My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington
I received a moving violation recently, and I'm completely dumbfounded as to what I should do. This looks like a case of his word against mine, and I could use some help with strategy.
The officer cited me for an "unsafe lane change" under RCW 46.61.305, with the comment " fld signal stops/turns-unsafe lane" (sic) written next to the violation code.
Here's the kicker: in the report (I requested discovery), he writes:
Begin quote:
Defendant was NB on I5 at the Mercer St exit on the mainline lanes. Defendant suddenly swerved to the left across the gore point (marked area of shoulder splitting the exit from the mainline) onto the exit. The defendant's action caused another vehicle to brake and swerve to avoid a collision with the defendant. Upon stopping, the defendant stated "That probably was a little stupid." I advised the defendant that it was more than a little stupid and very reckless. The defendant was cited and released.
End quote.
I'm stumped. There was absolutely no car behind me, thus no need for anyone to swerve. Even if this phantom car were behind me, there would have been no place for this car to go as all lanes were blocked except for the exit ramp (which is why I decided to exit). Any thoughts on how this one might go?
As for the "that was probably stupid" comment, I don't deny saying that, but I will deny that it was in reference to the unsafe lane change, unswerving vehicles, etc. It does certainly look inflammatory in the officer's report, though.
My only idea at this time is to motion to dismiss because the prosecutor did not provide me with the discovery data within the 7 calendar days per ICLJ rules. From what I read here, however, this is a weak argument, and the judge will probably deny my motion.
Thanks in advance for any help. Please let me know if any further details are needed.
A follow-up to my original post:
Could this be my defense? The officer cited me for failure to use my signal, yet makes no mention of this in his report. Under RCW 46.61.305, the driver is supposed to signal for the last 100 feet before making a turn or changing lanes.
It seems to me that an accusation of causing other drivers to hit their brakes, swerve, etc. would have resulted in a much stiffer penalty than merely failing to signal.

