What makes a 'failure to yield' a failure?

[nevaeh]

I'm wondering what 'failed to yield to oncoming traffic' really means.
What does 'failed' mean??
I was driving out of my apartment driveway where there is a stop sign to go into a slight bigger road, which is a 25 mph zone. I came to a full stop because I saw a police car coming up the road. I checked to see if there were any traffic and there weren't any. When I was about to make a right turn, a car honked at me(it wasn't a one time honk but more of a long loud one) but I kept going because I thought it was a minor thing. About a minute later, a police car was behind me and gave me a ticket saying, failed to yield to oncoming traffic. There was a pickup truck parked on the street and that could've blocked my view. I think the driver was overeacting a bit too, because it's a 25 mph zone, she should've been able to stop w/out no probelm unless she was speeding.
Is the police really being fair here?

[cdwjava]

What state is this in, and what section were you cited for?

In general, you are required to yield to oncoming traffic until you can enter the traffic lane safely. This requirement does not disappear even if there IS a vision obstruction. When you go to court you can always argue that your view of traffic was obstructed by the truck, but it does not absolve you of guilt. The judge might be sympathetic.

- Carl

[blewis]

To go along with what Carl says, in WA state, the statute is pretty precise. RCW 46.61.190 is the law concerning Stop and Yield signs. It states, in part:

... and after having stopped shall yield the right of way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such driver is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways.

Barry