No Proof of Insurance 16028(A) vs 16028(C)

I have a couple of people here telling that 16028(c) is NOT correctable in court but 16028(a) is. However, I found something on the web that says both (a) and (c) should be correctable if you can provide proof that you were insured at the time you got the citation. So which is it? Please help! Below is what I found on the san diego court web site. Thanks so much!

I just found this (see below) on the web so is true that I should only have to pay $25? If so, why then I am told by the clerk and other people that because it's a (c) as in 16028 (c) then that meant it's NOT correctalbe? Please help me clarify this. Thank you all...

First violation of Vehicle Code ("VC") §16028(a) or VC §16028(c):

If you have been cited for not having proof of financial responsibility (liability insurance) when operating a vehicle [VC §16028(a)], or when involved in an accident [VC §16028(c)], the court may dismiss the violation upon payment of a $25 fee and proof of insurance on the vehicle that was valid at the time the ticket was issued.
The court may accept the following as proof of insurance:

Copy of Insurance Card
Insurance Policy or Bond showing:
Insurance Company Name
Policy Number
Effective and expiration dates of insurance coverage for the vehicle you were driving when you received the ticket.

http://www.sdcourt.ca.gov/portal/pag..._schema=PORTAL

CVC 16028(e) allows for correction of 16028(a)...

(e) A person issued a notice to appear for a violation of
subdivision (a) may personally appear before the clerk of the court,
as designated in the notice to appear, and provide written evidence
of financial responsibility in a form consistent with Section 16020,
showing that the driver was in compliance with that section at the
time the notice to appear for violating subdivision (a) was issued.
In lieu of the personal appearance, the person may submit by mail to
the court written evidence of having had financial responsibility at
the time the notice to appear was issued. Upon receipt by the clerk
of that written evidence of financial responsibility in a form
consistent with Section 16020, further proceedings on the notice to
appear for the violation of subdivision (a) shall be dismissed.

There appears to be no similar requirement that the state make 16028(c) correctable.

cdw, as much as I respect your expertise and experience, you have to admit that a typical traffic court tends follow the spirit of the law rather than the letter of the law...

To the OP: Did you have a valid CA insurance policy when the ticket was written?! I've read your other thread where you said your insurance card's expiration date was a few days before the accident. Did you send in the renewal fee on time in order to renew your insurance policy for the next interval?

Understand this - CA traffic courts/judges are mainly interested in keeping uninsured drivers off the roads, not in hassling some poor shmuck who accidentally left his insurance card in the other car or at home. You MIGHT have to schedule a court date in order to see the judge and show him/her that you had a valid ins. policy at the time of the violation. You might also want to enter the correspondence between you and the ins. co. in regard to this traffic collision into evidence to support your case. If you can do that, only the most vindictive judges will not dismiss that charge for more than the regular $25 admin fee.

As for your VC22350 charge, that's a different story and it's beyong the scope of this thread.

I agree that a judge may well dismiss the 16028(c) charge ... but, there appears to be no mechanism to correct this violation as there is for 16028(a) (per subsection (e)). That was the question I was responding to and not really whether a court might be inclined sympathy or not.

Honking and CDW - Thank you for your responses. To answer your question, yes I did have the new insurance ID card at the time of the accident. I'm just that "poor shmuck" for not having it in my car at the time. No excuse at all but this was during the Xmas Holiday Season and I have much other things to take care of and neglected to put the new Ins ID card in my car (just 3 days too late!). I'll schedule to see the judge and show him/her my proof of ins and how I got coverage for the accident by my insurance company as you suggested. I hope to have only pay $25 for this! :(
Again, thank you both for your help!

Also, I would like to know if instead of show up at court to schedule the date to see the judge, can I just call the court and request to see the judge through a court clerk? Thank you!

Well, if the court isn't too far away, just drive down there and show the insurance card to the traffic clerk. The clerk *might* be able to dismiss the No Insurance charge without it ever getting to the judge's bench. If not, I'm pretty certain it's going to get dismissed with only token fees when you see the judge, as long as you dress up nice for the court and explain the situation politely.

As for the VC 22350 charge, feel free to enter a plea of Not Guilty. AFAIK, striking the rear of another vehicle does not automatically constitute negligence (still need to find the exact legal cite for that), and the fact that you were only traveling at half the posted speed will help your case tremendously, too.

Thanks! I'll go to court in person then. Yes, it's not too far from where I live but I need to take an hour or so off of work to do this.
About the 22350, I'm concerned that I'd lose and not able to go to traffic school though deep down inside I don't think I was 100% responsible for the cause of the accident. The other passenger more or less should be responsible for it as well. But if I plea not Guilty and lose then I would have 2 points on my record, 1 for the accident and the other for the 22350 then my insurance will go up a lot I guess.
Thanks again for your advise!

Hi,

I just went to court and saw the judge today. 16028(C) is dismissed. Only have to pay $25. :)

Thanks all for your help!

By the way, the judge didn't care at all about whether or not it's a (a) or a (c). All he asked was "Do you have proof of insurance at the time of the citation?". If you do, show it to him then you're dismissed.

and what about the VC22350 charge?

I listened to you! I enter a plea of NOT GUILTY! My trial date is March 18 but now I'm worrying about it. What if the cop shows up and I found Guilty? That means no traffic school and a point in my record on top of a point for the accident. Then, my insurance will go up a lot. I'm debating whether or not to change my plea, pay the fine and go to traffic school. What do you think? Sorry I didn't check back for a few days because I thought to take a rest away from this issue for a few days.
Thanks again!