i went to 7-11 last night with some friends to pick up some snacks for the night.

The 7-11 does not have any stop signs or anything so it's just peek out and turn. THe left side is covered in bushes and a carwash and the right is pretty much clear so you can easily see oncoming traffic...

on my way out, I peeked left quickly and looked right...

from my point of view, I couldn't see any traffic coming for the left side... On my right, there was traffic coming but the traffic was still far and I had enough time to make my left turn...

As i started out into the road, I noticed traffic coming from my left side. What I thought was clear wasn't I guess. I guessing the bushes covered my view so what i thought was clear for a turn wasn't.

Well, the car that was coming towards me was a cop. I acclereated and got out of the way before he hit me. If i stood there a second longer, he would have clipped my rear.

Anyways, so I made is clear and then he turns around and pulls me over. I expected this and it was pretty reckless of me to pull out like that without really taking a look but I did take a look and both my passengers told me it looked like a clear turn from their perspective also.

Anyways, so the cop asks for my license, registration, and proof of insurance. So I give it to him.

He comes back and tells me that he's giving me a ticket for $105.50, and placing 3 points on my license.

Now i know this was my fault and I could have been much more careful in my turn, but it doesn't sound right for me to get a $105.50 ticket and 3 points.

I'm going to court to see if i can get off as not-guilty or at least reduce the fine and points placed on my license.

I just want to know if the ticket and points sound right as a penalty for me.

He told me that he would not ticket me for the screeching of my tires to get out of the way, and he would not ticket me for accelerating really fast to get out of the way. He was just ticketing me for making a reckless turn without yeilding to oncoming traffic (which I did but poorly). And the ticket was also for not looking while making the left turn.

what are your opinions? I know i'm at fault but the penalty seems really harsh.

BTW- this is my first ticket (other than one parking ticket) and I have never been in any accidents.

 

Go to court and plead no-contest and explain to the judge what happened. Without prior tickets he should send you on your way with just court fees less or equal to the ticket price and remove the violation and points.

 

what does plead no-contest mean?

 

you may find some useful information here: http://www.ticketassassin.com/

good luck, jd

 

You have 2 options...

1. Go to court or send certified mail a not guilty plea, at which time the judge presiding on your initial court date will set a new court date for a trial.

2. Go to court in person and plead no-contest to the charges. This is basically saying what you are telling us here... yes judge I did it but there are bushes in the way, I did look, my friends looked, maybe the officer was speeding... maybe even snap pictures of the area in question to show how your line of sight was limited...

Basically admiting to what you did but explaining that there were extenuating circumstances that led to the infraction.

Most likely since you record is completely clean you will just pay court fees (this is just an amount he thinks is fair for a slap on the hand by the way) and walk away without the infraction or points. Being ajudicated from guilt however will stay on your record for I believe 7 years so if you end up in court again they will know that you were there for something moving violation related... just an FYI.

 

im not sure how it is in PA..only been there a few times and never got any tickets which i was out there, but here in NY, trust me, i know what to do lol, so hopefully its similar there.....here goes:


if you want to plead not guilty, fill out the back of the ticket and send it in BEFORE the date you're supposed to show up for court, or just drop it off at the clerk where your supposed to show up for court. do this BEFORE the court date. DO NOT REQUEST A SUPPORTING DEPOSITION WHEN YOU FILL OUT THE BACK OF THE TICKET. this will **** off the cop and insure that he shows up for the actual court date because you checking this box for the S.D. means he has to sit his fat *** down and write up a full report on what happened and why he gave you the ticket, instead of just being able to say it verbally when court time comes. anyway, the court clerk will tell you not to come in for the date on the ticket, by filling in the ticket and pleading not guilty, you just took care of having to go to court for the arraignment process (the date on your ticket) youll then get a letter in the mail telling you when your actual court date is. you need to go to this one. tell the judge, respectfully, that this is your first moving violation and that you have NO points on your license and that you wish to request the ticket be dropped, or at the very least "ACD'd". ACD'ing the ticket will put you on a probation period (usually 3-6 months depending on the judge) wherein if you do not get another ticket or get another driving infraction, the ticket completely disappears, also no fine. however if you do get another ticket during that period, you will be charged with your most recent violation, along with the violation that was ACD'd. if you think you can keep your act together, this is your best bet being a first time offender with a clean license. otherwise you can try and plead not guilty and not ask for the ACD at all and hope it gets completely dropped, but it probably wont happen....thats about it...also, when you go in for your actual court date, if the ticketing officer is NOT there, you go up to the judge and say "i would like to make a motion to DISMISS" - with the officer who issued the ticket not being there to contest, the judge has no choice but to completely drop the charge and you walk away scott free. this ONLY works if the cop decides to stay at Dunkin Donuts and drink his coffee, or spend that extra half hour flirting with the 17 year old girl he just pulled over on the way to the court house, instead of showing up for you and your little ticket, so do NOT request this if he shows up- do like i said and shoot for the ACD.

good luck buddy.
mike d.

