Ticket Predicament

December 23, 2006 2:17 PM

MyFirstTicketFilter: What should I do?

So I recieved my first ticket, and I'm not sure how to do this! Here's what happened:

I was picking up a friend from a train station in a city I have never been before. While leaving, I was confused with the streets because there was a lot of construction going on. I accidentally turned onto a very, very short one way street. I tried to get out of there really fast, and I turned at a four-way stop sign without stopping. Sure enough, a policeman saw what I did and pulled me over.

He gave me a ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign, but there was no stop sign for me to see because I was going the wrong way. I'm not sure what to say when I have my "court" thing. Should I tell them I was going on a way way street or just take the failure to stop at a stop sign ticket? My friend told me to plead not guilty, and it will give me a chance to get off without a fine, but I'm not sure if this is right, even though not having a fine sounds good =/ . Is telling them that it was an honest mistake, due to the construction going to do anything? And is going down a one way street, however short it is, worse than not stopping at a stop sign? What should I do, and what will happen?

posted by lain to Law & Government (22 answers total)

1. If it was a one way street, how was there a four way stop sign? Or did the one way end at that intersection?

2. You broke the law either way, and should pay the ticket. You know you've gone through without completely stopping before, we all have, even if by accident. You've most likely also sped before and you obviously haven't gotten caught. Time to pay :)
posted by jesirose at 2:27 PM on December 23, 2006

First off, it's impossible to answer traffic law questions if we don't know the state (or country).

Given that, going the wrong way on a one-way street is still a moving violation in most states. I doubt you'll make out any better using the defense of "I wasn't breaking THAT law because I was breaking THIS law."
posted by smackfu at 2:37 PM on December 23, 2006

I say pay it. If you take it to court, maybe (since it is your first offense) you can get points deducted from your license. Otherwise, I say learn from it and just pay the fines.
posted by itchie at 2:51 PM on December 23, 2006

It won't hurt to tell the truth. Explain what happened.
posted by kc0dxh at 3:03 PM on December 23, 2006

It won't hurt to tell the truth.

It might if you're admitting to additional offenses.
posted by nakedcodemonkey at 3:30 PM on December 23, 2006

You'd have to check local regulations to be sure, but going the wrong way on a one-way street is probably treated more severely than failing to stop. If so, you definitely don't want to play the "I didn't break this law; I broke another" card. (Well, I suppose it's possible that the statute of limitations on going the wrong way on a one-way street might expire before your court date, in which case you might get away with it... but I'd check with a lawyer before getting into that kind of game.)

If you show up at your court date, odds aren't bad you'll be offered a plea bargain to a lesser offense before you come before the judge. If so take it. If not, plead guilty (having made sure there isn't some problem with appearing before the judge if you're planning to just plead guilty anyway) and take your lumps.

Many states offer you the chance to go to traffic school to keep the points off your license (and thus keep your insurance from going up.) If available, definitely do this.
posted by Zed_Lopez at 3:31 PM on December 23, 2006

What zed said.
posted by IronLizard at 3:41 PM on December 23, 2006

Call your lawyer or a lawyer and they will tell you what you should do. It probably will be free. I called my lawyer and he told me what was the most pragmatic option given the nature of the ticket.
posted by geoff. at 3:51 PM on December 23, 2006

Is traffic school an option in your state? You'll still pay the fine, but trafic school will prevent the points from being recorded against your license and increasing your insurance premium.
posted by buggzzee23 at 4:02 PM on December 23, 2006

You'd have to check local regulations to be sure, but going the wrong way on a one-way street is probably treated more severely than failing to stop.

In CT, running a stop sign is two points, while going the wrong way is only one.
posted by smackfu at 4:31 PM on December 23, 2006

smackfu: But admitting that you were breaking another law might mean that you get 3 total :)
posted by SirStan at 5:41 PM on December 23, 2006

Show up at your court date. Usually, depending on the size of the town, the town's attorney will meet with each offender. Be nice and polite, emphasize you've never received a ticket in X years of driving, tell the guy you were lost and confused and didn't see the stop sign. Feel free to omit that you were going the wrong way.

This happened to me just a few months ago with a broken headlight. I dressed nicely, smiled pretty, spoke softly, and all was well.

I don't buy that "You broke the law, now you have to pay" stuff. It was accidental. If you were knowingly driving 55 in a 25 mph zone, I'd say something else, but this was an honest mistake.
posted by brina at 6:16 PM on December 23, 2006

TicketAssassin offers some of the best ideas here.
posted by frogan at 6:25 PM on December 23, 2006

He gave me a ticket for failing to stop at a stop sign, but there was no stop sign for me to see because I was going the wrong way.

This is like saying you shouldn't be guilty of shoplifting because you went out the back door and there was no cashier. The judge will laugh.

