How to fight a failure to yield to pedestrians?

[nickbaker25]

What is the name of your sCalifornia.

So I was driving down a busy street in a town I had never been in when a cop pulled me over and claimed I had failed to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk.

This seemed strange to me because a) I and the other cars were moving at a fast (not over the limit) speed and at a constant rate and
b) there was no traffic light or stop sign at this particular crosswalk, so whatever pedestrians were trying to cross must have done it expecting me to hit my brakes hard.

In any case, I didn't remember seeing pedestrians. It was a wide street, and it's possible some people were trying to cross from the other side as I was passing...it definitely was not a case of me almost clipping someone, though the officer acted all pissed.

I got a letter in the mail saying the ticket would cost me $138...which is a lot less than I thought it would in CA. On the other hand, I don't want this on my record because I don't think I did anything wrong. Is there anyway to fight this? Any chance the officer won't show up to court? Or anyway to get it to a reduced charge? How would you fight this? There are no witnesses or data...it's just my word against his, though I'm sure his will win being an officer of the law and alltate?

[CdwJava]

There's not much to reduce it to, and there is always a chance the officer won't show in court.

Not all sidewalks have to be marked. A pedestrian crossing at an intersection between two corners can be considered in an unmarked crosswalk.

What section were you cited for?

- Carl

[Pugilist]

The following is the reply I gave to "Simplify," who posted same question about the same time you did.

"I live in a town where every once in a while the police decide to do full enforcement on the crosswalks. So, they issue tickets, like yours, where the pedestrian has stepped off the sidewalk one foot on the other side of the four lane street. It's a totally Mickey Mouse ticket, and is done to make examples of people, to get the word out.

You should fight it. You have an excellent chance that the officer will not show up for court. If he does, you won't have much of a chance of beating the ticket, so instead of arguing your case you can ask for traffic school.

For general details of fighting a ticket, go to the public library and ask the reference librarian for her best book on the subject.

Pug"

[nickbaker25]

Originally Posted by Pugilist

The following is the reply I gave to "Simplify," who posted same question about the same time you did.

"I live in a town where every once in a while the police decide to do full enforcement on the crosswalks. So, they issue tickets, like yours, where the pedestrian has stepped off the sidewalk one foot on the other side of the four lane street. It's a totally Mickey Mouse ticket, and is done to make examples of people, to get the word out.

You should fight it. You have an excellent chance that the officer will not show up for court. If he does, you won't have much of a chance of beating the ticket, so instead of arguing your case you can ask for traffic school.

For general details of fighting a ticket, go to the public library and ask the reference librarian for her best book on the subject.

Pug"

Thanks for the replies, all. Got any recommendations on reading? Haven't even gone to the local library yet, I'm still getting settled.