Yesterday I was on my way to Walmart which is on my way home but not near my house. Somehow I got lost getting to Walmart and ended up in the middle of no where. So of course my first thought was to turn around and get back to the street that takes me home. As I was going to turn back I notice a cop car came rushing behind me turn on his lights pulls me over and tells me that I just passed up a yield to pedestrian sign with 2 pedestrians trying to cross the street. I saw the sign but didnt see anyone trying to cross the street. There were a few people on the sidewalk, but no were near the street to cross. Now the sign is in the middle of the block not near a curve were normally people do cross. So he gave me a citation of $120.00. Why couldnt he give me a warning? Seriously im trying to make ends meet and now I need to spit $120.00 just because!! He gave me my DL back, wrote down the wrong DL # and the color of my car on the citation. I refused to sign the citation and told him I rather go to court. I know this is how the government make their money...but why not target serious crimes out there?? This is rediculous!!
Im now debating wether just to pay the $120.00 will this go against my record? will my insurance go up? or just take a chance and go to court?
I do want to point out that I was not speeding...There were other cars in front of me. Why didnt they get pulled over? We were coming to a red light. BLAH!!! I guess Im just taking this ticket to the heart, LOL!!
Definitely go try to fight it. If the cop is a no show, the ticket is dismissed. If he can't recall the case, they will toss it out. And, if you beg and plead, they might lessen the charge / lower the fine.
Tell the judge that you were lost - that you tried to explain - get the cop talking. He won't recall much.
Go for it.
Failure to yield to pedestrians are hard to prove.
I would go to court. Get the cam feedback off the police car that pulled you over.
I would make it known to the court that the police officer couldn't get your driver's license or car color right, so it's possible that he didn't get the situation right.
GOOD LUCK!
If you go to court it will cost you time and you will still pay the fine. The best you can hope for is no points if you go to court.
I can assure you that you don't have the money does not matter to them.
How do you think it would sound to a judge anyway, I wasn't paying attention so I only saw the sign and not the people?
Oh if there isn't court costs already included then expect to pay those as well. :( I speed a lot, I have my attorney in my address book.
I don't live in your state, but I got one traffic ticket a few years ago (my first and, believe me, my last) for running a red light. I had gotten careless in my driving and thought I could "do what everybody else does." The traffic officer advised me to go to court because I would probably be offered a deal, which would mean a reduced fine and reduced points. And that's what happened. Sitting in court, however, was an eye-opener. That judge was perfectly fair, but anybody who came in with an attitude went out with an embarrassed face and a much emptier wallet!
You'll need to talk to your insurance agent about your rates. Even if the company raises them, there may be things you can do to lower them again.
All those pesky traffic rules are, indeed, a big deal. Inflicting damage on people and property, even when you didn't mean to, are serious crimes; that's why there are ticketable offenses to help *keep* such crimes from happening. And everybody, but EVERYBODY, is embarrassed at being caught.
Failure to yield to pedestrians IS a big deal. It's a safety issue. A 1,000 pound car vs a 120 lb woman or worse, a 40 lb kid is not a fair fight. There have been many pedestrians killed walking across the street. I've been lost before. I get nervous, drive a little fast and frenzied and am so busy looking at street signs and my gps that I may not have seen a pedestrian. I believe that's why the officer pulled you over and gave you a ticket rather than a warning, You really could've hurt someone
Sorry, didn't mean to preach, but it really is a big deal when it comes to safety..
That being said, Don't pay it. Your insurance will definately go up. Not maybe but defiantely. You can take defensive driving. It costs like $30. You pay a fee to the court - maybe $60ish. BUt it doesn't go on your record and you get a defensive driving discount on your insurance for 3 yrs. Or you can pay a lwayer. It always gets dismissed when you get an attorney because they have leverage to negotiate with the courts. It will cost you about the same as the ticket and wont go on your record.
