Passing on Shoulder

What is the name of your state? Minnesota

I was ticketed (169.18 s4) for passing on the shoulder which I did do, however I think I made the right decision for my safety.

As I was slowing down for the car turning left right in front of me the minivan behind me wasn't hitting his brakes and I wasn't sure if his intention was to pass me and the car in front of me or if he didn't see me at all so I made what I thought was the safe decision and passed on the shoulder.

The Minvan ended up passing right behind me, soon after that we both were pulled over and issued a citation.

Do I have a case?

Thanks.

[JETX]

"Do I have a case?"
*** A case of what??? If you mean do you have a chance of getting your ticket dismissed, the answer is no.

However, I am curious about one thing...
You said, "the minivan behind me wasn't hitting his brakes"
*** How could you tell the car BEHIND you wasn't "hitting his brakes" in the instant that you had to decide whether to pass on the right or to be rear-ended (as you imply)???

I'm sorry let me rephrase it. He wasn't slowing down therefore putting two and two together leads me to believe he wasn't hitting his brakes. Or am I missing something?

The sad thing about this whole ordeal is if I was in same situation again I would probably react the same way.

I'm surprised you said I have no chance, it seemed like the reasonable course of action at the time.

[JETX]

"He wasn't slowing down therefore putting two and two together leads me to believe he wasn't hitting his brakes."
*** That still doesn't explain how you claim to have made your decision partly on the fact of the car behind you, when you clearly could NOT have determined whether they are stopping or not whle in BEHIND you!! Simply, you are NOT able to see their brakelights, so you cannot use this as an excuse to support your actions.

"Or am I missing something?"
*** See above.

"The sad thing about this whole ordeal is if I was in same situation again I would probably react the same way."
*** And you would probably get cited again. Remember, this does NOT mean that your actions were wrong in the overall picture. Only that your specific act (passing on the right) was a violation.

"I'm surprised you said I have no chance, it seemed like the reasonable course of action at the time."
*** Again, your confusing the issues. The fact remains, you violated the law when you took the action you were cited with. And since the officer was presumably in the vicinity when it happened, he issued the citation. Based on the PURE facts of the situation, I doubt that a court would dismiss the ticket, but you are certainly free to try.

If OJ could be found innocent and released, there is hope for just about anyone!!

"That still doesn't explain how you claim to have made your decision partly on the fact of the car behind you, when you clearly could NOT have determined whether they are stopping or not whle in BEHIND you!!"

Sure it does. I was slowing to a stop as the car behind me was not, generally when a person hits the brakes the car will slow regardless of brake lights.

This seems like such a simple concept to me so I'm not sure why we are debating it, but if it makes more sense I will argue that the car was not "SLOWING" instead of not "BRAKING", either way the dilemma was the same for me.

In fact the van did not slow at all because he cought right up to me as his intention was to use the shoulder the whole time. However at the time I did not know this!

If the judges rule is going to be to the letter of the law I suppose I don't have a case, or chance of a dismissal as you said but if I can stop on the shoulder to change a flat in an emergency situation then using it to avoid a possible rear-end doesn't sound that ridiculous to me.

[HomeGuru]

My opinion is that the writer is guilty of the charge.

[JETX]

"Sure it does. I was slowing to a stop as the car behind me was not, generally when a person hits the brakes the car will slow regardless of brake lights."
*** So, either one of two things happened here:
1) This was NOT an emergency and you saw the vehicle stopping in front of you and still had time to look in the rear view mirror, see that the vehicle was NOT stopping by analyzing the bumper drop or not, then consciously decide, "Gee, I guess I will pass on the right side rather than have to stop myself", or
2) The vehicle in front of you stopped suddently and you didn't have time to stop in time and swerved to pass on the right.

If 1 above, then your guilty as cited. If 2 above then unless you are a professional racecar driver, you simply didn't have the time in the split second to realize the vehicle behind you was not stopping and still respond to the emergency in front of you.

And yes, I also feel you are clearly guilty as charged. So, your choice, go to court and tell your story hoping the judge is very naive, or pay the fine.

