passing stop sign

[charlie2]

i was taking my sister to the long beach airport when i got this ticket. we were in no hurry as we arrived half an hour earlier than check-in time. what happened was there was this car stopped at the stop sign in front of me for 2-3 minutes. apparently, he was asking for directions. he proceeded to move into the intersection slowly and stopped again for another 2 minutes while talking with someone on the street. i had waited for him at the stop sign, but this time i decided to go around him. at this point i was stopped by the county sheriff and cited for passing the stop sign as well as making a dangerous turn around the vehicle in front of me. i now have to go to court to fight this. but i dont know what argument to make that would convince the judge to throw this ticket out. please advise. i asked the police man why he didnt cite the other vehicle. he said that he did not see the other vehicle. so from his angle, he only saw me make the moving violation.

 

[sukharev]

cited for passing the stop sign as well as making a dangerous turn around the vehicle in front of me[

If I undertood your words correctly, he did see the other car, which is why he gave you citation. What is it?

 

[ENASNI]

If I undertood your words correctly, he did see the other car, which is why he gave you citation. What is it?

When I saw the title of this thread, I was thinking it should be in the medical section. Ouch!

 

[charlie2]

stopped vehicle

the officer did not see the vehicle was stopped in the intersection. he saw me trying to go around the vehicle. and after i accomplished going around it, the vehicle, now in back of me, started moving out of the intersection. he didnt see the reason why i had to make the turn.

 

[charlie2]

violations cited

unsafe lane change and passing stop sign

 

[HappyHusband]

i was taking my sister to the long beach airport when i got this ticket. we were in no hurry as we arrived half an hour earlier than check-in time. what happened was there was this car stopped at the stop sign in front of me for 2-3 minutes. apparently, he was asking for directions. he proceeded to move into the intersection slowly and stopped again for another 2 minutes while talking with someone on the street. i had waited for him at the stop sign, but this time i decided to go around him. at this point i was stopped by the county sheriff and cited for passing the stop sign as well as making a dangerous turn around the vehicle in front of me. i now have to go to court to fight this. but i dont know what argument to make that would convince the judge to throw this ticket out. please advise. i asked the police man why he didnt cite the other vehicle. he said that he did not see the other vehicle. so from his angle, he only saw me make the moving violation.

Tell it to the judge.

 

[sukharev]

unsafe lane change and passing stop sign

Well, you can question "unsafe lane change" charge, but stop sign is pretty solid, if he saw you NOT stopping AT the stop sign, that's it. You can try negotiating with DA/officer before trial, to plead guilty to that one and dismissing the other. Your story above would merely amuse or anger the judge.

 

[charlie2]

What's my best argument?

How should I argue the unsafe lane change?

thanks for responding.

 

[sukharev]

You should try to negotiate with DA, not argue your case. If you go to trial, you have little to no chance. Anyhow, you can try to ask officer why he thought that lane change was unsafe, and state that it was (and why)...

 

[racer72]

A few weeks ago a guy claimed in traffic court that stop signs with white borders were caution signs, not real stop signs and that you did not have to stop. Did this stop sign have a white border?

 

[sukharev]

A few weeks ago a guy claimed in traffic court that stop signs with white borders were caution signs, not real stop signs and that you did not have to stop. Did this stop sign have a white border?

Are you leaning towards insanity defense?