Traffic signs are cut in distinctive shapes precisely so you can recognize them from the back and predict what the rules are for the oncoming and lateral traffic.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 6:25 PM on December 23, 2006

I apologize, I live in California. I'm not sure which is worse, not stopping at a stop sign or going the wrong way on a one way street. Traffic school IS an option here, so I'll just do that if worst comes to worst. Thank for all the replies guys!
posted by lain at 8:00 PM on December 23, 2006

brina: If I accidentally drive over your foot, you think I shouldn't have to pay your medical bills? Just because you accidentally broke the law doesn't mean you didn't still break the law.

I feel bad for lain. I used to live on a corner where two one way streets met two two-ways, and I saw people going the wrong way all the time - it's an easy mistake to make, and I'm sure it was an accident.

That doesn't mean they aren't still breaking the law. My logic is that we all break the law in these little ways pretty often, especially with speeding and rolling at stop signs (I try to avoid this one, but it happens.) I'm willing to be this is NOT the first time lain has ever run a stop sign - accidental or not. I'd consider it a ticket that took a while to catch up, and just pay it.
posted by jesirose at 8:30 PM on December 23, 2006

"This happened to me just a few months ago with a broken headlight. I dressed nicely, smiled pretty, spoke softly, and all was well."

A broken headlight is a bit different, because they do allow that you don't know. Technically, the driver's manual (for my state anyway) does tell you to check your lights, mirrors, tires, etc before driving. No one does, but it is recommended.

They normally give a fix-it ticket for a broken light. You can't really "fix" running a stop sign :)
posted by jesirose at 8:35 PM on December 23, 2006

I'm pretty sure what you need to do is this:

Judges seem to love visual aids. Go and take a couple of photos of the intersection from the direction you were comming, (photos that of course show the lack of stop sign).

It won't hurt to tell the truth.

It might if you're admitting to additional offenses.

You have not been charged with going the wrong way, court is all about beating the charges, admiting to a minor infraction like turning down a one way street most likly will not be enough to mount an investigation which is what they would need to bring this charge against you, (just be very carful about "admiting" to this infraction. Use phrases like, "As you can see, from this angle there is no visible stop sign," not, "From the direction I was comming down the wrong way of this one way street."

I believe you can beat this, like everyone is saying, dress nice, be confident. Good luck!!!
posted by nintendo at 4:32 AM on December 24, 2006

One point that has not been made yet: Unless it is in a distant city, you should always ask for a hearing rather than simply pay the fine. In a large number of cases, the officer will not appear, and the case will be dismissed. If he does appear, even if you have nothing to say in your defense, the worst that you can be found guilty of (or responsible for) is what has been charged.

(The above is a generalization and may not be true in your state.)

If it is in a distant city, of course, the time and trouble of going back has to be factored in.
posted by yclipse at 5:07 AM on December 24, 2006

nintendo writes "court is all about beating the charges,"

Um, respectfully, no. Court is about ascertaining whether you committed the crime in question, and if so, what a reasonable punishment given all the circumstances would be.

Bottom line, you broke the law. The mitigating factor is that you were unaware. And while ignorance of the law is no excuse, it is (rightly) taken into account when deciding appropriate punishment.

Go in, tell the truth.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 12:17 PM on December 24, 2006

You have several options: Traffic school, which will cost money, is a sure thing, and won't result in any fines; and arguing the ticket in court which may result in a dismissal (although you still may have to pay the fine as "court fees"). Or it may result in getting the point on your license. A third option is to take it to a lawyer; he will have a better sense of whether you did, in fact, break the law in question. Since you had no stop sign facing your way, it could be that you didn't, in fact, break the right of way law. Since that is what the ticket was written for, you could get it thrown out. IANAL, but if you want to pursue this in court, you probably need one.
posted by Doohickie at 3:37 PM on December 24, 2006

Presuming you're in the US, ignore the posters who say "just pay it," unless you like paying your insurance company gobs more money.

Two words: "plea bargain." In most jurisdictions, if you're willing to pay a small fine, the prosecutor is willing to not bother putting anything on your driving record.

www.motorists.org is your friend.

I've had two speeding tickets in the last few years, both of them for more than 10mph over the limit (one was 50 in a 35, the other was 82 in a 70) in two different jurisdictions. Both times I went to arraignment and plead not guilty, then later spoke with the prosecutor about a plea bargain.

The first cost me $100, the second $150. Both of them would have been well over 3 times the cost from fines alone, plus whatever increase my insurance company saw fit to give me.

In both cases, I was prepared to go to trial, with photos, copious notes, and motions for discovery at hand, but decided it was worth the money to not have to hassle with a trial.

My first ticket (no driver's license!) I was silly enough to just pay, and it cost me for years after I did get licensed and bought a car. When the ticket fell off, my insurance rate was cut in half.

Since traffic school is an option, you might just want to go that route, but it generally (I don't know specifically about california, though!) comes with the caveat that should you get another ticket within 3/6/12 months it goes on your record, while your plea bargain probably won't have such language. And it's usually only an option once a year or so.
posted by wierdo at 5:54 PM on December 24, 2006