"unsafe" lane change

What is the name of your state? California.

Heres the long story w/ all the info: (earlier this evening)

i was driving with my cousin. i came to a left hand turn with a green light. (two turn lanes turning into a 4 lane road w/ center turn lane.) i signaled and i dropped my '68 Chevelle into first and used the compression to slow me going around the turn. (that made a lot of noise and got her attention) then upon completing the turn i accelerated quickly (i wont lie, it was 3/4 throttle) (even more noise) out of the turn and by the time i was straightened out i was already doing the speed limit. the vehicle in front of me was not. looking over my shoulder i saw the the vehicle that was coming into the other lane hadn't even completed the turn yet. i hit the blinker and changed lanes maintaining my speed, still in first gear. in my mind i was fine. i completed the change cut the blinker and shifted to drive. doing the limit (35mph) i passed the slow driver that was in front of me and i maintained the speed limit until the officer pulled me over.

when she asked for my stuff she told me that a signal wouldve been nice. (i did use my signal. my cousin can vouch. he even commented on the sound it made just before we got pulled over. how ironic.)

she also claimed that i was going a little fast, which is just plain wrong. sure the dual 40 series flows in 1st made my car sound like it was screaming down the road, but i wasnt. even for going through the intersection i wasnt going fast. and i wasnt speeding after the turn. it even shows that i wasnt on the citation. why would she say it, then?

she also happeded to claimed that i peeled out, which is bull. a direct quote from her: "...you were going and you peeled out or whatever." im sorry, whatever? how can you lawfully accuse someone and use the phrase "whatever" in the same sentence? but make it sound just? at this point i was convinced that the pulled me over becasue of the sound of the vehicle. which is fine, if shed only cite me for noise pollution instead of going back to her car and writing me up for "unsafe lane change". which is equally bogus.

the only problem is that the "unsafe" part is completely her own personal opinion and her opinion over mine in court will rule no matter what i say. but pulling me over and saying all this stuff to me (then claiming that i peeled out?) and writing me up for something completely different just doesnt sound right. and the lane change was not unsafe.

she claimed that i changed lanes without signaling (which is also wrong), but wrote me up for "unsafe". why couldnt she have written "turn w/o signal"? i shink she was just looking for away to bust me becasue i sounded fast, but the gun read that i was going the limit.

all of my "offenses" occured within a 10 second interval just going around that one turn and changing lanes. if i wasnt speeding and i used my turn signals and i have a witness who was in the vehicle willing to testify against her judgement.

also if she wrote that the violation occured in the intersection when in fact the lane change occured on the straightaway, is that false accusation? (am i spelling that right? accusation.)

im not 100% innocent. the lane change only took 4 seconds. but just because it was done quickly doesnt mean it was done incorrectly. it doesnt mean it wasnt safe.

also my vehicle has the origonal turn signal relay is still intact and working in the vehicle, the only problem is they are extremely slow to blink. especially when the voltage has dropped for some reason (the headlights were on) could it be that she missed the one or two blinks the lights made during the change? is that a mechanical citaion or traffic violation?


any helpful advice would be helpful.

my main question is this: If I argue this with all the information I've given you and I have a witness, does our combined knowlege about what happened supercede the officers? i really feel this is total bull and i do not want this little "i hear a loud car, lets try and find a flaw in his driving" ticket to double my insurance. thank you for your time. sorry it was so long. thanks again.

wes

anyone can email me with responses/opinions at [email]camino95401@yahoo.com[/email]

The question is whether your and your friends testimony is more credible than the officers, which is the decision the trier of fact (judge or jury, depending on your situation) makes.

[You Are Guilty]

Did you check to make sure your rear turn signal bulb(s) weren't blown? That could explain the lack of signaling argument from the officer.

cj,

One, many cars' turn signal mechanisms are designed to electronically freeze the interior signal light on your console alerting you to the presence of a blown rear bulb. You may have in fact had a blown bulb though, as your car, sounding like an older classic, may not be equipped with said device. If this is the case, bargain for a lesser citation related to blown light, for many of these fines are waived if you prove to the court within set time periods that you have fixed the problem.

Two, sounds like the above is the only thing the officer has to offer that was unsafe. Rate of turning, sound of engine is purely her opinion and speculation, neither of which she is qualified to give. Police are to uphold the law not their opinion. Unfortunately the sorry assed system seems to work that way. However, you had an additional witness, and both of you had better vantage points being in the car (with exception of possible blown signal bulb). Therefore, she could be disqualified as a witness.

the only bulb on the entire vehcile that isnt working is the driver's side amber side-marker that only functions as a running light when the headlights are on. these two bulbs are as unaffected by the turn signal circuit as the reverse light are.

and yes, i checked all the lights to make sure that wasnt the case.

i found that the turn signal relays in my particular year of vehicle are greatly effected by the amperage available to them. the amperage draw of the headlighs caused the slow blinking. i am in the process of replacing them to help my case and to prevent this from happening in the future.

thanks for all your input.