 

Good luck with your up and coming case. I think if you go to court and do as the others on here have told you to do you should come out on top but don't forget to snap those pictures of the area with the bushes.

 

The ACD is very risky... I don't know about PA but here in Florida I have been pulled over for running a stop sign when the car behind me is actually who ran the stop sign and not me. Police make mistakes and even on your best behavior all it would take is being in the wrong place at the wrong time and then you would be hit with both with little chance to clear them up, even if you were not at fault...

Just think about how safe you drive day to day... now think about driving even more carefully to make sure you don't get another ticket...

Now think when the last time you didn't come to a full and complete stop at a stop sign where no one was on the road anywhere in sight... now imagine a cop is hiding around the corner and sees you california stop through the sign and pulls you over to make quota...

Just my 2 cents...

Go to the original date on the ticket, plead no contest, explain what happened, pay 100 bucks or less and have the points taken off (hopefully without driving school since this is your first offense)

 

just plead guilty and explain to the judge, and try to reduce the points on your license.

 

If there truly is vegitation or signage which obscures vision at this turn - go take pictures from your perspective as a driver.

Go to court and, as others have said, plead no-contest (aka: nolo contendere) which is an admission of niether innocence nor guilt - but submit the pictures and explain yourself.

That ought to lead to a dismissal and something done about the obstruction.

Good luck.

M.

 

In Washington State, we can request a hearing via E-Mail. A couple of years ago, I was following a car in the left lane on the freeway. The law clearly states that the left lane is to be used for passing only, slower traffic keep right. This a-hole was going under the speed limit but refused to pull over. I followed him for about three miles but I was very careful NOT to get too close. He finally pulled into the right lane, and I passed him. Unfortunately, I exceeded the speed limit and the State Partrol car who had been following me pulled me over and wrote me for speeding. The trooper could give me no reason why he didn't cite the first offense, driving under the speed limit in the left lane. I requested a hearing by Email. The judge reduced the fine from $101.00 (The minimum in this state) down to $75.00. I still feel ripped off, but it was better than nothing.

Good luck but if the courts in PA are anthing like WA, you are screwed. They say they traffic laws are enforced for safety when in fact they use traffic laws to generate revenue.

 

if you do what i said youll be fine. ive been represented by many lawyers for many things in the past and have gotten the same advice from them for friends who couldnt afford to pay for lawyers. we happen to be fortunate enough to have a firm where our daily business keeps us working closely with attorneys all the time which allows us to trade favors, which is one of the only reasons i almost never bother to show up to court without a lawyer...they always produce better results than you walking in with your tail between your legs hoping for the best, by yourself...but like i said, alot of people cant afford to be dealing with lawyers, and a lot of people would also rather just be extra precautious then take those points and HOPE to reduce them some how (driving school, etc.) which will clear up your dmv record but your insurance is still going to go UP as soon as it comes time for your policy to be reviewed and they see your moving violation conviction. trust me, refer back to what i posted earlier, take my advice. if the cop shows up, ask them both if the ticket could be dismissed based on your clean record up to this point. if they dont buy that, ask for the acd, short term, just bargain if you can and kiss their asses and apologize profusely. you just dont want those points on your license even if you can get them off your DMV record later, its still going to hit you on your insurance. hope for the best that that cop doesnt even show up then you can go with the motion to dismiss.

 

I seen some idiot grandma being pulled over because cop was on right lane, driving 5 mph under and there she was on passing lane trying not to pass the cop because some idiots thing if you pass the cop no matter what you get pulled over!!!!

Well she was making a huge congestion by doing this.. Eventually cop got his act right to gether and pulled her slow butt over!

 

My son just reminded me of something. He lives in Seattle. Going down I-5 one day, he changed lanes in front of a SP Motorcycle. Just didn't see him in his blind spot, scared hell out of both of them. The guy was real pissed, and wrote him a $200.00 ticket. He was going to just pay it, but insurance rates in that part of the county are astronomical, and he didn't want it on his record. Somewhere he saw an ad for a law firm that guaranteed to beat any ticket. for $300.00. (these numbers may not be totally accurate, I do know the attorney fees were $100.000 more than the ticket) He hired them, and they won. Apparently there is always some mistake made in the paperwork that is enough to get it tossed.

 

thats why its ALWAYS worth bringing a lawyer if you can. even if its more than the amount of the ticket to get them there, it pays off compared to what you save in insurance hikes and the hassle of points added to your record, along with court fees and fines if you are found guilty otherwise.