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Drove through safety zone ticket

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wabyrd

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I got a ticket for driving through a safety zone.
If you plug "3115 Dixie Farm Road, Pearland, TX" into Google Maps and zoom in, you can see the location where I got the ticket. Zoomed in to the max, you can see the driveway on the north side of the picture where I turned left onto Dixie Farm Road/County Road 126. There was an officer sitting in the median where the striped lines are (Just north of the Texas Emergency Care Specialists Label). The officer was sitting there with no lights on his vehicle turned on. I turned in front of his parked vehicle. There is not a sign indicating "no left turn" from that driveway. I found NOTHING in the Texas Drivers Handbook regarding a "safety zone".

I have looked online and I found this in the Texas Transportation code:
Sec. 545.403. DRIVING THROUGH SAFETY ZONE. An operator may not drive through or in a safety zone.

I have not found a definition of "Safety Zone" other than this:
§ 541.302. TRAFFIC AREAS. In this subtitle:
(12) "Safety zone" means the area in a roadway
officially designated for exclusive pedestrian use and that is
protected or so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be
plainly visible at all times while so designated.

Is the area I drove through really a "Safety Zone"? I saw no pedestrian markings other than the bicycle lane on the north side of the road. Where can I find out more about a safety zone? The area I drove through seems to be an area marked for the upcoming obstruction in the roadway (south of where I turned out of the driveway). Does the officer being parked in this area of yellow lines make this a safety zone?

I've considered deferred adjudication, but if I can get it dismissed, that would be better. I don't think I did anything wrong by making a left turn out of this driveway. What are the chances of getting this ticket dismissed? If there is NO CHANCE, I'll go to the clerk and fill out the deferred adjudication request, but I think this is total BS and I shouldn't be fined.

Thank you for your input.
 


Kiawah

Senior Member
Google Earth shows a satellite view, and would be better than Google Maps.

Not a lawyer, but if I were driving there as an out of state driver, I would think I could turn left there as well. If they don't want anyone to turn, should extend the median further north east, put up a guardrail, or put up some signs in that median area indicating no left turn.

I guess the one thing going against that logic however, is further up the roadway (to the north east), there are clearly designated turn lanes.
 
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