Crazyhorse
Member
California
Background: I got lost while visiting San Diego County in an unfamiliar and very dark area at night while searching for my hotel. While nearing an intersection with no stop sign, I observed in my rearview mirror a vehicle approaching me from behind, and coming right up on me at what I would approximate at about 55-65MPH, relative to my ~15-20MPH. Having been in two prior accidents where I was rear-ended while at a complete stop, I made a right at the intersection without coming to a full stop. At the time I believed I was going to be rear-ended and seriously injured, and the only way I could avoid being rear-ended was to make the right to get out of the immediate trajectory of what I believed to be a drunk driver about to hit me at a high rate of speed.
As soon as I made the right, the car behind me put on its overhead lights and I realized it was a police cruiser that was behind me. The officer did not put on his lights until after I made the turn. (I did not recognize the headlight configuration when I saw it in my rear-view because it turned out to be a police SUV.)
Long story short I was cited for VC 22450(a) by an officer who didn't care to hear my story, but that's neither here nor there. The officer readily admitted he came up on me at a high rate of speed to catch up with me because he thought I was driving suspiciously and wanted to do a traffic stop to make contact with me.
I am a "citizen" and have not had any type of traffic ticket in many years. At the time I rolled through that stop sign, I was convinced that I was going to be rear-ended and I believed the only defensive driving maneuver I could execute in order to protect my safety and avoid serious harm was to move out of the way of the oncoming vehicle as quickly as possible.
Question: Is there a CA Vehicle Code section that describes what a reasonably prudent driver can do in order to avoid an accident, even if it involves committing a traffic infraction in order to avoid the greater harm of a traffic collision? In other words, I am asking if there is a "legal necessity" code section in the CVC.
Thanks in advance for your help, it is greatly appreciated.
Background: I got lost while visiting San Diego County in an unfamiliar and very dark area at night while searching for my hotel. While nearing an intersection with no stop sign, I observed in my rearview mirror a vehicle approaching me from behind, and coming right up on me at what I would approximate at about 55-65MPH, relative to my ~15-20MPH. Having been in two prior accidents where I was rear-ended while at a complete stop, I made a right at the intersection without coming to a full stop. At the time I believed I was going to be rear-ended and seriously injured, and the only way I could avoid being rear-ended was to make the right to get out of the immediate trajectory of what I believed to be a drunk driver about to hit me at a high rate of speed.
As soon as I made the right, the car behind me put on its overhead lights and I realized it was a police cruiser that was behind me. The officer did not put on his lights until after I made the turn. (I did not recognize the headlight configuration when I saw it in my rear-view because it turned out to be a police SUV.)
Long story short I was cited for VC 22450(a) by an officer who didn't care to hear my story, but that's neither here nor there. The officer readily admitted he came up on me at a high rate of speed to catch up with me because he thought I was driving suspiciously and wanted to do a traffic stop to make contact with me.
I am a "citizen" and have not had any type of traffic ticket in many years. At the time I rolled through that stop sign, I was convinced that I was going to be rear-ended and I believed the only defensive driving maneuver I could execute in order to protect my safety and avoid serious harm was to move out of the way of the oncoming vehicle as quickly as possible.
Question: Is there a CA Vehicle Code section that describes what a reasonably prudent driver can do in order to avoid an accident, even if it involves committing a traffic infraction in order to avoid the greater harm of a traffic collision? In other words, I am asking if there is a "legal necessity" code section in the CVC.
Thanks in advance for your help, it is greatly appreciated.
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