Foreigner on moving lane violation (state of new york)

[metastate]

I am a foreigner studying in US. I just received a traffic violation from the state of new york today for unsafe changing of lane.

The officer claims that I had move from lane unsafely. I was cruising on the highway on the passing lane since there were lots of tractors on the right side of the road. One of the tractors was cruising on the passing lane at a speed slower than mine. I change lane to the right in front of another tractor, and switched back to the passing lane to overtake the slow tractor that was on the passing lane. I did all this while maintaining the speed limit.

I did not expect to get pulled over by the cop who was driving behind me. In my defense, I felt that there were ample space for me to change lanes. I felt unjust to receive the ticket, and I do not wish to plea guilty. I estimated that there were two to three car lengths in front of the vehicle that i was overtaking, which was sufficient since i am cruising at a faster speed.

I'd have appeal it for sure if I am in my home country, but I am not. Moving lane unsafely is a bad practice, but not a traffic offense in my country. I am leaving USA in two week's time. The court do not have any other information other than the temporary mailing address my school gave me. What if I plea guilty and they can't get me to pay for the fine?

I've read many comments. Some people say if you are a foreigner, plead guilty to save trouble. But I feel unjust and I want to appeal. The fine is too heavy (est. $150), and I still feel that I had ample space for overtaking. How can I plead non-guilty as a foreigner? Do you think there will be chance for the case to be let go? The officer can only see things from his perspective. But I can see things from mine and I know that there is ample room for overtaking.

 

[FlyingRon]

Guess what. You have to drive safetly even if it means you have to slow down (especially if it means you have to slow down). Other traffic is not a justification for unsafe lane changes. You going faster than the other traffic is not exculpatory. You say you moved into the lane "right in front of a truck" but then you argue there was plenty of room.

You can take it to trial if you want, but you're most likely going to lose. You go to the trial and plead not guilty and after the witness (the officer) makes his case you can make yours.
You're being a foreiginer shouldn't enter into it one way or another.

 

[metastate]

Hey there, thank you for the advice. In that case, the process will take a long time and its quicker to just plea guilty right?

How is the process like? I'm leaving USA in two week's time. What if i had plead guilty but the office did not reply with a penalty quick enough and I had left the country?

 

[HighwayMan]

An unsafe lane change is often a subjective call on the part of the trooper or officer. The only way to have a chance is to argue your side in court, in an articulate manner, at a trial.

What court is this, i.e. what court does the ticket get mailed back to?

If you enter a not guilty plea it could take several months to be scheduled for a pre-trial conference. You do not have many choices here.

If I was you I would go to the court in person and speak to a clerk about perhaps accelerating the process due to your situation. SOME courts will accommodate you and will be able to put the case on for the next available court date. You can be guided by what they tell you is possible.

You can have an attorney represent you. I am sure that considering your living situation that the attorney would want to be paid up front. Any fine would still be up to you to pay.

If you do not answer the ticket or pay a fine your driving privilege in New York will be suspended without a doubt. If you ever come back to New York you will not be able to legally drive and can be arrested if you are caught.

Since you are a foreign resident you shouldn't be concerned about points, etc.

Certainly the easiest solution is to simply admit guilt and pay before you leave, but that's up to you. You can call the court and ask how much the total fine would be in that case.

In any event you do not have much time to decide. Take care of this right away.

 

[Zigner]

Moving lane unsafely is a bad practice, but not a traffic offense in my country.

Are you really saying that your home country doesn't have a law against driving unsafely? Wow.

 

[metastate]

An unsafe lane change is often a subjective call on the part of the trooper or officer. The only way to have a chance is to argue your side in court, in an articulate manner, at a trial.

What court is this, i.e. what court does the ticket get mailed back to?

If you enter a not guilty plea it could take several months to be scheduled for a pre-trial conference. You do not have many choices here.

If I was you I would go to the court in person and speak to a clerk about perhaps accelerating the process due to your situation. SOME courts will accommodate you and will be able to put the case on for the next available court date. You can be guided by what they tell you is possible.

You can have an attorney represent you. I am sure that considering your living situation that the attorney would want to be paid up front. Any fine would still be up to you to pay.

If you do not answer the ticket or pay a fine your driving privilege in New York will be suspended without a doubt. If you ever come back to New York you will not be able to legally drive and can be arrested if you are caught.

Since you are a foreign resident you shouldn't be concerned about points, etc.

Certainly the easiest solution is to simply admit guilt and pay before you leave, but that's up to you. You can call the court and ask how much the total fine would be in that case.

In any event you do not have much time to decide. Take care of this right away.

Thank you for your advice. I will give them a call and see what they can do. I was about to mail it and i figured that this will be pointless since I won't be here to receive the fine anyway.

 

[metastate]

Are you really saying that your home country doesn't have a law against driving unsafely? Wow.

Yes we don't. Unsafe lane change is a subjective thing. We know we should not do it and it is bad practice. But we won't get a ticket for something this subjective as our laws are based on empirical evidence. My country do not penalise drivers for that unless there is hard evidence (e.g. camera and photo) where the distance between cars can be empirically measured.

What happened that night was a blur too. Did I really change lane unsafely? I still believe that I did not since there was a considerable gap between me and the truck. But what I feel will be different than what the police officer think. Like what another forumer say, the ticket is totally up to the judgement of the police officer, and as a foreigner here, I will just have to suck it up and respect the law.

 

[Zigner]

Yes we don't. Unsafe lane change is a subjective thing. We know we should not do it and it is bad practice. But we won't get a ticket for something this subjective as our laws are based on empirical evidence. My country do not penalise drivers for that unless there is hard evidence (e.g. camera and photo) where the distance between cars can be empirically measured.

What happened that night was a blur too. Did I really change lane unsafely? I still believe that I did not since there was a considerable gap between me and the truck. But what I feel will be different than what the police officer think. Like what another forumer say, the ticket is totally up to the judgement of the police officer, and as a foreigner here, I will just have to suck it up and respect the law.

I suspect that you don't really understand your home country's laws...

 

[Proserpina]

Out of sheer curiosity, which country would this be?

 

[Bali Hai]

Out of sheer curiosity, which country would this be?

You and your buddy Zigner should try and get out a bit more.

 

[Ohiogal]

Trying to kick Hihiyou off the first page and get people to see the other posts.