adjacent to the current vehicle (Mon Conn) Bridge, after a noon ribbon cutting (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07316/833272-42.stm?cmpid=generalae.xml). As of last night one lane of the vehicle bridge approach was still closed at the north end of the road bridge, meaning traffic turning both left and right to Second Avenue from that bridge must still all use one lane.

4) A new parking lot opened just north of E. Carson at 20th St last week. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07320/834351-53.stm

(and for those of you on the other river, the 31st St bridge reopened just before Thanksgiving, despite what the signs still said the next day)

The Post-Gazette is reporting several accidents that have the Parkways backed up pretty much in all directions:

• inbound Parkway West, near Banksville Rd
• outbound Parkway West, between Green Tree and Carnegie
• inbound Parkway East, near the tunnels
• outbound Parkway East, at Braddock Ave (Edgewood/Swissvale)---KDKA reports it's still backed up all the way to the County Jail
• outbound Fort Duquesne bridge---according to my fiancée, this is a tanker truck which somehow lost its trailer.

Is it illegal to make a right turn from the shoulder?

My boyfriend got pulled over for making a right turn from the shoulder coming down the highway. We were coming down 51, doing about 60, 5 mph over the speed limit, and to make the turn you HAVE to do about 25 otherwise you could smack into the traffic in the opposite lane. So my boyfriend slows down on the shoulder so the two cars behind us dont rear end us, and so we aren't in anyones way. The shoulder is about 1/10 a mile before the turn, and then we make the turn.


The cop comes and gives us a careless driving ticket.. for driving 1/10 of a mile on the shoulder. We are taking it to court, because it's just crap, but should we get pictures of the road, and the turn?

EDIT: so after pallmalls "illegal to drive on the shoulder irregarless" I looked up the driving code.


§ 3331. Required position and method of turning.
(a) Right turn.--The driver of a vehicle intending to turn right shall approach the turn and make the turn as close as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway.

Reading farther, it says NOWHERE that its illegal, and actually says that the turn should be made with consideration of the people on the lane you are turning into..Which again if you make the turn from the highway you would swing right into their lane.

Has anyone recently taken/known someone who has recently taken a driver's license test in Greensburg? If so, what does it entail? All of them seem a bit different.

Thanks!

Call me pathetic if you will. I'm 22 and still have no idea how to drive. Despite the fact that I have no good reason to be, I am pretty terrified of driving. But I've accepted the fact that I have to learn how to do it eventually and now I need some lessons.

I've searched for local driving schools on google but I'm really looking for personal recommendations. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm looking for someplace that's reasonably priced and patient with nervous drivers. I'd like to get this done in a short time period too so I don't mind longer lessons.

Thanks in advance!

I just moved within Pittsburgh recently...changed my address on my vehicle registration and submitted the change of address for my license, for which I was mailed a little slip with the new address information to keep with my current license [I believe that's how it works].

I would, however, like to get myself a shiny new real driver's license. My current one is still valid, but I turned 21 not long ago and I'd like a license that goes the 'right' way [I'm from NYS and this up and down deal confuses me every time I open my wallet ;p]. I'm aware there will likely be a fee to do this, I'm guessing somewhere in the ballpark of 20-some dollars. Confirm/deny?

If I were to do this, would they be able to use the photograph of me on-file or would they need to take a new photo? AND for all of these purposes, does the DMV location in Penn Circle make the cut or do I have to schlep it downtown?

Thanks!


UPDATE:

Unless the license is expired, they will not replace it for you. Mine's good 'til 2010, and apparently unless I lose it I'll just hang onto it until then. At that point in time I'll need another picture taken, and from what I can tell I'll have to go downtown to have that done.

Thanks for the replies, and hopefully this'll provide some help to someone else in the future!

With the shutdown of the Squirrel Hills tunnels this weekend (starting tonight at 8pm) and the inevitable mayhem that will ensue as parkway traffic is detoured through residential streets, it got me thinking.  If only there were some way we could bypass the Squirrel Hill tunnels and stay on a limited access highway?  We could give it a snazzy name, like a Mon-Fayette Expressway or something.

I know, it's a pipe dream.  We can't actually have anything new around here, it might confuse the geezers.

