Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
I got cited for 21461a (a) "is unlawful for a driver of a vehicle to fail to obey a sign or signal defined as regulatory in the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices"
I was behind a few cars waiting on the corner of Camino de la Plaza and Camiones way in San Ysidro, CA waiting for the light to turn left and merge into the Freeway 5 South ramp. With the green light I proceeded to turn left into heavy traffic but the flow of traffic came into a complete stop right about when I was finishing merging so the rear end of my car ended partially sticking out a little bit into Camino de la Plaza. I told the officer that the light was still green and I did not have control of the traffic ahead of me. Further, the right lane on the opposite side of the road is a right turn only so I don't feel I blocked the cars that were driving straight on Camino de la Plaza either. The officer alleged that I was blocking intersection in the notes. My main concern is that I took traffic school 16 months ago for the only ticket I have received in my 25 years driving experience. If I try TBD does it make even harder to special request traffic school under 41501. I have a lot of anxiety over this and would like to get this taken care of, so I wonder if a Guilty plea on or before my appearance date would give me better chance of attending traffic school again.
Thank you all for your help.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
You are eligible to take traffic school once every 18 months, so the question of whether or not your TBWD might cause the judge to deny you traffic school is less of an issue for you than for most other drivers. If you're speaking of trying to get the judge's permission to take traffic school despite the recency of your prior traffic school attendance, it's a long-shot even without a TBWD and I doubt that the judge is going to be receptive to that type of request after you lose a TBWD.
Is it, then, this sign ("Do Not Block Intersection") that you are alleged to have violated?
The officer could also have cited VC Sec. 22526, "Notwithstanding any official traffic control signal indication to proceed, a driver of a vehicle shall not enter an intersection or marked crosswalk unless there is sufficient space on the other side of the intersection or marked crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle driven without obstructing the through passage of vehicles from either side", which carries no points.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
I'm not even sure the judge has any discretion. You can take traffic school all you want but if it's been less than 18 months, it won't suppress the reporting of the conviction (and hence the point) to the DMV.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
Did you attend traffic school 16 months ago, or was the prior offense (for which you attended traffic school) committed then? The 18 month gap is counted between offenses, not attendance dates. If it has been less than that, you will not be allowed to take traffic school again, no matter how you handle the ticket.
Your best bet is to challenge the ticket in a court trial, not TBD. You can try arguing that you were effectively not blocking the intersection, as you stated above.
Anyway, even if you do get a point, it's not a matter to have "a lot of anxiety over". Unless you are a professional driver, the only practical effect will be that you insurance rate will go up somewhat. Some insurance companies have ticket forgiveness policies, though, especially for long-time customers. Yours might too.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
Mr. Knowitall That is the one. How would I ask to Have my citation changed? At this stage, it's the point that I am mostly concerned about since I'm unemployed and my insurance would hike up my premium dramatically ( yes,I already checked looks like to add to my Bad Luck CA is one of those states where accident and ticket forgiveness is not allowed)
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
It's quite likely that if you talk to the officer prior to court, they would agree to ask the court to amend the citation to the lesser offense. Or, you could offer to plead guilty to that offense if the court would amend on its own motion.
I don't see a risk by doing TBD first. I doubt that either the court or the officer will use your TBD as motivation to act against you. I've seen situations in which an officer asked the court to amend at the beginning of trial and with no objection from the defendant, this was done.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
The obvious risk is that after a TBWD the court has the discretion to deny traffic school, even if the defendant otherwise qualifies. Here, he's trying to get the court to overlook the fact that he's taken traffic school within the past 18 months.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
And, if the court denies traffic school at any stage of the process, which is quite likely, due to the time frame below 18 months, then he's SOL anyway. If the officer doesn't respond at TBD or doesn't show up at TDN, then the charge will be dismissed and traffic school won't be needed. In my view, the potential risk associated with pursuing TBD and TDN following is outweighed by the chances the officer will miss the response deadline and/or not show up in court later.
A well dressed and respectful defendant at TDN is likely to get the officer to agree to the lesser charge, which is obviously the correct charge in this case. In addition, the court, if the motorist requests, could amend the charge on its own motion or on the defendant's motion. The DA will not attend the hearing so there will be no opposition to the motion by the prosecution. The officer's use of the statute relating to traffic signs generally rather than the specific statute which covers the alleged offense either indicates he's too lazy to look up the applicable statute or he's trying to overcharge the offense.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
The charge issued in this case is proper. The fact that more than one charge may be proper does not make one or the other any more or less proper. The fact that you don't know that is reflection of the fact that you don't know enough about the law to comment on anybody's legal issues.
Dressing well and being respectful in court does not create any significant probability that the officer is going to amend the charge on the ticket.
Re: Partially Obstructing an Intersection Due to Stopped Traffic Ahead of My Vehicle
Quote:
Quoting
donzoh1
If the officer doesn't respond at TBD or doesn't show up at TDN, then the charge will be dismissed and traffic school won't be needed.
Apparently not always a guarantee...http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/showthread.php?t=191217