$952 Fail to Yield to Pedestrian Ticket in Yolo County, California

[eTang]

My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California.

I was driving down a 2 lane street in the lane closest to the middle divider on a Monday morning. As I was driving I saw that I was approaching a crosswalk but didn't see anybody so I continued traveling down the street at speed limit (30mph). As I got close to the crosswalk I saw a pedestrian poke out from behind a parked car in the lane that I wasn't in. He didn't begin to cross, but instead stayed where he was waiting for me to pass. As that I was too close to have safely stopped I continued.

A few minutes later an officer pulled me over and asked if I knew why I had been pulled over. I said I didn't know. He asked me if I had seen the yield lights flashing at the crosswalk and I said that I did not. He continued to tell me that I had cut off a pedestrian and began the ticket writing process. I ended up getting ticketed for 21950(a)VL.

I also got ticketed for 16028(a)VL because I didn't have a valid copy of my car insurance. I had an expired copy so the officer told me that I could show proof of valid car insurance as a "fix-it" sort of thing. On the ticket, however he checked the box that said "No" for Correctable Violation.

Today I received my courtesy notice for which the bail amount is $952. Is there some sort of mistake or is that amount common? Also, is there anything that I can do to get the amount reduced or to get out of the ticket?

Thanks so much.

[lwpat]

The bail amount is a combination of the two tickets. Take proof of insurance down to the clerk and they should drop that ticket. You can contest the other one in court and it will just depend on the judge.