Can anyone legaly take a picture of my license plate?

MXtitan24 · 01-14-2008, 05:33 PM

i go to a high school that doesnt allow for you to make a left turn out of the driveway, so everyone and their mother makes a right, goes down about 300 feet and turns left into a little condo type neighborhood, goes in makes a U turn and then goes back out onto the main street and makes a right. well today i had to do it and as i was making a u turn the passenger in my car said that an old man took a picture of my license plate as i did it. naturally i parked, got out of my car, and confronted the man about it. he claims that the city of brea told him to do it because he felt we were tresspassing, but if the city of brea really gave a dam[n] wouldnt they put a squad car there or something. the guy was a total a-hole and wouldn't delete the pictures (he had 11 other cars plates too along with all the school kids sitting on the grass in the neighborhood) so i told him to fukk off and proceded to get back into my car and flip him the bird several times as i left. now i respect my elders, but i expect respect back, and i approached him calmly at first.

now im pissed at the guy.
i want to kno if there is a way i cant get this guy in trouble for just snapping off pictures, some sort of privacy clause or something..

sorry for the long story
but this made me so mad
and now i am going to make the u turn every day just to spite him

HudsonValleyTitan · 01-14-2008, 05:39 PM

Nope. Your plate is a public document of sorts. No more illegal than snapping your picture in public. All he can do with it is turn it over to the authorites...he can't get any personal info from it. No different than you writing the plate number down and reporting someone. This has come up before and I've asked a couple NYS police officers I know.
I wouldn't worry though. Making a legal turn in a condo complex, last I checked, isn't illegal. Just because some old bored guy doesn't like it, doesn't make it illegal.

anmut · 01-14-2008, 05:42 PM

Don't know about it be legal or not - but I wouldn't worry about it. As far as the police are concerned he could've taken that photo anywhere.

Yahooligan · 01-14-2008, 05:45 PM

Condos = private property. If there are signs that say no trespassing and people are making u-turns there, that is trespassing. The pictures are proof.

Your license plate doesn't belong to you, it is not private data. It's there for situations like this where someone needs proof. Bingo, take a picture...there's your proof.

The old man wasn't in the wrong, everyone making a u-turn there was if there are signs posted saying so.

And now you're pissed at the old man for taking action against people breaking the law? It's a good thing he didn't take a video of you trespassing and then you turning into an a-hole.

You need to have a little more respect for other people, their property AND the law, IMO.

Yes, the law. Using the private condo roads in order to get going the way you want to is consided bypassing a traffic control device (Which is what the no-left-turn sign is for. Preventing left turns helps the flow of traffic out of the parking lot and reduces the chance of accidents). What you're doing is no different than cutting through a parking lot to avoid a red light, stop sign, or no-right-turn sign. It's against the law and if someone wanted to be mean about it they could get you for trespassing and bypassing a traffic control device. All this in an attempt to save a minute or two so you don't have to take the correct route to your destination?

Sorry if that wasn't the kind of response you were looking for.

**Walrus** · 01-14-2008, 05:51 PM

You should lobby the city of Brea to have that no left turn sign removed so you can have multiple wrecks there every day.

54warrior · 01-14-2008, 05:55 PM

So what if he took the picture?? I think if I had a broken back, I'd have more important things to worry about than some old timer worrying about you turning around in his resort?!?!

HudsonValleyTitan · 01-14-2008, 05:57 PM

Wild assumption though. Unless there's a sign against it, he did nothing illegal. And I disagree, it's different than running through a parking lot to avoid a stop light. He made a right where a left turn is not permitted, went down the road 300 feet, made a left to turn around. And unless there are signs against turnarounds near the entrance of the condo complex, it's perfectly legal. I will agree that he should have respect for the property owners and now that he knows it's not a wanted practice by owners there, he should find another route.

TitanBlue · 01-14-2008, 06:00 PM

Yahooligan has the perfect response.

Plate belongs to the state. You're in public view anyway, so no restriction of what a person can take pictures of unless a specific law prohibits it (Miiltary bases i.e.). You have no "expectation of privacy" driving on a public road. "Publication" of photos can be prohibited if of persons face, or identifiable properties, very long legal story (copyright).

You simply need to turn around somewhere else, and be careful of personal confrontations. Some people get violent when people confront them angrily. Look up the legal definition of "Assault" (and "Disturbance of the Peace") in a Black's Law Dictionary. Very different than "Battery".

