traffic ticket

[greenjp]

So, got a ticket yesterday. Long story shot it was for "Driver when turning left fail to yield right of way to vehicle approaching from opposite direction". I won't bore you with the details but I'm probably guilty, though by a tactical error rather than an intentional cutting off of the other driver.

The cop gave me the ticket, and all he said was "your record's pretty clean, if you want to go to court fill in this part" then ran off to pull somebody else over. My record is pretty clean, minor speeding tickets in 1999 and 2009.

In Maryland we have two court options - a "waiver hearing" and a trial. At the waiver hearing the officer does not come, you plead guilty, give your story to the judge, and presumably hope for a reduced sentence or probation. A trial is a regular type traffic court with the officer and whatnot.

I'd be thrilled to get the probation before judgment and have the opportunity to keep my record clean-ish. Any thoughts?

jeff

 

[calvin1]

Look up the law you were cited for on the ticket. I was charged with nearly the exact same infraction here in Indiana a couple of years ago. There's language in our statute with something to the effect of "creating a dangerous situation". Since there wasn't any crash, skid marks, lane deviation or really any reaction on the part of the other driver mentioned in the cop's testimony the judge tossed it (the oncoming car was a good 2 seconds away). Of course he didn't toss it out of the kindness of his heart; that's where knowing the law helps.

If it were me I'd find a lawyer or go pro se to try to beat it.

 

[JosephHarmon]

You have this ticket. You can do the waiver routine and hope they would lower it to a lesser or non moving violation.

You don't gain anything unless you can get it reduced to a non- moving violation. Unless you have court costs added for taking it to trial plead not guilty and see if they reduce the ticket to a non-moving violation.

They don't want to go to trial. It will cost them hundreds to thousands to pull the officer from duty & other administrative expenses.

You already have been cited for this & you have a right to plead not guilty and take it to trial. The worst that would happen is you will be found guilty & pay for the ticket.

Even if you happen to be thoughly & completely guilty
You are innocent until proven guilty.

It may be more trouble than its worth & 1 moving violation won't effect your insurance.

 

[abycat]

I would just have to pay it. losing a day of work would cost me around 500$

 

[Boatowner]

My son got an unfair ticket back in 2008 after being run off the road on Snoqualmie Pass by a truck that lost control on the snow and ice. Naturally, we fought it. The cop was subpoenaed and did not show up, so the judge dismissed it. The interesting thing was, every person represented by an attorney that day lost, every pro-se person won. I think my son would have done well arguing his case anyway, but in Washington if you ask them to subpoena the cop and he does not show up, the case is automatically dismissed. I believe in California you don't even have to subpoena him and if he doesn't show it is dismissed.

I would fight the ticket and just tell my story to the judge. Read up on how to fight a traffic ticket in your state. Make sure the trial date is within the speedy trial period. If it is not, be sure to file a request for a trial within the speedy trial period. Otherwise you will be deemed to have waived speedy trial. In my experience, if you file the protest and request for speedy trial, they still won't change the date. This can get you off on a technicality, but dismissed is dismissed for insurance purposes.

 

[Pop_Rivit]

Originally Posted By: greenjp
Long story shot it was for "Driver when turning left fail to yield right of way to vehicle approaching from opposite direction". I won't bore you with the details but I'm probably guilty, though by a tactical error rather than an intentional cutting off of the other driver.


So in a nutshell, you turned left in front of oncomming traffic, are guilty by your own admission, and now want to figure out how to weasel out of the ticket. Correct?

Man up, pay the fine, and learn a lesson about proper driving skills.

 

[greenjp]

Originally Posted By: Pop_Rivit
So in a nutshell, you turned left in front of oncomming traffic, are guilty by your own admission, and now want to figure out how to weasel out of the ticket. Correct?

Man up, pay the fine, and learn a lesson about proper driving skills.

Ha ha, I knew I could expect such a response from you

If I'd wanted life lessons from holier-than-thou old coots I would have asked for them in the OP.

Getting similar advice here that I've seen elsewhere. Look like I'll request a trial and hope for the best. I did pull my driving record (Maryland's DMV has a suprisingly good website) and it just shows my one ticket for speeding < 10 mph over the limit from 2 years ago. That one I paid because the fine was quite low and my insurance has a few "freebies" on it due to my lack of claims & citations over the years.

FWIW I can just take some vacation time to go to court so there's no "real" cost to me for attending.

jeff

 

[PeteTheFarmer]

I'm not going to tell you to man up or to learn how to drive, but look at this from a practical POV. If you're probably guilty the judge is rule you guilty since there is no probably verdict. It being a tactical error may help with the sentence but not the verdict. I'd select the waiver option so the cop can't testify but you can tell your version. Maybe the judge will go easy since you're taking responsibility and explaining the mitigating factors.

 

[Spazdog]

I got the same exact ticket a few years ago.

I waited for the oncoming car to move, flashed my high beams at him but he just sat there so I went. Immediately had a cop behind me with his overhead lights on.

I got a "failure to yield" citation.

The driver opposite me was under the influence and had fallen asleep at the intersection. After receiving my citation I looked back at the intersection and his car was still in the same spot now surrounded by police cruisers who had effectively shut down that intersection.