Thats pretty good, analyzing the bumper drop and in a split second making a decision. Let me try to explain again because from what I can tell your not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Not only did I have time to look in my rear view mirror but I also had plenty of time to stop, it's something I do every time I stop and it's something I'll continue to do everytime I stop. Lets just say i'm a little paranoid from my mortorcycling days. However the van behind me was about 3 to 4 cars back and wasn't slowing down, now I wasn't aware that I needed an engineering degree,
crash reconstruction training or even 500 laps around Daytona to not know that a fast approaching 4000 pound vehicle in my rear view mirror wasn't slowing down!

My question to someone other than JETX (He seems to be intellectually challanged), is their any chance the judge would reduce my fine to something that won't go on my record?

Thanks.

[HomeGuru]

Originally posted by microwiz
Thats pretty good, analyzing the bumper drop and in a split second making a decision. Let me try to explain again because from what I can tell your not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Not only did I have time to look in my rear view mirror but I also had plenty of time to stop, it's something I do every time I stop and it's something I'll continue to do everytime I stop. Lets just say i'm a little paranoid from my mortorcycling days. However the van behind me was about 3 to 4 cars back and wasn't slowing down, now I wasn't aware that I needed an engineering degree,
crash reconstruction training or even 500 laps around Daytona to not know that a fast approaching 4000 pound vehicle in my rear view mirror wasn't slowing down!

My question to someone other than JETX (He seems to be intellectually challanged), is their any chance the judge would reduce my fine to something that won't go on my record?

Thanks.

**A: ok, microcheesewiz, please explain what the word challanged means.

[JETX]

Okay, everyone who believes that this twit could look in his rearview mirror and immediately know that the car behind him wasn't stopping WHILE in the middle of an emergency situation in front of him.... and thereby use that as justification for passing on the right, raise their hand.

Ah, come on, someone has to believe this excuse... Anyone??? Hell, even the forum troll isn't stepping up!!

Okay, no one came forward on that one.... "is their any chance the judge would reduce my fine to something that won't go on my record?"
Sounds like a pretty solid NO to me.

I think he could have known if the car was stopping or not. I was rear-ended last year and I knew she wasn't slowing down. I was stopped in traffic. She hit me doing 35. Have watched other people since then come up behind me and not seen them slow down. I am very paranoid now and I often look behind me to watch for idiots not slowing down for upcoming red lights.
In Missouri, it is okay to pass on the right if certain circumstances exists. Exam your state's statutes and see what you can come up with.
I would fight it.

I agree with JETX.

Your original statement: "The Minvan ended up passing right behind me, soon after that we both were pulled over and issued a citation."

If that were the case, shouldn't the minivan have hit you anyway? No the van didn't, because you passed that turning car while on the shoulder also, not merely just trying to move out of the way of the minivan. You should have stayed stopped and let the van pass on the shoulder, since it was apparant they could/were going to do so. Unfortunate circumstances but the ticket is right.

Originally posted by JETX
[b]Okay, everyone who believes that this twit could look in his rearview mirror and immediately know that the car behind him wasn't stopping WHILE in the middle of an emergency situation in front of him.... and thereby use that as justification for passing on the right, raise their hand.

Actually I do believe this is possible.

My father was in a situation driving home from work, on a 3-lane highway, in the middle lane.

The car in front of him had a bit of distance, but came to a stop because, apparently, the driver decided that he wanted to go to the exit on the right.

My dad had to slow to an almost complete stop, and decided NOT to swerve because he didn't want to take the chance of hitting someone to the left or right.

He got a glance in his rearview mirror, and saw the Oldsmobile coming at him. He really had nowhere to go, though, so he just sort of muttered an obscenity and prepared for impact.

After all, at a near stop, he couldn't really do anything. But he was able in that situation to avoid rear-ending the moron in front of him, and was able to react in some way to the car behind him.

Unfortunately, my dad got rear ended. Unfortunately as well, the guy who stopped in the middle lane took off.

[JETX]

Yep, he was at a complete stop at the time and therefore, was NOT having to perform his own panic stop at the time. Completely different situation.