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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    9

    Default Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington

    I was driving down the road when an officer raced in behind me and pulled me over. The officer was in a very bad mood and was obviously upset with me. He asked me if I knew why he stopped me and I said no. I do not know where he was sitting when he supposedly saw me as I never saw him. He took my information back to his car and several minutes later came back with a ticket. He tossed the ticket and my information in to my lap and rudely asked if I had any questions. I said no and he turned and walked away without saying anything else.

    At first I expected to see a speeding ticket as he said I was speeding but the ticket was for "46.61.200 FAIL TO STOP AT STOP SIGN."

    I have contested the ticket as I am convinced he mistook my car for someone else for several reasons. So long story short my defense was going to be mistaken identity. After googling the RCW though, it seems to be specifically for stop signs and the intersection in question has a traffic signal. RCW 46.61.200 is "Stop intersections other than arterial may be designated." The text of the code talks about "posted and maintained proper signs of the standard design adopted by the state department of transportation" and "and bearing the required sign" but does not talk about traffic signals at all. It seems traffic signals are in a completely different section. As the intersection he wrote on the ticket clearly has a traffic signal and not a stop sign, I wonder if that is a better defense than the mistaken identity.

    When I was stopped I was on my way home from work. No where between my job and where I was stopped are there any stop signs. They are all traffic signals. If it turns out RCW 46.61.200 has no application with traffic signals I intend to bring photos of the intersection to court. I do not have the officer's statement as I am sending that letter today. Is there anything else I should ask for?

    So if I do use that as my defense, will the judge just say "Well it is obvious the officer meant to say traffic signal and just made a simple mistake" or something to that effect? Or can RCW 46.61.200 also be applied to a traffic signal? Would I be better off sticking with my mistaken identity as he stopped me over a mile from this intersection in heavy traffic and probably just confused my car with someone else?

    Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions with this.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Snohomish, WA
    Posts
    1,588

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    Read this first. Next, serve a proper discovery request on the prosecutor's office and file it with the court. Scan and post the results here after you redact any personal information.

    Out of curiosity, what is the address listed on the ticket for the location that the infraction allegedly occurred?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    There is not an address listed but an intersection. In the "At location ref trafficway" box it says It says "S Washington St and W 1st Avenue."

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Snohomish, WA
    Posts
    1,588

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    I assume, due to the intersection search I came up with, that this was in Seattle proper, and you were stopped by one of Seattle's finest?

    What street were you driving on, and which direction? First (which is my assumption), or S. Washington?

    The nearest stop signs to this intersection are Occidental/Washington to the East, and James/Yesler to the North.

    Oh, and if indeed it shows up this way in the officer's statement (stop sign), do not inform the prosecutor. Wait until your court date and request a dismissal due to the fact that there is no stop sign at that intersection. The whole trick is to spring the officer's mistake on them at the hearing.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Posts
    9

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    This was actually in the city of Kennewick, in South East Washington.

    It was in the city limits and the ticket was issued by a Kennewick police officer.

    I was pulled over at 10th and Washington or about 3300 feet of 30 MPH roads from the intersection listed on the ticket. I was driving South on Washington and went through the listed intersection on a green light, but like I said I don't know where the officer was sitting or what direction he thinks I was going.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2010
    Location
    Snohomish, WA
    Posts
    1,588

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    Where did you enter S. Washington from? Was there a signal, a stop sign, or a driveway, possibly an alley? There ONLY stop sign ON S. Washington from Clover Island clear down to the other end at E 27th Ave is AT E 27th Ave. The only other stop signs in the whole area are along S. Washington and are on side streets.

    I wouldn't ask for a dismissal. I would ask that the judge find the infraction NOT COMMITTED.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    OH10
    Posts
    17,019

    Default Re: Stop Sign Violation at an Intersection with Traffic Signal

    If it took him 8 blocks to catch you and he had to turn around, there is no way he kept you in sight.

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