IL:Ticketed for Tire Blowout

[Tev]

Illinois.

I was leaving a mall in my hometown when the steering wheel started to get heavy and sluggish. I looked at all four corners of the car while driving at noticed that it was slightly leaning towards the front right. I got up to a stoplight and had two choices, go straight for about two blocks to a gas station to stop and check my tires, or make an illegal right turn at this stoplight onto a less heavily congested road so I could re-enter the mall parking lot.

I took the right and looked in my rear view to see a cop following me. I accidentally went past the turn while looking to see if his lights would turn on, which they did and I tried to get as close to the curb as possible when I stopped. This road had no shoulder. I pulled up a little to close to the curb and my front wheel burst.

The officer did not realize this and I was so shaken I was not able to tell him until after he gave me the 75$ ticket for making an illegal right turn. I asked if he could stop traffic so I could get to a parking lot.

Is there anything I can do with this? In my opinion I was getting my vehicle out of an emergency situation, off of a congested road onto a parking lot.

Any help or suggestions, advice would be much appreciated.

[racer72]

As I recall from driver's ed many years ago, the correct response to an equipment malfunction is to move the vehicle safely and legally to a safe location. In your case, option "A" would have been the correct thing to do. The only time violating the law would have been permissable would be if the malfunction would have place you, your passenger(s) or other motorists in emminent danger. This clearly does not apply to your situation.