Trial by Declaration for an Unsafe Lane Change, CVC 21658(A)
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
I was charged with an unsafe change of lane violation and I requested a trial by declaration. I wrote this to defend my case:
The facts of my case are as follows: While driving south bound on Jamboree Road, at approximately 1:30 pm, on 8/11/2013, I observed a slow car in my lane (with flash lights ON). I noticed this vehicle was slowing down, and with traffic around me moving at approximately 50-mph, I felt unsafe in my current lane. The lane to my right hand side was open, so I signaled, checked the traffic, and changed to that lane, but since I was about to make a left turn, I safely changed back to my original lane. Shortly after I moved to the left lane, I was stopped by Officer xxxxx, Badge# xxxx and charged with violating CVC 21658(a). The Officer has alleged that I was swerving between the traffic lanes. What the officer failed to notice was that I was avoiding a potentially hazardous situation.
California Vehicle Code 21658(a) states: " Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, the following rules apply: (a) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until such movement can be made with reasonable safety. “
At the time of my stop, the road was dry and clear with medium traffic. On my citation, the officer marked that my speed was safe. I believe that at no point was my change of lanes unsafe to me or to other vehicles, and no persons or property were put at risk. As such, the Officer does not make a credible case that I was in violation of the above stated code.
For this reason, I respectfully ask the Court to dismiss my citation in the interest of justice.
Do I have a strong case??
Thanks!
Re: Trial by Declaration for Violating CVC 21658(A)
No.
You are going to lose.
It's the officer's opinion about the unsafe lane change that counts.
You went out of your lane and right back in.
Whatever your reasons and rationalization, that was unsafe.
Re: Trial by Declaration for Violating CVC 21658(A)
Quote:
Quoting
mbyoussef
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
I was charged with an unsafe change of lane violation and I requested a trial by declaration. I wrote this to defend my case:
The facts of my case are as follows: While driving south bound on Jamboree Road, at approximately 1:30 pm, on 8/11/2013, I observed a slow car in my lane (with flash lights ON). I noticed this vehicle was slowing down, and with traffic around me moving at approximately 50-mph, I felt unsafe in my current lane. The lane to my right hand side was open, so I signaled, checked the traffic, and changed to that lane, but since I was about to make a left turn, I safely changed back to my original lane. Shortly after I moved to the left lane, I was stopped by Officer xxxxx, Badge# xxxx and charged with violating CVC 21658(a). The Officer has alleged that I was swerving between the traffic lanes. What the officer failed to notice was that I was avoiding a potentially hazardous situation.
California Vehicle Code 21658(a) states: " Whenever any roadway has been divided into two or more clearly marked lanes for traffic in one direction, the following rules apply: (a) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practical entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from the lane until such movement can be made with reasonable safety. “
At the time of my stop, the road was dry and clear with medium traffic. On my citation, the officer marked that my speed was safe. I believe that at no point was my change of lanes unsafe to me or to other vehicles, and no persons or property were put at risk. As such, the Officer does not make a credible case that I was in violation of the above stated code.
For this reason, I respectfully ask the Court to dismiss my citation in the interest of justice.
Do I have a strong case??
Thanks!
So you felt the lane changes you made were safe, the officer on the other hand, and by virtue of the language of the code section he cited you with, felt that your lane changes were unsafe. Who do you think is going to prevail here?
If your answer is you think you will prevail, you are only fooling yourself!
The only reason why you would feel unsafe if traffic started to slow down is simply if you were driving too fast for conditions... No, that was not what you were cited for but it isn't an excuse to start swinging right/left between lanes. In other words, simply saying "I safely did this, that or the other" does not make an erratic movement safe.
Re: Trial by Declaration for Violating CVC 21658(A)
I'll have to send it anyway. I was just hoping if there is anything I could add that would strengthen my case.
Thanks!
Re: Trial by Declaration for Violating CVC 21658(A)
So if I get this right, you are testifying you were following behind a vehicle with its flashers on in the left lane. Because traffic was moving faster in the right lane, you opted to go right, pass the car, then move back left quickly, so you could immediately create an obstruction to the car by stopping to turn left.
Re: Trial by Declaration for Violating CVC 21658(A)
No! The road is three lanes and I was moving in the middle lane (the car with the flash lights ON was in the same lane). I changed to the right lane instead of to the left because there were cars to my left. After I passed the slow car, I changed back to the middle lane and I was planning to change to the left lane to turn left but I got stopped for the violation.