I have a question about my first driving ticket?

I was ticketed a few weeks ago on my way back to school (CA) from lunch (we have open campus)

Long story short, there was an accident, I tried to slowly drive around it, and this lady cop signaled me to stop; I did. Then she had me pull over and ticketed me for disobeying an officer, claiming I could have ran her over... @ 5 mph, okay.

Another thing is that a friend was in the car WITH me but she didn't bother to ticket me for that??? Will that be brought up in court? And do I have to go to traffic school?? How much will that cost?? Thanks.
Additional Details
If I fight it, who do I present my arguent to? Also, you think the actual officer will be there? I'm really nervous. I was so angered I WANTED to fight it but as she was writing me up she said "you can try to fight it but youll probably lose and end up with a point on your drivers license" so... yeah

Jim

You will have to see what the judge says. If your friend distracted you, which is probably very likely, you may have missed an instruction from the officer (verbal or visual)...to stop, slow down, etc. Failing to do so, or failing to notice is likely why you were instructed to pull over and were issued a citation.

First and foremost, for your sake, I hope you were respectful to the officer that issued the citation. If you were not, it will not go over well with the judge. Secondly, when you go to court, if you don't understand the charges being brought against you and why, politely and respectfully ask for an explanation.

As far as your friend in the car, I am assuming you are not old enough to have a passenger in your vehicle. You were not issued a citation for that but I would not go out of my way to bring that up. The officer was either too busy to check it out or was trying to cut you some slack,

The upside is, if this is your first traffic infraction the judge will probably be lenient. If you were disrespectful to the issuing officer, or show disrespect in court, don't count on a break. The downside for you, most California municipal economies are struggling. You having to pay a fine supports the local coffers.

Your best defense in court, to avoid heavy fines and traffic school, is to be respectful, genuine, and (some will laugh) show up well dressed, like you are going to a job interview so your level of sincerity in the issue is obvious. If you don't demonstrate a level of sincerity, you won't be taken as being sincere.

karl k

if there is nothing more to it than you say, i would consider fighting it. if you didnt obey her, how was she able to ticket you (i might argue)?
but there is probably more to it.
why would she ticket you for having a friend in the car? maybe some CA thing, but if it isnt on the ticket it is not a charge.
if court is scheduled when she is working its possible that it could be dismissed but more likely that it would be rescheduled. your argument would be made to the judge or magistrate or referee or whatever. it still isnt clear to me what order you disobeyed. are you sure you are not leaving something out?

tonalc2

Was it 2800(a)? With all assessments and fees it'll cost you $240.00.

If you are eligible for traffic school, you WANT to go, because it will keep the ticket off your record and it won't be reported to the insurance company.

jean.edouard

You can just go to court, explain the judge, unfortunately she won't be there. You probably not gonna get the point, make sure you're not guilty and make sure you know what you're gonna tell to the judge.
If your friend didn't wear seat belt, that's she was ticketed or if not there is no reason.
Let me tell you, I from another country, I'm telling you, the cop are stupids.
Give me my points, lol

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