Apparently, I was to wait in the left turn lane until they arrested him and towed his vehicle. He still had the "right of way" even if he was incapable of using it.

I plead my case to the traffic court judge but traffic court judges are sad little men and women who just don't give a [expletive deleted by poster]. I know their judicial careers did not turn out the way that they had planned but that is no reason to take it out on me. They still have a job to do and they should attempt at least to do it with a modicum of common sense and decency.

nope. just a big GUILTY stamp.

 

[azjake]

Do they offer the option of going to traffic school so the ticket doesn't go on your driving record? I only bring this up because the potential rise in your car insurance from the ticket is usually more over the long run than paying the cost the cost for traffic school.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: Spazdog
I got the same exact ticket a few years ago.

I waited for the oncoming car to move, flashed my high beams at him but he just sat there so I went. Immediately had a cop behind me with his overhead lights on.

I got a "failure to yield" citation.

The driver opposite me was under the influence and had fallen asleep at the intersection. After receiving my citation I looked back at the intersection and his car was still in the same spot now surrounded by police cruisers who had effectively shut down that intersection.

Apparently, I was to wait in the left turn lane until they arrested him and towed his vehicle. He still had the "right of way" even if he was incapable of using it.

I plead my case to the traffic court judge but traffic court judges are sad little men and women who just don't give a [expletive deleted by poster]. I know their judicial careers did not turn out the way that they had planned but that is no reason to take it out on me. They still have a job to do and they should attempt at least to do it with a modicum of common sense and decency.

nope. just a big GUILTY stamp.


What a load of [censored]. How much was the fine? That was nothing but a shake down. The drunk driver probably got probation or a slap on the wrist. There are stories around here of people who have mutiple DUIs and they keep getting probation.

 

[doitmyself]

Myself and my oldest daughter have had good experience following Pete the Farmers advice. Basically we "admit responsibility with an explanation". Speak clearly, honestly, and not with a weasel-like attitude. It boils down to a plea-bargain. We end up paying a fine without any points on the license.

For an "honest mistake", this seems like a more intelligent compromise than just "manning up".

 

[Spazdog]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
Originally Posted By: Spazdog
I got the same exact ticket a few years ago.

I waited for the oncoming car to move, flashed my high beams at him but he just sat there so I went. Immediately had a cop behind me with his overhead lights on.

I got a "failure to yield" citation.

The driver opposite me was under the influence and had fallen asleep at the intersection. After receiving my citation I looked back at the intersection and his car was still in the same spot now surrounded by police cruisers who had effectively shut down that intersection.

Apparently, I was to wait in the left turn lane until they arrested him and towed his vehicle. He still had the "right of way" even if he was incapable of using it.

I plead my case to the traffic court judge but traffic court judges are sad little men and women who just don't give a [expletive deleted by poster]. I know their judicial careers did not turn out the way that they had planned but that is no reason to take it out on me. They still have a job to do and they should attempt at least to do it with a modicum of common sense and decency.

nope. just a big GUILTY stamp.


What a load of [censored]. How much was the fine? That was nothing but a shake down. The drunk driver probably got probation or a slap on the wrist. There are stories around here of people who have mutiple DUIs and they keep getting probation.


It was like $125.00. That would have gone a little further to dig myself out of the financial hole my 1st wife dug for me but I am more upset that the traffic court judge did not use any common sense more than anything. The cop on the stand confirmed that I had flashed my highbeams and then proceeded to "violate" the other driver's right of way. IMHO, the cop exercised poor judgement pulling over my car when there was another car with the driver slumped over to the side across the intersection, stationary with a green light. What if he had not been inebriated and had been having a heart attack or stroke? At least he did not give me a citation for improperly using my high beams.

It is a bit ironic that DUI offenders pay my salary now. On top of the $5000+ they pay for their attorney, court costs and fines, they end up paying my company about $8,000 a year for IID monitoring (two years on average for first timers, ten years for felony repetition, 4 years if you get Felony Alcohol Intervention Program, but FAIP is not cheap, nor is it any fun. About $400 a month extra for a continuous skin monitor "Lindsay Lohan" ankle bracelet on top of all the programs and my company's Ignition Interlock)

 

[Jarlaxle]

Honestly...for that, I would have at least considered demanding a full trial with a jury!

 

[GMBoy]

Beings that I am from Maryland originally and know how backwards the state is - I say take up their resources and fight it in court. You will probably get a reduced fine and lose the points. The points are the problem not the fine.

However, if it's just a fine and no points - then I agree with the others and just man up and pay it.

 

[greenjp]

So I had my day in court this morning. It was a packed house, probably 75 people jammed in the courtroom. Fortunately I was the 10th or so person called up. The officer who issued my ticket was not present so the charges were dismissed - no fine, no points, no court costs, no nothin.

Glad I didn't "man up"

and just pay the fine and take the points. Taking advantage of the rights accorded to me as a citizen seemed to work out better.

jeff

 

[calvin1]

Way to "citizen up" and good job! If everyone went to court then the system would fall apart.



side rant: I wish I could find a job like that where not following my projects through all the way is no big deal. How you can submit documents to a court of law and then not bother backing them up I'll never understand.

 

[Vikas]

What? The Office Bob Speed did not show up?? He used to be very active few decades ago on Car & Driver (Road & Track) magazine letters to editor section.