E
Eric DD
Guest
I'm in Portland, Oregon, and received a ticket for "crossing a police line". It was 8:30PM, after dark, and I was traveling on a 2 lane city street (with parallel parking on each side). A police cruiser blocked my side of the street, and he had flares out, parallel with his vehicle, also blocking just my side of the street. The officer was standing between his vehicle and the flares, talking another officer, maybe 10 feet away, and not paying any attention to me. The street closure was caused by several firetrucks, only one of which was on the street I was traveling; the rest were on a side street off of the one I was on. There were no 'detour' signs, nor did the officer provide any traffic direction as I approached, at maybe 5 MPH. Not seeing any special direction, I proceeded slowly up the non-blocked lane, assuming that the street was simply one-way at a time, as is done on highways when construction is occuring. The officer continued to ignore me until I was about 20 feet past his cruiser, when he yelled at me to stop. I immediately stopped, and explained that I saw no traffic signs, or any direction from him. He said he was going to cite me for crossing a police line, which he did.
My question is, doesn't the officer have a responsibility to make it clear what route he wants traffic to take, after he closes a lane? I noticed that his partner was using his flashlight to direct traffic, after the first officer stopped me. Should I challenge this, or just eat it? It's $39 to plead guilty, and up to $129 to go to court, if the judge doesn't like my presentation.
Is crossing a police line a moving violation that will show on my driving record and affect my insurance?
What say you?
My question is, doesn't the officer have a responsibility to make it clear what route he wants traffic to take, after he closes a lane? I noticed that his partner was using his flashlight to direct traffic, after the first officer stopped me. Should I challenge this, or just eat it? It's $39 to plead guilty, and up to $129 to go to court, if the judge doesn't like my presentation.
Is crossing a police line a moving violation that will show on my driving record and affect my insurance?
What say you?