Laura Marshall
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Louisiana
I have a few questions regarding a traffic incident and resulting ticket I received last week. I was attempting to turn left from a parking lot onto a busy road. The passing traffic had stopped at a redlight, leaving a gap between cars through which I was being permitted to pass. I crossed two lanes and meanwhile the light turned green. Being in the road and now holding up traffic, I only had the left turn lane still to cross before I could turn and be out of the way. However, as I approached this lane I had almost no line of vision for traffic approaching in it, and just as the front of my vehicle crossed into this lane another vehicle came along suddenly (traveling at a normal speed as the driver approached his green light) and I slammed on brakes, but it was too late, our vehicles made slight impact. The damage was as minor as I can imagine it could have been: only a small hole and scuff that wiped off my front bumper and a minor scratch on his tire rim and scuff on the side of his rear bumper. A police report was filed and I was issued a ticket for failure to yield.
I am now considering the options for how to handle this. I would not say I was not guilty because I know I made an unwise decision that resulted in the accident/ticket. However, I am concerned for my driving record because I also had a speeding ticket in Jan. 2008 for which I attended a defensive driving class. These incidents occurred in two different LA cities. One of my main questions is: do judges in traffic court have defendants' entire driving records before them during proceedings, or in other words, if I did go to court and plead no contest, would my previous offense haunt me? Would the judge be less likely to be lenient because of it?
Thanks.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
I have a few questions regarding a traffic incident and resulting ticket I received last week. I was attempting to turn left from a parking lot onto a busy road. The passing traffic had stopped at a redlight, leaving a gap between cars through which I was being permitted to pass. I crossed two lanes and meanwhile the light turned green. Being in the road and now holding up traffic, I only had the left turn lane still to cross before I could turn and be out of the way. However, as I approached this lane I had almost no line of vision for traffic approaching in it, and just as the front of my vehicle crossed into this lane another vehicle came along suddenly (traveling at a normal speed as the driver approached his green light) and I slammed on brakes, but it was too late, our vehicles made slight impact. The damage was as minor as I can imagine it could have been: only a small hole and scuff that wiped off my front bumper and a minor scratch on his tire rim and scuff on the side of his rear bumper. A police report was filed and I was issued a ticket for failure to yield.
I am now considering the options for how to handle this. I would not say I was not guilty because I know I made an unwise decision that resulted in the accident/ticket. However, I am concerned for my driving record because I also had a speeding ticket in Jan. 2008 for which I attended a defensive driving class. These incidents occurred in two different LA cities. One of my main questions is: do judges in traffic court have defendants' entire driving records before them during proceedings, or in other words, if I did go to court and plead no contest, would my previous offense haunt me? Would the judge be less likely to be lenient because of it?
Thanks.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?