Ticket for Suppoused Failure to Stop at Stop Sign; to Fight or Request Deferral
My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington
I got a ticket for not stopping at a stop sign less that 100 yards from my home. I drive a small car, and the position of the stop sign is so far back from the actual corner, that it was impossible for the officer who was parked to the left of me, at the end of the street I was crossing, to have seen me stop.
I've taken pictures to prove this, and had planned on fighting it, but am now considering a deferral given that if I lose, my license gets taken away until I'm eighteen. (I've got an intermediate license and have already recieved one ticket for failure to yield and thus causing an accident)
I personally believe that a deferral would be my best option, given the circumstances and the amount of the ticket. (only $125, which I can easily pay)
My dad, however, who owns the car that is "mine", says that if I get the ticket deferred, he won't let me drive "my" car anymore.
With that being the case, do I have a chance of winning? Because if I don't, I'm licenseless. And if I get it deferred, I'm basically licenseless as well.
And I need my license and the ability to drive, as my mom is too busy and my dad is too lazy to drive me or my brother anywhere.
Re: Ticket for Suppoused Failure to Stop at Stop Sign; to Fight or Request Deferral
Your argument of "I drive a small car... it was impossible for the officer... to have seen me stop" doesn't make sense.
Here's why:
RCW 46.61.190
Vehicle entering stop or yield intersection.
(2) Except when directed to proceed by a duly authorized flagger, or a police officer, or a firefighter vested by law with authority to direct, control, or regulate traffic, every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop at a clearly marked stop line, but if none, before entering a marked crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering the roadway, and after having stopped shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such driver is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways
The size of your car has nothing to do with whether the officer was able to see whether your bumper was before, at or past that point (described in the section I underlined above) when you stopped. If he had a view of that point, then he would have been able to determine whether you made a legal stop regardless of whether you were driving a Mini Cooper or an 18-wheeler.
Moreover, having a small car means that your position in the driver's seat is in fact closer to your bumper so even if the stop line is set back farther than normal, you would actually get a better view of the intersection than someone who's driving a bigger car.
Both of those scenarios are based on the assumption that you did in fact stop at some point. If instead you had rolled through the stop sign, and regardless of whether he can see your bumper relative to that point or not, then you did in fact commit the violation you were charged with.
Re: Ticket for Suppoused Failure to Stop at Stop Sign; to Fight or Request Deferral
The only photo that can prove your case is one taken from the officer's position -- NOT the position YOU think he was in, but the position HE says he was in -- usually spelled out in the officer's sworn statement. You'll have to get a copy through discovery. If you haven't already requested is, you can use the form I've posted here. Just click "Free User", then click the "Download" button.
With your car positioned EXACTLY at the stop line, a picture from the officer's stated position must NOT show your car -- at all. If ANY part of your car shows in the picture, then the court will conclude that he COULD see whether or not you stopped at that point.