**matthews** · 01-14-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MXtitan24

i go to a high school that doesnt allow for you to make a left turn out of the driveway, so everyone and their mother makes a right, goes down about 300 feet and turns left into a little condo type neighborhood, goes in makes a U turn and then goes back out onto the main street and makes a right. well today i had to do it and as i was making a u turn the passenger in my car said that an old man took a picture of my license plate as i did it. naturally i parked, got out of my car, and confronted the man about it. he claims that the city of brea told him to do it because he felt we were tresspassing, but if the city of brea really gave a dam[n] wouldnt they put a squad car there or something. the guy was a total a-hole and wouldn't delete the pictures (he had 11 other cars plates too along with all the school kids sitting on the grass in the neighborhood) so i told him to fukk off and proceded to get back into my car and flip him the bird several times as i left. now i respect my elders, but i expect respect back, and i approached him calmly at first.

now im pissed at the guy.
i want to kno if there is a way i cant get this guy in trouble for just snapping off pictures, some sort of privacy clause or something..

sorry for the long story
but this made me so mad
and now i am going to make the u turn every day just to spite him

Wow, such a huge post to let everyone know you're a jackass

daptech · 01-14-2008, 06:16 PM

Sometimes before you get smart with an old guy it is good to
know who the old guy is..........a long time coming home from
the drag races an old guy in an Olds 98 was slow to move when
the light turned green. The kid behind him in a Chevelle SS honked
his horn, spun the tires & went around him. A few miles down the
road two cops had the kid spread out on his hood. The old guy
was the sheriff.

rgregory1965 · 01-14-2008, 06:17 PM

hehehehehehehehe

MXtitan24 · 01-14-2008, 06:27 PM

ok well just to fill everyone in
there was NOT a sign that prevented a left turn into the complex
but there was a no trespassing sign
now im not sure
and im sure some one on here will call me a dumba$s and tell me to pay attention
but i didnt realize that applied to DRIVERS on a public road

and he has no proof that the picture was taken in the complex
other than his word
so im pretty much home free

ANDD with a BROKEN back
the last thing i need is to be dealing with some douche bag
who sits there and gets pissed off because 11 people use the street for 30 minutes to make U-Turns
(the sign by the school says no left between 7-7:15 AM and 2:30-3:00) the start and end of school

"Wow, such a huge post to let everyone know you're a jackass"
thanks for the response =]
i appreciate the help

MXtitan24 · 01-14-2008, 06:34 PM

forgot to add
i didnt even have him send me the pictures!
so i stilll dont have a picture for my Avatar haha =]

Yahooligan · 01-14-2008, 06:42 PM

The roads within the complex are private property and maintained by the HOA, they are not public roads. Turning into the complex is trespassing and the sign is there for people just like yourself as well as people looking for a place to park. If you don't have any business in the complex then any activity you do there is trespassing and against the law.

Sorry you have a broken back, but it must not hurt that bad if you felt the need to take action against the "old man" trying to get people to obey the law.

It helps to know how things work before confronting someone about it. In this case you were clearly in the wrong, so consider this a lesson learned.

The real question is are you really going to continue being a jackass or are you going to do the adult thing and play by the rules?

Cjack1 · 01-14-2008, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MXtitan24

ok well just to fill everyone in
there was NOT a sign that prevented a left turn into the complex
but there was a no trespassing sign
now im not sure
and im sure some one on here will call me a dumba$s and tell me to pay attention
but i didnt realize that applied to DRIVERS on a public road

and he has no proof that the picture was taken in the complex
other than his word
so im pretty much home free

ANDD with a BROKEN back
the last thing i need is to be dealing with some douche bag
who sits there and gets pissed off because 11 people use the street for 30 minutes to make U-Turns
(the sign by the school says no left between 7-7:15 AM and 2:30-3:00) the start and end of school

"Wow, such a huge post to let everyone know you're a jackass"
thanks for the response =]
i appreciate the help

Dont worry about the huge post comment man, some people like to avoid helping and would rather say something negative to cause a conflict....as far as your picture being taken he has proof of you being there but the police dont know that you were trespassing...maybe visiting someone? i have been in cases like this before and it is very unlikely the police will pursue this unless your causing danger or being reckless...sorry for the long post but i have been there before