Need your help!

[GraSox]

Well, it finally happened! After 42 years of driving, 30 years (now retired)of driving emergency vehicles (Fire engines and trucks), never having a ticket or accident, I got both!

As I approached an intersection the light changed to yellow and I continued through.....another car waiting to turn left turned in front of me and we hit!

The other car said the light was red and had a next door neighbor in the car so had a witness. The cop gave me a ticket for not stopping at a red. It's my word against theirs. Luckily there was no injuries!!!

My question is is for anyone that has gone to court instead of just paying the ticket....

1. Is it worth trying to go to court for this? The other prson had a witness in the car....I was alone.

2. Is the police officer or other person there at the court hearing hearing?

Any of your experiences would be really helpful!!!

Thanks in advance.

[scubadawg]

Well, it finally happened! After 42 years of driving, 30 years (now retired)of driving emergency vehicles (Fire engines and trucks), never having a ticket or accident, I got both!

As I approached an intersection the light changed to yellow and I continued through.....another car waiting to turn left turned in front of me and we hit!

The other car said the light was red and had a next door neighbor in the car so had a witness. The cop gave me a ticket for not stopping at a red. It's my word against theirs. Luckily there was no injuries!!!

My question is is for anyone that has gone to court instead of just paying the ticket....

1. Is it worth trying to go to court for this? The other prson had a witness in the car....I was alone.

2. Is the police officer or other person there at the court hearing hearing?

Any of your experiences would be really helpful!!!

Thanks in advance.

In Canada

I would fight the ticket, plus the witness is a friend, so that do he could be lying for the driver.

The Police officer should had given the other a ticket for not turning left in safety, because, is up to the driver turning left do do so safely, since he is turning in front of oncoming traffic.

Check the highway traffic act where your from.

In court the officer usual shows up since he issued the ticket, along with the other driver and the witness, if none of them show, you usually get off the charges.

Edited December 7, 2008 by scubadawg

[1schoir]

Well, it finally happened! After 42 years of driving, 30 years (now retired)of driving emergency vehicles (Fire engines and trucks), never having a ticket or accident, I got both!

As I approached an intersection the light changed to yellow and I continued through.....another car waiting to turn left turned in front of me and we hit!

The other car said the light was red and had a next door neighbor in the car so had a witness. The cop gave me a ticket for not stopping at a red. It's my word against theirs. Luckily there was no injuries!!!

My question is is for anyone that has gone to court instead of just paying the ticket....

1. Is it worth trying to go to court for this? The other prson had a witness in the car....I was alone.

2. Is the police officer or other person there at the court hearing hearing?

Any of your experiences would be really helpful!!!

Thanks in advance.

You didn't state your location (and it's not in your profile), so it's tough to know what the particular laws and procedures are in your jurisdiction.

In any jurisdiction (in the U.S.) the police officer must be at the hearing and available to testify and to be cross-examined if you plead not guilty.

You could easily argue that it does not make sense that you received a ticket for going through a red light when the driver coming from the other direction was not cited. A lot of this depends on the size of the intersection (i.e., if he was already in the intersection and waiting to make a turn and his car was a number of yards into the middle of the intersection, as opposed to a very small intersection where he may have been waiting while still partially outside the intersection, etc...)

The benefit of going to court (again, it depends on the jurisdiction) is that you can sometimes plead down the offense in exchange for then changing your plea to guilty to the lesser offense. That can be a big deal because of the potential effect on your insurance rates.

Regards, Maurice.

[tomnash]

The issue (at least in California and I believe in other states also) is whether the front of your car had crossed the line defining the intersection when the light was yellow. If there is any doubt about this you should win as it has to be established beyond a reasonable doubt that you entered the intersection on the red.

If the cop was not present when you entered the intersection his testimony as to this fact is hearsay (obtained from the "witness" and other driver) and not relevant toward establishing your guilt. So then the question is whether the "witness" is credible and/or biased and whether (s)he is absolutely sure you had crossed the line on the red -- and is in fact present to testify. Unless they are lying, I do not see how they could claim under oath that they are absolutely sure you crossed the line on the red. Does the passenger make a habit of watching other cars and the state of the light when someone else is driving? Was the driver looking at the light or at you? Were they chatting? Since he hit you, it suggests he wasn't looking at you ... and so forth.

Your clean record is also a big help. I would go for it and contest. Winning this case will also impact the question of fault in the accident claims and affect your insurance costs in the future.

PS: I ain't no lawyer... and so this is not legal advice.... and usable at your own risk, etc...

Edited December 7, 2008 by tomnash

[GraSox]

Thanks guys for the help! I appreciate all of you taking the time to answer.

[scottiemac]

The issue (at least in California and I believe in other states also) is whether the front of your car had crossed the line defining the intersection when the light was yellow. If there is any doubt about this you should win as it has to be established beyond a reasonable doubt that you entered the intersection on the red.

If the cop was not present when you entered the intersection his testimony as to this fact is hearsay (obtained from the "witness" and other driver) and not relevant toward establishing your guilt. So then the question is whether the "witness" is credible and/or biased and whether (s)he is absolutely sure you had crossed the line on the red -- and is in fact present to testify. Unless they are lying, I do not see how they could claim under oath that they are absolutely sure you crossed the line on the red. Does the passenger make a habit of watching other cars and the state of the light when someone else is driving? Was the driver looking at the light or at you? Were they chatting? Since he hit you, it suggests he wasn't looking at you ... and so forth.

Your clean record is also a big help. I would go for it and contest. Winning this case will also impact the question of fault in the accident claims and affect your insurance costs in the future.

PS: I ain't no lawyer... and so this is not legal advice.... and usable at your own risk, etc...

To the best of my knowledge in most jurisdictions the passenger in the other car cannot be used as a witness. A witness has to be a third party. I'd fight it.

[GraSox]

Any retired police officers or lawyers out there?

[JeTexas]

In Texas, police officers generally schedule one day a week for court appearances. The general strategy of most offenders is to plead not guilty and ask for a change of court date. Usually if it's a different day of the week, the officer won't have time in his schedule to attend court, and if he's not there to testify, the case gets dismissed.

Of course, I've never actually done this as I haven't had a ticket in about 10 years (knock on wood).