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21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk

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  • 12-02-2018, 04:36 PM
    davidsl
    21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California

    I received a notice to appear from a policeman last night in my local town. There was very heavy traffic, due to a tree lighting event.

    I was travelling southbound on the main street at the main intersection, which has a crosswalk on the southside of the intersection. The light was green when I entered the intersection and proceeded across on green. When I crossed the crosswalk on the opposite side of the intersection, the car in front of me stopped short, so rather than rear ending them, I stopped. My front tires were outside of the crosswalk (and according to my daughter who witnessed), my rear tires were still slightly in the cross walk, but enough so that people could pass behind my car.

    At the point I was stopped, I had no visibility to the traffic signal, which was directly above the cross walk (now behind my head from the driving position).

    When the car in front started going, I proceeded forward. Soon after, flashing lights in my rear, and the policeman asking me to pull aside.

    He ask me if I knew why he stopped me. I said no. He asked me what color was the light, I said green when I went across the intersection. And then he proceeded to issue the ticket.

    I want to turn up to court to defend myself, on the basis that:

    1) when I entered the intersection, the light was green.
    2) I was forced to stop partly inside the cross-walk by the car in front
    3) when the signal turned red, I had no visibility to the signal.
    4) Furthermore, there are several technical errors on the notice a)- He wrote the wrong car model. Correct make, but incorrect model; b)-he said traffic was medium (it was heavy), and c)-he said speed approx was gtr > 5, and there was no way it was greater than 5, since at the time the light was red and i moved, I was going super-slow.

    My daughter can come and testify to all of the above.

    Does this seem like a reasonable defense?

    Any suggestions?
  • 12-02-2018, 04:50 PM
    adjusterjack
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    A defense to being stopped in the crosswalk would be that you weren't stopped in the crosswalk.

    What you are giving are "reasons" that you WERE stopped in the crosswalk.

    Why you stopped in the crosswalk is not a defense. You could have avoided being stuck in the crosswalk by being a better judge of the traffic ahead and waiting until the intersection and crosswalks were clear before moving forward.

    The errors on the citation are irrelevant.
  • 12-02-2018, 06:06 PM
    Jim Kozlovich
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    It looks like you may have a winnable case. Vehicle Code 21453(A) would seem to be the wrong code section for your alleged violation. This code section states "A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection…" Based on your description of what happened, you entered the intersection on a green light but because of traffic, blocked the cross walk on the far side of the intersection, the proper code section would be 22526(a).

    I say go for it.

    Forget about the technical errors though, they're irrelevant.
  • 12-02-2018, 06:54 PM
    davidsl
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Quote:

    Quoting Jim Kozlovich
    View Post
    It looks like you may have a winnable case. Vehicle Code 21453(A) would seem to be the wrong code section for your alleged violation. This code section states "A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection…" Based on your description of what happened, you entered the intersection on a green light but because of traffic, blocked the cross walk on the far side of the intersection, the proper code section would be 22526(a).

    I say go for it.

    Forget about the technical errors though, they're irrelevant.

    That's what I was thinking Jim.

    So should I just go into court and explain the facts, have my wife and daughter there etc, and ask the judge to dismiss?
  • 12-03-2018, 09:36 AM
    Jim Kozlovich
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Quote:

    Quoting davidsl
    View Post
    That's what I was thinking Jim.

    So should I just go into court and explain the facts, have my wife and daughter there etc, and ask the judge to dismiss?

    Your first appearance will be your arraignment. This is when you will plead "not guilty" and the matter will be set for trial. The officer will not be at the arraignment and there is no need to try to explain anything to the judge at this time, all this will be done at your trial.

    Be patient, understand the issue, prepare your defense and argument, and you should be acquitted.
  • 12-03-2018, 12:06 PM
    zeljo
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Rarely have I seen anyone more wrong in these forums than adjusterjack in this thread. Disregard that completely.

    You are by no means guilty of 21453(A), as long as you entered the intersection while the light was green or yellow. End of story. When - and if - the time comes to testify, do not talk about anything else. Let the cop talk about that, if he wants to, or even shows up. You just calmly point out you were not in violation of 21453(A). Unless the cop comes flat out and perjures himself, you will be acquitted. If you have adult witnesses, do bring them to court for your trial.

