What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas
I was driving westbound and was planning to pull into a fast food joing to pick up food. Last minute I couldn't find the coupon and decided to go home first to get it (since I was less than 5 min away). I would have turned right (north) at the intersection but due to construction, the road was blocked. So my only option was pull into the gas station right before the road block and get back onto the northbound street; I saw the cop sitting there but I was thinking at the time he couldn't give me a ticket since I had no other option to go. I did stop for a few seconds before I pull out onto the street. He pulled me over and gave me a ticket anyway. He said that I should have taken the left detour about 100 ft back. At the time, I didn't remember seeing any detour sign so I didn't argue with him. I went back to the scene to take pictures and realize the left detour sign was before the fast food joint so by the time I decided to not pull into the joint, I already passed the detour sign. The 5 minutes I was there taking pictures, there were over 15 cars that did exactly what I've done. The road blocks were confusing and it is not intuitive to turn left at the detour sign when you are trying to go right. The road was westbound and the afternoon sun is pretty strong. I went and pleaded not guilty yesterday and opted for a jury trial. Would I stand a chance in court? Should I just pay the reduced fine of $200 and with the ticket on my record and move on? I was planning to defend myself since I can't afford a lawyer, and it is the principle of it that I want to take it to court. This is a mistake of facts, and there were mitigating reasons. I would never have cut thru a parking lot to avoid a light in normal circumstances. Also what is the maximum fine I could get if I was found guilty despite my circumstances? Just trying to weigh my risks. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I was driving westbound and was planning to pull into a fast food joing to pick up food. Last minute I couldn't find the coupon and decided to go home first to get it (since I was less than 5 min away). I would have turned right (north) at the intersection but due to construction, the road was blocked. So my only option was pull into the gas station right before the road block and get back onto the northbound street; I saw the cop sitting there but I was thinking at the time he couldn't give me a ticket since I had no other option to go. I did stop for a few seconds before I pull out onto the street. He pulled me over and gave me a ticket anyway. He said that I should have taken the left detour about 100 ft back. At the time, I didn't remember seeing any detour sign so I didn't argue with him. I went back to the scene to take pictures and realize the left detour sign was before the fast food joint so by the time I decided to not pull into the joint, I already passed the detour sign. The 5 minutes I was there taking pictures, there were over 15 cars that did exactly what I've done. The road blocks were confusing and it is not intuitive to turn left at the detour sign when you are trying to go right. The road was westbound and the afternoon sun is pretty strong. I went and pleaded not guilty yesterday and opted for a jury trial. Would I stand a chance in court? Should I just pay the reduced fine of $200 and with the ticket on my record and move on? I was planning to defend myself since I can't afford a lawyer, and it is the principle of it that I want to take it to court. This is a mistake of facts, and there were mitigating reasons. I would never have cut thru a parking lot to avoid a light in normal circumstances. Also what is the maximum fine I could get if I was found guilty despite my circumstances? Just trying to weigh my risks. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!