1
173Rutherford
Guest
New Jersey; sorry for the length (circumstantial); The "point" is in the Subject heading Thank you.
There was this woman in shorts, sneakers, and a baseball cap standing in the middle of the road with her arm raised on the Northbound side of a no-traffic signal two-way street (one lane each side) with a crosswalk. I was heading Southbound and as usual (being very familiar with the area) slowed down while approaching the crosswalk and noticed someone else trying to cross the street; so I stopped. When that other person was done crossing the street, I let off the brake and rolled closer towards the crosswalk. I noticed that the woman in the sneakers, shorts, and baseball cap was approaching my vehicle; I thought she was going to cross the street also so I stopped again (I hadn't reached the crosswalk). As she came closer I realized she was a police officer. She asked me if I saw her with both her arms up (implying that both directions of traffic should halt, I guess). I told her no, I saw that you had one arm up and you were on the other side, not in the middle. The tone in her voice was friendly, and she asked me to pull to the side. After I gave her my paperwork, her tone changed to a very stern one (ethnic name issues?). She consulted with another (fully uniformed) police officer (as to try and figure out what I can be charged with). Careless driving was the charge. I wasn't in a rush, I yielded to a pedestrian, never entered the crosswalk area, came to a full stop (twice); How is that careless driving?
She sternly told me to plead guilty, sign the ticket as such, and send in the money "or else" I would have to go to court. I went back to the scene later (on foot) and noticed that she was now properly positioned in between the northbound and southbound lanes directing traffic, so both sides can see (and obey) her signals.
Is there a site available that describes proper traffic control ? What about proper police uniform? What should I say in court?
There was this woman in shorts, sneakers, and a baseball cap standing in the middle of the road with her arm raised on the Northbound side of a no-traffic signal two-way street (one lane each side) with a crosswalk. I was heading Southbound and as usual (being very familiar with the area) slowed down while approaching the crosswalk and noticed someone else trying to cross the street; so I stopped. When that other person was done crossing the street, I let off the brake and rolled closer towards the crosswalk. I noticed that the woman in the sneakers, shorts, and baseball cap was approaching my vehicle; I thought she was going to cross the street also so I stopped again (I hadn't reached the crosswalk). As she came closer I realized she was a police officer. She asked me if I saw her with both her arms up (implying that both directions of traffic should halt, I guess). I told her no, I saw that you had one arm up and you were on the other side, not in the middle. The tone in her voice was friendly, and she asked me to pull to the side. After I gave her my paperwork, her tone changed to a very stern one (ethnic name issues?). She consulted with another (fully uniformed) police officer (as to try and figure out what I can be charged with). Careless driving was the charge. I wasn't in a rush, I yielded to a pedestrian, never entered the crosswalk area, came to a full stop (twice); How is that careless driving?
She sternly told me to plead guilty, sign the ticket as such, and send in the money "or else" I would have to go to court. I went back to the scene later (on foot) and noticed that she was now properly positioned in between the northbound and southbound lanes directing traffic, so both sides can see (and obey) her signals.
Is there a site available that describes proper traffic control ? What about proper police uniform? What should I say in court?