*sigh*
There was almost an accident again tonight on my way home through the West End circle.  I understand it's poorly signed, that mapquest/yahoo/google don't give adequate directions, so here's a diagram to explain it.
( 46k 600x472 picture behind cut. )

So, I got a really bogus speeding ticket back in November, out by Breezewood. The cop said the speed limit was reduced to 40 because of a lane closure -- I never saw any signs, and I HAD reduced my speed due to the lane closure, to 55 from 65. He still wrote me the ticket, blah, blah, blah. I went ahead and paid the ticket even though I thought it was unfair because I thought it would be easier than taking a day off work and spending the day in Middle of Nowhere, PA, to fight it. NOWHERE on the ticket was any mention of fines or points doubling; in fact, there was no mention of how many points would be assessed at all. I figured it would be a couple points, but whatever.

Nope. Got a letter a month later telling me that 4 points would be assessed to my license and I was automatically getting a 15-day suspension because it happened in a work zone. The fact that I haven't ever had a speeding ticket (or anything but a parking ticket) in Pennsylvania? Apparently that doesn't matter. Also, there was no WORK actually happening since it was, you know, 2:30 in the morning. Not to mention that there weren't any of the regular "fines doubled in work zone" signs.

To get to my point, I filed an appeal and I have to go to court on Thursday. I've never been to traffic court, and I have no idea what to expect. I have a friend who recently passed the bar going over stuff with me, but she can't go to court with me since she has to work. I can't afford a lawyer. The logical part of my brain expects that it'll be a day of sitting around and waiting and waiting followed by a 5 minute thing in which, hopefully, the judge (?) will realize that suspending the license of someone who has an excellent driving record over a bogus ticket it just silly. But the part of my brain that watches too much Law & Order is scared that there's going to be, like, testifying or something.

Anyone ever do this in Traffic Court? Any advice for me?

To all people who still can't drive in this city, from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday thru Friday, the lanes going across the Liberty Bridge change. Also, the lanes entering the outbound tunnel and the lanes exiting the inbound tunnel have a directional variation.

Thank you for your time.

sorry if this is a repost but I couldn't find it posted, if it already was.

there are 3 new PA traffic laws - depending on which end of the Parkway you're on, you can hear them on 1610 AM or 1620 AM.

1. you have to have your headlights on whenever weather requires you to have your windshield wipers on, or you face up to $100 fine.

2. if snow or ice comes off your car and causes an injury or death to another person or vehicle, you face a fine from $200 to $1000. [apparently you were already supposed to clear the snow or ice off your car; the fine is new or increased, though]

3. if an emergency vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road, you must either (a) move to the far traffic lane, if there is one or if you can safely do so, and/or (b) slow down when you pass the emergency vehicle. I don't remember what the fine is for that.

I couldn't find out online about the others, but this article said the new headlights law takes effect January 29.

I don't know if this is the place to ask this question;
I'm going to the bariatric Center Dr.Gagne near west penn hospital
I'll be coming from Uniontown in The South.
I was thinking about making a right outta the the Liberty tubes
going a past Hooters and making a right on to the smithfield street
bridge then making a right onto Wood St. going straight to Liberty St.
making a right going 3 miles Now where do I turn?.Am I going the right direction? Any help would be Greatly Appreciated.
Thanks,
Chuck

I've lived here for 3 months now, I originally moved here from Nebraska and I therefore have Nebraska plates and a Nebraska license. I want to get new plates/license here in PA mostly to make sure I have all kinds of proof that I'm a resident for when I start Pitt Law next year (lower tuition!).

I read that new residents who alread have a license DON'T have to be tested. Is this true? I can't make heads or tails of the DMV site (figures).

Also where do I go to do this? Where is the DMV here? I live in Shadyside if that makes any difference.

Also where do I go to get PA plates?

These last two are probably obvious questions, I'm mostly interested in the no testing question!

I swear I recently saw some posts from people looking for recommendations for car repair places. I kept reading back and I could find was the person asking about windshield repair. So, I'm sorry if this question has been asked recently, but are there any car repair places in Oakland/Shadyside/Squirrel Hill/surrounding area that people recommend? I love supporting places with female mechanics, but, alas, they are so hard to find. And, in the present circumstances, I don't want to drive my car any further than I have to...

It recently came to my attention (horrible grinding noise) that I need my right front wheel bearings replaced. Anybody had this done and have anything to share? Like cost? Did you get both replaced, or just one side? Anything I can say to the repair guy to make it sound like I know allll about wheel bearings so he doesn't scam me?

Thanks!!

After bussing it for a year I finally managed to save enough money where I could bring my car up here. I attend the Art Institute downtown.

The only question now is: where do I park?

The Blvd. of the Allies Garage is like $14 a day. Someone was telling me about places where you can park for like $4 or $5 a day. I was thinking of just parking at Station Square and walking from there. Anyone have any suggestions or know any cheap places to park downtown?

Thanks in advance!

(Sorry if this has been covered before.)