Totally fight it. I got pulled over on Rt. 47 about 8 yrs ago and the cop said I was doing 100 in a school zone. There was NO school that day, he said it didn't matter, it was a school zone. So he wrote the ticket for 80 over at first! I argued with him and said, no, the sign says on school days when children are present and they were NOT as the parking lot of the school was empty completely. So, then he just wrote me for 30 over. I KNOW I was not going that high over as I had JUST started back up after a red light, and there is no way my minivan can go from zero to 100 in a mile. LOL. I wish I had contested it, but instead I just asked for court supervision (doesn't go on record, but you have to be ticket free for a year or it will, you pay court costs, so it's MORE). While waiting for the judge, after I had written that as my plea, I was talking to others there. EVERY SINGLE ONE of the traffic cases from this cop had the people going over 100. Lots said their cars didn't even GO that fast no matter what. Two guys were pulled over at the same time, they were friends and one was following the other. The cop said they were going 110 and 130. The one going the higher amount was supposedly BEHIND the one going the lower amount. SO, obviously this cop had an method that he followed. And he was just making the stuff up.
Honestly, it really depends on how big your city is. My husband is a police officer for a large city and when he gets called to court he usually just testifies that he doesn't recall so the case gets dismissed. He's so busy that there is no way he can recall every single ticket he writes. If your in a less populated area you might not get so lucky.
If you're adamant about going to court, hope that the officer is too busy to show up. If he doesn't show up your charges will likely be thrown out. If he shows up, then you're going to get nailed for it because whether or not you saw the sign it was there, was posted, and you broke the law. Furthermore, he will be there to "testify" against you.
As much as we don't like what they do and as much as we hope for warnings, you have to understand that he is only doing the job he is expected to be doing.
Good luck and maybe he'll be too busy to show up to court!
I would go to court...he may not show up so you would have it dismissed. IF he does show, make sure you have proof that he made mistakes on writing the ticket...take a picture of your car with you, showing make, model, color and license plate. I should think you'd win. Let us know how it comes out!
People lie sometimes-sadly. I was actually hit by a fire truck a few years back. NOT in emergency mode, he just didn't stop. I was sitting at a stop sign waiting to turn right and he just slammed into the back of me. On top of that he called a million ambulences and police and I was surrounded with MY children who were with me and knew the whole thing and we wer escorted onto an ambulence, checked and released. I YES I WAS given a ticket. The policeman who gave it to me said he wasn't sure how I did it but that I either went around the truck or backed into it. both were impossible because there were electrical wires on the side bolted into the ground and my car would only be able to move into action if it were able to fly, then land on the ground and back up. We took pictures of the whole thing, where it was located, how it was impossible and GOT a lawyer. The lawyer I asked, my lawyer, didn't show up (I'm sure because he knew we would lose) and sent another one who said I might as well accept the ticket and plead guilty because I would be harrassed forever. My sister is a police officer in a different location and confirmed that and by the way couldn't help. I pleaded guilty and later found out it wasn't listed on my record anymore. Hmmm????So that part was good. My car was damaged which we paid for and I wasn't harrassed in that situation but my son seems to have completely bad luck as of late (ticket for being parked between 2 and 5 a.m. just yesterday while he slept over at my other son's house). Will pay that. Then there are all right turn on red thingies lately. Truthfully, moral of the story: might as well pay or negotiate a situation where it is the most to your benefit, because we seldom win in these situations.And as a follow-up... BY THE WAY, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT GOT A SAFETY AWARD TWO WEEKS LATER by the state.
Go to court. There is always a chance that the fine will be reduced. If the officer doesn't show, your ticket may be dismissed. Around here, you have the option to go to traffic school. If you complete the course, the citation won't go on your record or affect your insurance.
Go to court. You may get off because of the wrong DL#. The worst that can happen is that you end up paying the fee. Good luck.
Definitely go tO court. You have a good chance of beating it.
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That's a moving violation.
I doubt you'll beat that O..
I'd just pay it.
You can go to court and hope the cop doesn't show up. But if he does, you'll have to prove that the sign was obstructed somehow. Otherwise if it's not, you're going to lose.
:(
If it makes you feel any better, I paid $400 in red light tickets a few months ago because the the camera they installed was malfunctioning. I had proof that I didn't break the law, but because I didn't protest fast enough, I was still liable.
Totally BS.
