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ticket for passing stopped emergency vehicle

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sue42

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? tx


i got a ticket for passing a police car that was stopped on the side of the freeway with his lights going but there was no one around and he was inside of the car. there was no one stopped or pulled over by him at that time. is that legal? on the other side of the freeway coming to where i was headed there were 4 or 5 cops with cars pulled over on the side of the road doing the same thing. then, as soon as he finished writing me a ticket, he pulled the next truck over for the same thing except that time, he was outside of the car giving me my ticket.
 


I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
i got a ticket for passing a police car that was stopped on the side of the freeway with his lights going but there was no one around and he was inside of the car. there was no one stopped or pulled over by him at that time. is that legal?
It is LEGAL for him to be parked on the side of the freeway with his emergency lights on and its ILLEGAL for you to drive in the lane nearest him at a speed higher than 20mph. Meaning, you should have moved over one lane OR slowed down to 20mph.

TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE
TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD
CHAPTER 545. OPERATION AND MOVEMENT OF VEHICLES
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 545.157. PASSING AUTHORIZED EMERGENCY VEHICLE.
(a) On approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle using visual signals that meet the requirements of Sections 547.305 and 547.702, an operator, unless otherwise directed by a police officer, shall:
(1) vacate the lane closest to the emergency vehicle when driving on a highway with two or more lanes traveling in the direction of the emergency vehicle; or
(2) slow to a speed not to exceed:
(A) 20 miles per hour less than the posted speed limit when the posted speed limit is 25 miles per hour or more; or
(B) five miles per hour when the posted speed limit is less than 25 miles per hour.​
(b) A violation of this section is:
(1) a misdemeanor punishable under Section 542.401;
(2) a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of $500 if the violation results in property damage; or
(3) a Class B misdemeanor if the violation results in bodily injury.​
(c) If conduct constituting an offense under this section also constitutes an offense under another section of this code or the Penal Code, the actor may be prosecuted under either section or under both sections.​
As you can see, the fact that he was “in his vehicle”, “had no one stopped or pulled over by him at the time” have no bearing or effect upon the alleged violation. Only that his “visual signals” (i.e. emergency lights) are on.

on the other side of the freeway coming to where i was headed there were 4 or 5 cops with cars pulled over on the side of the road doing the same thing. then, as soon as he finished writing me a ticket, he pulled the next truck over for the same thing except that time, he was outside of the car giving me my ticket.
None of that is relevant to the alleged violation you were cited for.

Here's the penalty information:

TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE
TITLE 7. VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC
SUBTITLE C. RULES OF THE ROAD
CHAPTER 542. GENERAL PROVISIONS
SUBCHAPTER D. PENALTIES AND COSTS OF COURT
Sec. 542.401. GENERAL PENALTY.
A person convicted of an offense that is a misdemeanor under this subtitle for which another penalty is not provided shall be punished by a fine of not less than $1 or more than $200.​
 
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mikeinaustin

Junior Member
is this violation considered a moving violation? it seems to me it would, but one law office i talked to in austin said it was not.

does it give you points? if so, how many?

does it affect your insurance? i called my insurance, they had never heard of this offense and said it would not.
 

Maestro64

Member
TX actually wrote a law that defines what slow down means, verse many states which say move over or slow down.

In this case if you did not move over which is something the officer can see clearly, did you slow down to something around 20MPH less then the speed limit. If you did slow down how did the officer determine your speed, if he did do that did he record the speed.

Remember this law is an "or" type law so either conditions of the law can meet the requirement, however, many times the police write it simple because the person did not move to the left or right, which is not required if you slowed down an in TX that is 20MPH below.
 

mikeinaustin

Junior Member
i did not slow down or switch lanes. the posted speed was 65 and his laser tagged me at 65. basically he was pulled over in the grass with his lights on, window rolled down, sitting in his car with his hand laser pointed backwards at cars coming his way.

i called a local law office and gave them my ticket number. they looked it up in the computer and said it was listed as a non-moving violation, would not affect insurance and have a minimal impact on my "points". their advice was to pay it and forget it. they said that in this case, taking an on-line course would do no good and in fact was not an option unless a judge agreed to it. even if a judge agreed to it, the lawyer fee + court cost + course fee would be greater than the ticket.

however, i just find it strange that a ticket listing me as traveling 65mph would be considered a non-moving violation. on the other hand, i know when you get a moving violation ticket, you get hit with tons of mail from law offices trying to get your business - i am getting nothing in the mail, so perhaps the law office i called is correct.
 

I_Got_Banned

Senior Member
i called a local law office and gave them my ticket number. they looked it up in the computer and said it was listed as a non-moving violation, would not affect insurance and have a minimal impact on my "points".
You might want to call them back and give them the CORRECT information...

Here:
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=N&p_rloc=92809&p_tloc=&p_ploc=1&pg=19&p_tac=&ti=37&pt=1&ch=15&rl=51
That link will take you to this page:
Texas Administrative Code
TITLE 37 PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS
PART 1 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
CHAPTER 15 DRIVER LICENSE RULES
SUBCHAPTER D DRIVER IMPROVEMENT
RULE §15.89 Moving Violations

Click on "Attached Graphic" Texas Department of Public Safety

(scroll down midway through the page and you'll see "Fail to yield row to emergency vehicle" ..... "YES"... With the "Yes" meaning you will be assessed the standard 2 point for a moving violation).

Oh, and next time, please start your own thread!
 

mikeinaustin

Junior Member
You might want to call them back and give them the CORRECT information...

Here:
http://info.sos.state.tx.us/pls/pub/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=N&p_rloc=92809&p_tloc=&p_ploc=1&pg=19&p_tac=&ti=37&pt=1&ch=15&rl=51
That link will take you to this page:
Texas Administrative Code
TITLE 37 PUBLIC SAFETY AND CORRECTIONS
PART 1 TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
CHAPTER 15 DRIVER LICENSE RULES
SUBCHAPTER D DRIVER IMPROVEMENT
RULE §15.89 Moving Violations

Click on "Attached Graphic" Texas Department of Public Safety

(scroll down midway through the page and you'll see "Fail to yield row to emergency vehicle" ..... "YES"... With the "Yes" meaning you will be assessed the standard 2 point for a moving violation).

Oh, and next time, please start your own thread!

no, i gave them the ticket number not the description. they used that unique number to look in the travis county database regarding my specific ticket (officer said it takes about 3 days for the database to get updated and it did).

as for the actual text description, the officer wrote "passing auth. emergency veh." which is why i used this thread.

now if the officer wrote one thing in the text description but the ticket is associated with another infraction in their database, that i cannot say.
 

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