<p>I was pulled over this morning by a police officer and given a 200 dollar ticket for failure to stop for a pedestrian at a crosswalk. However I felt that what I did did not warrant a ticket and I plan to request a court hearing to appeal the fine. What can I do to prepare myself for the hearing with the court magistrate?</p>
<p>What happened was I was driving towards an intersection, well below the speed limit. The car in front of me passes through the intersection and continues on. As I am approaching the crosswalk, I see a pedestrian start crossing the street(he had been blocked from my view by the car in front of me). I slow down as quickly as possible, but he had began crossing so late that by that point my car is on the crosswalk before I can stop. The pedestrian, who is about 7-9 yards to the right of my car, stops walking. At this time I make a decision to continue through the intersection because I felt that by stopping in the middle of the crosswalk I was putting myself, the pedestrian, and other drivers in greater danger than if I had continued on. I was stopped in the middle of an intersection in morning rush hour traffic, with a pedestrian that would have had to go around my car and into the intersection to cross the street. I would have had to either back up to let the pedestrian cross or continue on(since my car was blocking the crosswalk). I could not back up because there was a car right behind me, and since the pedestrian was a safe distance away from me, I decided that this was the safest course of action in this situation. What else could I have done? I was following all the driving regulations, driving 25 mph in a 30mph zone. There was nothing else I felt I possibly could have done that would put the safety of the other drivers and the pedestrian in the least amount of danger.</p>
<p>Get your facts straight, both in your head and on paper. Check your local traffic laws for specifics, but I’d guess the deciding factor as to who has right of way is determined by who entered the crosswalk first, your vehicle or the pedestrian.</p>
<p>What about the impact of #1 when the pedestrian became aware of your car and #2 when you became aware of the pedestrian? I suggest your find out more before your day in court.</p>
<p>My husband was recently ticketed for the same violation. Here’s the law: as soon as a pedestrian steps off the curb at EITHER side of the roadway he has the right of way and all traffic must yield. Just watch and see how often this law is broken, especially by drivers who are on the far side of the road from the pedestrian. I am sure I broke this law many times before my H was ticketed. This law is one good reason for pedestrians to use the crosswalk–it’s supposed to be safe.</p>
<p>The problems occur when other drivers obstruct the view of the crosswalks, i.e., park cars (usually behemoths) too closely to the crosswalks, so drivers can’t see pedestrians until they almost in front of the traffic.</p>
<p>Regardless of whether you feel you’re in a good position w/regard to the facts, hire an attorney who has experience with traffic tickets in the courthouse where you will appear. He/she may be able to help you avoid points, reduce the charge, and/or get any fine reduced. The attorney’s fee will likely be offset by the subsequent increase in insurance rates if convicted…</p>
<p>Make the point to the judge or magistrate that you DID NOT SEE the pedestrian owed to your obstructed view. Also make the point that as soon as you became aware of his presence you did the safest thing which was to stop. It sounds like eye contact was made with the pedestrian and tacit approval, by virtue of his stopping, was given to you to proceed. If either of you used a hand signal to indicate you were both on the same page… so much the better. And remember the officer may not have seen the signal given you, however slight. If you have a good driving record stress that at the outset when you’re given an opportunity to speak. Do not contest the police officer’s version unless you absolutely need to. If you do …use the “With all do respect to Officer XXX” line. Don’t act indignant or annoyed. Be sincere and regretful that the incident occurred. Also remember whatever you said at the scene was recorded by the officer and your testimony in court should not significantly differ from that.</p>
<p>Assume OP is in Massachusetts. I don’t know what the letter of the law is in Mass or any other state for that matter. I would guess the laws vary by state. Who knows, there may even be a local ordinance. I do remember that in California cars will stop for you while you are still on the curb. Are motorists doing that due to local custom or does the law in California extend pedestrian right of way beyond the street and onto the curb?</p>
<p>Well, I did some research on Chapter. 89 Sec. 11 which is the regulations on yielding to pedestrians in my state and there wasn’t really anything conclusive. </p>
<p>I am just going to say to the magistrate that although I fully understood that drivers were suppose to stop and wait for pedestrians to cross at crosswalks, my situation(obstructed view of the crosswalk + sidewalk, cars close behind me, and me seeing the pedestrian too late to fully stop before the crosswalk) warranted that I take what I believed to be the safest, least dangerous course of action for other drivers and the pedestrian in that particular situation and then hope for the best. Worst comes to worst I pay the 200 dollar fine I guess. </p>
<p>Thanks for the advice. </p>
<p>I’d also like to say that I do take responsiblity for my actions, I just really did not feel I deserved the citation. In my opinion, I did what any competent driver would have done in my situation.</p>
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