WillyNilly9
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? This happened in Missouri, although I live in Illinois.
I was given a ticket last night for "blocking an intersection-even with signal".
It was rush hour and I was driving south on a very busy main road, heading towards the highway on ramp. As I approached an intersection traffic was moving and my light was green so I went. Suddenly the van in front of me stopped and I ended up stuck underneath the traffic signal. I moved up as much as I could and I was literally sitting there looking up through my windshield at the traffic light above me. I watched it sit on green for about 30 seconds, then change to yellow then red. I was still stuck in the same spot. I'm assuming the next light was red and that caused traffic to back up, although I couldn't see it because the van in front of me was taller than my car.
There was a car in the lane to my right, even with my car. It was sticking out into the intersection the same amount as mine was. So I couldn't get into the right hand lane. I was in the left lane so there was nowhere for me to go.
I could see cars passing behind me, driving east and west on the cross street, so I couldn't have been totally blocking the intersection. No one turning onto the southbound road could have gone regardless because then they would have really been blocking the intersection.
Finally the light changed, I started to go, then I see police lights behind me. I tried to move out of the way because I thought he was going to an accident or something. He pulled me over. I explained all of the above to him and told him I pretty much just got stuck there. He said he knew and he understood. Then he wrote me the ticket anyway. $109.
It says I violated a local ordinance and when I looked it up this is what it says:
No driver shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he/she is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any traffic control signal indication to proceed.
If I could see cars moving behind me going east/west then I couldn't have been obstructing their passage. The back end of my car was probably sticking out a little bit but from what I could see cars were still able to get by.
Also, and it probably doesn't make a difference, but while I'm somewhat familiar with the road I was on I don't drive it regularly, especially not at rush hour, so I'm not familiar with the traffic light sequences, whether certain ones only let 2 cars go at a time, etc. Once I managed to get on the highway it was a parking lot due to an accident, which probably also explains why the road I was on was so backed up, cars were sitting through entire traffic light sequences without moving, etc. Also, I pointed out to the cop that there was another car right next to me in the same predicament I was in and he said he knew but he couldn't pull both of us over at the same time. I'm wondering if he picked me because I had the out of state license plate and maybe less likely to show up to court to fight it?
I'm debating going to court. Worst case scenario I'll just have to pay the original ticket, right? If that's the case I figure I have nothing to lose, I might as well try because I really don't think the ticket was justified. If the cop was determined to do something, he should have just given me a written warning IMO. I have a clean driving record. I think the last time I got a ticket it was 8-10 years ago. Even though I live in IL I'm only about 30-40 minutes away from the courthouse I'd have to go to.
I was given a ticket last night for "blocking an intersection-even with signal".
It was rush hour and I was driving south on a very busy main road, heading towards the highway on ramp. As I approached an intersection traffic was moving and my light was green so I went. Suddenly the van in front of me stopped and I ended up stuck underneath the traffic signal. I moved up as much as I could and I was literally sitting there looking up through my windshield at the traffic light above me. I watched it sit on green for about 30 seconds, then change to yellow then red. I was still stuck in the same spot. I'm assuming the next light was red and that caused traffic to back up, although I couldn't see it because the van in front of me was taller than my car.
There was a car in the lane to my right, even with my car. It was sticking out into the intersection the same amount as mine was. So I couldn't get into the right hand lane. I was in the left lane so there was nowhere for me to go.
I could see cars passing behind me, driving east and west on the cross street, so I couldn't have been totally blocking the intersection. No one turning onto the southbound road could have gone regardless because then they would have really been blocking the intersection.
Finally the light changed, I started to go, then I see police lights behind me. I tried to move out of the way because I thought he was going to an accident or something. He pulled me over. I explained all of the above to him and told him I pretty much just got stuck there. He said he knew and he understood. Then he wrote me the ticket anyway. $109.
It says I violated a local ordinance and when I looked it up this is what it says:
No driver shall enter an intersection or a marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he/she is operating without obstructing the passage of other vehicles or pedestrians, notwithstanding any traffic control signal indication to proceed.
If I could see cars moving behind me going east/west then I couldn't have been obstructing their passage. The back end of my car was probably sticking out a little bit but from what I could see cars were still able to get by.
Also, and it probably doesn't make a difference, but while I'm somewhat familiar with the road I was on I don't drive it regularly, especially not at rush hour, so I'm not familiar with the traffic light sequences, whether certain ones only let 2 cars go at a time, etc. Once I managed to get on the highway it was a parking lot due to an accident, which probably also explains why the road I was on was so backed up, cars were sitting through entire traffic light sequences without moving, etc. Also, I pointed out to the cop that there was another car right next to me in the same predicament I was in and he said he knew but he couldn't pull both of us over at the same time. I'm wondering if he picked me because I had the out of state license plate and maybe less likely to show up to court to fight it?
I'm debating going to court. Worst case scenario I'll just have to pay the original ticket, right? If that's the case I figure I have nothing to lose, I might as well try because I really don't think the ticket was justified. If the cop was determined to do something, he should have just given me a written warning IMO. I have a clean driving record. I think the last time I got a ticket it was 8-10 years ago. Even though I live in IL I'm only about 30-40 minutes away from the courthouse I'd have to go to.