FL resident ticketed in CA for common sense.

[DeathbyInk]

What is the name of your state?
California.

Im a Florida resident on business in California, and was just issued a citation in San Jose, CA. The situation is difficult to assess because I feel like I was not in the wrong, and the circumstances are confusing.

I was driving northbound on Saratoga Ave, which is a four lane road (two northbound, two southbound) with periodic left-turning lanes. As I drove up to the intersection of Blackford Ave and Saratoga, to make the left i normally make to get into my hotel, i observed a police car sitting in the right lane, poised as if to make a left turn. The left turn signal was red so I was able to observe the car for some time. It was simply sitting there, with no lights or signals indicating it was about to move, though the car was angled as if the driver intended to turn left. About 1-2 minutes passed and then the left turning signal became green and i had to move forward as there was a great deal of traffic behind me. The police car still hadnt moved and was blocking access to the right line. I assumed the police were busy doing something, so I had to pass the car using the left lane of Blackford. There was no on-coming traffic and it was basically my only option to enter the street as the proper lane was being blocked. This sort of things happens all the time, and its usually common sense to simple pass the police car. I want to make sure to note that the street itself was not closed. The police car was simply parked at the corner in such a way as to block access to the street from Saratoga.

I passed the police car and several other cars behind me passed it as well. As i was pulling into the drive way the police car pulls up behind me, and a very agitated officer knocks on my window. He asks me what i thought i was doing, and i responded asking what I did wrong. He accuses me of driving on the wrong side of the road, and that I wasnt supposed to pass him using the lane of oncoming traffic. I apologized to the officer and expressed to him that he was blocking the appropriate lane and that in my experience you would normally pass the police car taking approprate precautions to make sure the opposite lane was clear of oncoming traffic. This is basic common sense and I've never received a ticket for doing such a thing.

The basic rule in my experience is that if you are on a two way road, as I was after i executed the left turn, and there is an obstruction in your lane, you make sure to check the opposite lane is clear and then you pass the obstruction.

The officer got increasingly agitated and stated he was going to execute a left turn onto northbound Saratoga. This seemed grossly suspicious to me, as 1. the officer was in the wrong lane to execute any sort of turn and 2. i dont believe one can turn left off of Blackford onto Saratoga, the way would be blocked by a divider.

I finally got my summons for violation of vehicle code 21650b, which is failure to use the right half of the roadway. This whole situation seems ludicrous to me, as the police car was blocking use of the right lane entirely. If I would have followed the law, I would have hit his car head on when making my turn. Perhaps he expected me to turn completely around and go in the opposite direction.

I will be leaving back to Florida on March 5th, so I obviously cant appear in court. Also, I cannot take online traffic school for Santa Clara county because a proctored test is required for the online course to be valid, and i cannot be present for such a test. I need advice on either taking an online course in Florida, or contesting the citation in writing.

[CdwJava]

Yes, you can likely contest the citation in writing, but I believe you will be required to post the fine prior to contesting the citation. If you prevail, then you will get the money back. The disadvantage will be that you cannot cross-examine the officer as to his actions that seemingly compelled you to go into the oncoming lane.

As for an on-line course from Florida, you'll have to check with Santa Clara County to see if that's approved.

- Carl