    There may not even be a trial, though, because this officer is likely to realize he made a mistake and may not show up at all or show up and ask for the ticket to be dismissed. You should go in person to your arraignment and plead not guilty, because you are as innocent as they come, and that is the only way to avoid having to post bail. Otherwise you may wait for a refund for months.
  • 12-03-2018, 04:20 PM
    pg1067
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Quote:

    Quoting davidsl
    View Post
    I want to turn up to court to defend myself, on the basis that:

    1) when I entered the intersection, the light was green.
    2) I was forced to stop partly inside the cross-walk by the car in front
    3) when the signal turned red, I had no visibility to the signal.
    4) Furthermore, there are several technical errors on the notice a)- He wrote the wrong car model. Correct make, but incorrect model; b)-he said traffic was medium (it was heavy), and c)-he said speed approx was gtr > 5, and there was no way it was greater than 5, since at the time the light was red and i moved, I was going super-slow.

    My daughter can come and testify to all of the above.

    Does this seem like a reasonable defense?

    #3, #5(a) and #5(c) are all irrelevant (the law applies regardless of what kind of car you were driving). #5(b) is silly; that you have a different opinion about the level of traffic makes no difference at all.

    #2 is not something you want to mention because the law says don't enter an intersection unless, at the time of entry, you can completely clear the intersection. VC 22526.

    #1 is all that's relevant, and its dispositive in your favor. VC 21453(a) applies to "[a] driver [who is] facing a steady circular red signal alone" and requires that such a driver stop either at the limit line or before entering the crosswalk or the intersection. Since you were not "facing a steady circular red signal," then you cannot have violated VC 21453(a).

    Quote:

    Quoting adjusterjack
    View Post
    A defense to being stopped in the crosswalk would be that you weren't stopped in the crosswalk.

    What you are giving are "reasons" that you WERE stopped in the crosswalk.

    Why you stopped in the crosswalk is not a defense. You could have avoided being stuck in the crosswalk by being a better judge of the traffic ahead and waiting until the intersection and crosswalks were clear before moving forward.

    I can't say that any of this is factually incorrect, but it's completely irrelevant because neither VC 21453(a) nor any other section of the Vehicle Code makes it an offense simply to "stop in the crosswalk." Did you actually read the statute before posting this?

    Quote:

    Quoting Jim Kozlovich
    View Post
    Based on your description of what happened, you entered the intersection on a green light but because of traffic, blocked the cross walk on the far side of the intersection, the proper code section would be 22526(a).

    It's a closer fit. However, as I understand the original post, the OP's car had completely cleared the intersection and was only partially blocking the crosswalk on the far side. VC 22526(a) requires only that a vehicle not enter an intersection if the vehicle cannot sufficiently clear the intersection so as not too "obstruct[] the through passage of vehicles from either side." As the OP described it, it does not sounds like he/she violated VC 22526(a) either.
  • 12-03-2018, 09:37 PM
    davidsl
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Thanks all for the replys.

    I think I am now all set. Turn up to the arraignment and plead not guilty.

    Second, at the trial, state: "I am not guilty because I entered the intersection when the light was green". Both my wife and my adult daughter (aged 20) were in the car, and they will testify to that as well.

    Finally - agree with pg1067 - given where I was in relation to the cross-walk (my front wheels over, and rear wheels in the cross-walk) and going over there on Sunday to take some photos, there is no way I was blocking the through passage of vehicles from either side.
  • 12-04-2018, 02:15 AM
    acai
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    In California you can opt for "Trial by Written Declaration" which is done through the mail but requires you to pay the bail amount upfront which will be refunded should you prevail. If you lose you can request a court trial. You can also plead Not-guilty through the mail and request a court trial without having to attend the arraignment.
  • 12-04-2018, 08:07 AM
    Jim Kozlovich
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Quote:

    Quoting pg1067
    View Post
    It's a closer fit. However, as I understand the original post, the OP's car had completely cleared the intersection and was only partially blocking the crosswalk on the far side. VC 22526(a) requires only that a vehicle not enter an intersection if the vehicle cannot sufficiently clear the intersection so as not too "obstruct[] the through passage of vehicles from either side." As the OP described it, it does not sounds like he/she violated VC 22526(a) either.

    Picky...picky...picky. Then how about 22500 which states "A person shall not stop, park, or leave standing any vehicle whether attended or unattended…On a crosswalk…"?

    Either way, it's not a 21453(a) violation.
  • 12-04-2018, 08:26 AM
    flyingron
    Re: 21453(A) Red or Stop Vehicles Stop at Limit Line or X-Walk
    Being stuck in traffic is not standing or parking. If it were, half of California would be guilty of parking violations on the freeway.
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