LillianAMS
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I was cited for speeding last October in Ft. Worth, going 76 in a 60. This was my first ticket in 15yr. I was in the left lane of a major 8-lane interstate. The cruiser was parked on the left shoulder when I passed him. When his lights came on behind me I immediately signalled that I was pulling off to the right, which I thought was standard. I did so slowly and safely without interfering in the light traffic around me. The officer never mentioned any violation but the speeding. Reading the ticket multiple times, I never realized there was another violation. I don't live in Ft Worth (200mi away) and handled it by correspondence. I got the speeding ticket dismissed with driver safety class and never thought about it again. Then last week I got a notice in the mail of a warrant for my arrest for ignoring the charge of "failure to obey a police officer." A court clerk read me the original ticket over the phone. All it said on the citation line was "76 in a 60; pull to left." Apparently I was supposed to intuit somehow that he was psychically commanding me to go left, and I disobeyed him by going right. The fine is ~$250 + $50 for going to warrant, but I'd pay twice that to be vindicated. I've never had a warrant issued for me and it's freaking me out. Bottom line: how big a deal is "failure to obey," and how should I handle it?
I was cited for speeding last October in Ft. Worth, going 76 in a 60. This was my first ticket in 15yr. I was in the left lane of a major 8-lane interstate. The cruiser was parked on the left shoulder when I passed him. When his lights came on behind me I immediately signalled that I was pulling off to the right, which I thought was standard. I did so slowly and safely without interfering in the light traffic around me. The officer never mentioned any violation but the speeding. Reading the ticket multiple times, I never realized there was another violation. I don't live in Ft Worth (200mi away) and handled it by correspondence. I got the speeding ticket dismissed with driver safety class and never thought about it again. Then last week I got a notice in the mail of a warrant for my arrest for ignoring the charge of "failure to obey a police officer." A court clerk read me the original ticket over the phone. All it said on the citation line was "76 in a 60; pull to left." Apparently I was supposed to intuit somehow that he was psychically commanding me to go left, and I disobeyed him by going right. The fine is ~$250 + $50 for going to warrant, but I'd pay twice that to be vindicated. I've never had a warrant issued for me and it's freaking me out. Bottom line: how big a deal is "failure to obey," and how should I handle it?