Impeding Traffic?

What is the name of your state? Georgia

I pulled out of a service station onto a four lane city street -- three lanes for through traffic and the leftmost lane for left turns. There was no traffic at all on the through lanes (the light to my left was red, keeping back the traffic) but there was a line of cars in the left turn lane. They were moving, so I nosed my car behind the last car, intending to join the flow in the turn lane. Just as I did, the green light ahead of us (including the left turn arrow) changed to yellow, and the lead car stopped abruptly. This left me with the front of my car in the turn lane and the rear of my car in one of the through lanes. Then the red light behind me turned to green, and the traffic behind me headed in our direction. A patrol car pulled up behind me and pulled me over. I was charged with "impeding the flow of traffic," specifically with a violation of the Georgia Motor Code 40-6-184. I asked the officer exactly what law I had broken, and he told me I "could look up that section of the code in any public library."

Well, I did, and I do not think the section is germane. It has three provisions, two of which are clearly irrelevant (driving too slow in the "fast" lane of a freeway and the right of authorities to set a "minimum speed" requirement for any roadway). The only part of the code that even remotely could apply reads in full: "No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation."

That sentence seem expressly addressed to cases such as folks who drive 20 mph in a 55 mph zone, thus creating a traffic hazard. It says nothing about the "position" of a vehicle, thus where my car was positioned cannot create a violation of THAT sentence. It mentions only the "speed" of a vehicle, and I was going the safe speed for a car at a red light (zero!).

I am thinking of going to court to defend myself on this one, making my case on the fact that the section I am charged with violating does not cover the situation.

Thoughts?

Your kidding, right?

By definition alone you were impeding traffic.

Now to the actual statute:

"No person shall drive a motor vehicle at such a slow speed as to impede the normal and reasonable movement of of traffic, except when reduced speed is necessary for safe operation."

Click to expand...

Well, it seems you were at such a slow speed (0 to be exact) that you in fact did impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic. What is there to argue? An explanation to a judge may afford you some discount but it may also invoke a chastisement from the judge ofr not thinking far enough ahead while driving.


Now you want to argue that 0 was a safe speed for being at a red light but you need to realize, the lane you werre in was not stopped by a red light; therefore; guilty as charged.


Your call.

No, I'm Not Kidding

Yes, by dictionary definition, I was perhaps impeding traffic (although no traffic was actually impeded except maybe the patrol car, which pulled up behind me rather than take one of the other through lanes).

But you aren't tried on the dictionary; you're tried on the law. So the legal question is whether I was in violation of the code as charged. If I had been dancing in the street wearing a Ronald MacDonald suit, I would perhaps have been impeding traffic, but clearly not in violation of the code, which does not cover impeding traffic in broad terms but names a specific form of it, which I didn't do.

And no, the lane in which the rear of my car was resting did not have a green light. It was red.