Reckless Driving in Off Street Parking Lot, CVC 23103.5 (B)

My question involves a reckless driving ticket from the State of California.

I was ticketed today for reckless driving in an off street parking lot. The officer cited me for CVC 23103.5 (B).

It had just started raining about 20 minutes beforehand, and it hadn't rained in this area for about a month at least. I was driving in a parking lot and made a quick right hand turn. The rear of my car began to slide sideways, so I corrected the slide and drove out of the parking lot. About a mile down the road, a Rancho Cordova motorcycle cop pulled me over and asked for my license. The police officer was quite hostile and didn't give me a chance to say a single word, he immediately snatched my license from my hand and walked away. He came back, wrote me the ticket, and rode off.

As I stated above, the road was wet from a fresh rain, and was pretty slick. I haven't drove that particular car in quite some time and it has brand new tires on it. I'll admit that I probably accelerated a bit faster than conditions permitted, but I didn't mean to actually slide out and drive recklessly.

I've read a few different threads about this particular infraction, and each one seems to have different advice. What can I do to possibly get the charges dismissed against me, or how can I avoid getting a misdemeanor and possibly do community service or be charged with some other sort of infraction instead? I'm currently in the process of taking a rotational position that requires a background check at work and I fear this would prevent me from obtaining the position.

Please help!

I think you should check the statute again. CVC 23103.5 (b) states:

Quote:

---

Quoting CVC 23103.5

---

(b) The court shall advise the defendant, prior to the acceptance of the plea offered pursuant to a factual statement pursuant to subdivision (a), of the consequences of a conviction of a violation of Section 23103 as set forth in subdivision (c).

---

This is NOT a citable offense. Now, CVC 23103 (b) states:

Quote:

---

Quoting CVC 23103

---

(b) A person who drives a vehicle in an offstreet parking facility, as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 12500, in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property is guilty of reckless driving.

---

THAT'S what you SHOULD have been cited for.

Barry

Check that code section number once again... Here is CVC 23103.5(b):

23103.5.
(b) The court shall advise the defendant, prior to the acceptance
of the plea offered pursuant to a factual statement pursuant to
subdivision (a), of the consequences of a conviction of a violation
of Section 23103 as set forth in subdivision (c).

That is not a citeable offense...

If you did in fact type the correct code number from the citation... I would assume that you will be receiving a notice amending the section number to the correct one (I assume it should be 23103(b))

ETA: Good catch, Barry... LOL...

With this being a misdemeanor, it does not qualify for a Trial by Declaration. So there is no way to lock in the citation as is before your arraignment. In other words, the officer has until your arraignment date to amend it... Bad news is the fact that there 23103.5(b) is not listed in the bail schedule... So the citation will more than likely be kicked back to the officer for an amendment at the time the citation is filed in court and when the clerk attempts to enter it into the system.

My mistake, the officer did write down 23103(b), I just copied and pasted the code number from a wikipedia entry I was reading.

I called down to a well known traffic attorney here in Sacramento and I was advised that I could expect to pay around $1000 in legal fees to possibly either have the charges dismissed or reduced down to an infraction.

By the way, I don't see a way to edit posts...is there a chance a MOD can edit my original post to reflect the correct code?

Bump...........