I got a lane violation ticket. contrary to his belief, i signaled before changing lanes. should i contest it?

>>Phoenix<<

Who do you think the DA is going to believe?
That's the question you need to ask yourself.

I hope you get out of it.

b0bb347

It's his word against yours and you know who will win that one. He may just be gunning for you or perhaps there was a line violation i.e. you crossed a solid line. If you argue with him or accuse him you will piss him and the judge off. Your best bet is to swallow your pride and be polite and contrite. Try to talk to the cop while you are waiting for you hearing , tell him your'e sorry, thought you did the right thing, will be more carefull, etc. Remember he has everything that happened on tape as soon as he hit his blues.

easy

no it's not legal for cops but you would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he did that . like a witness or something. i wouldn't contest because the town i live in , the cops would mess with me all the time

Rahrah

You'll lose because of two things.
1 - You have to "prove" that you signaled. Was someone else in the car with you who can say that you did?
2 - You technically have to signal until you are into the next lane. Not just signal and then move.

The cop was also wrong to do what he did. Too bad you couldn't ticket him as well.

fallenangel

do you have a witness? if not, it is his word against yours.

Esther

If you are not just fooling yourself, do not pay for a ticket that you got if you are innocent. I would contest it.

zealot144

State the facts, honestly. If the judge is convinced of your sincerity, he will likely drop the charge. However, if your signal preceded your lane change by fewer than four "clicks" of your signal, you will likely lose.

So, how far before your lane change did you signal?

cm22454

Having been a cop, I'd say that it's going to be difficult to beat this in court. When it comes down to you say "..." and the officer says "....", the court will usually side with the officer, unless you have unbiased witness'. That doesn't mean your girlfriend was in the car and will proclaim your innocense until her dying breath. It means that the guy beside, or behind you, saw what happened and is willing to testify. Your best bet is to take traffic school and evade the "points" on your lic. If you had a ticket in the last 18 mo, you can still take the class, but it will be 12 hrs instead of 8 hrs. Best of luck.

Barbara A

Keeping to the lane rules is very important, one just can't show a signal and turn into a lane just like that.This causes much accidents on the whole, you should have tried to stay in the lane much more in advance, do this next time, Go and pay your fine.

craving_jinx

cops are obligated to follow the same traffic laws as everyone else with the exception of if there's an emergency...

if you believe you are in the right, by all means, contest the ticket...definitely don't skip the court day though. sometimes the cops don't even show up...then you automatically win lol

good luck!

El Gato Ocioso

All a matter of whether you have the time to spend on the litigation.

joejohncvn70

of course you should contest stand up for yourself. if you dont, who will?

Laws vary from state to state. Most likely you will have 2 court times to settle this.First you will show up on you court date and plead not guilty. The judge will set a court date. Then you will appear on that day to argue against the cop. There may not be a DA there. In my state cops do it for themselves. If the cop does not show, you win. The question is how much work time will you have to give up to appear in court twice?

o7mistique

To make it short....go to court. He most likely won't show up and then you are off :o) It happened to ME with a seatbelt violaton. I WAS wearing it and he said i wasn't. D&^* COPS!!!!!!!

Edit: Cops can do whatever they want. But I doubt if he shows up in court for a mere lane change violation...unless he has some other bigger case that day!

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