4 posts shown.
Thanks for posting this, man, what you wrote actually helps a ton!
So, I was wondering if you could drop the name of the endocrinologist you saw? I’m guessing they were based out in Washington, D.C.?
... yeah, I haven't actually heard back from them or anything, they just told me the fine would show up in the mail eventually. I guess I was secretly hoping they were just trying to bluff me all along...
I guess I didn't really lay out the whole situation with the stop clearly enough. The car had those flashing lights tucked behind the windshield. I can only speculate, but honestly, given how things went down, it’s entirely possible that
it was some kind of official government escort vehicle.
If we just set aside their little stunt for a second, do you guys think there's any actual chance I could win in court by arguing I caught the yellow light instead of the red?
Since I don't really have much experience dealing with traffic violations, I guess I'm looking for some help from people who actually know how this works. Here's the deal:
On May 31, 2007, I got pulled over by a black Ford with no police markings on it, and three cocky kids in plain clothes hopped out. They didn't even bother identifying themselves as cops before demanding my driver's license and registration, then claiming I'd turned left on a red light at the previous intersection. I was maybe 10 meters from entering the junction when the light flipped from green to yellow. There wasn't a cruiser behind me; I assume they were just sitting at the light to my right. The road conditions right at the entrance to the intersection are honestly pretty terrible—kind of a mess, if you want to use the Japanese term *samajama*—so stopping safely before the line wasn't really an option. It’s a massive intersection,
right where the Potomac meets the Mississippi, so it's totally possible the light turned red just as I was crossing, but I couldn't tell by then.
The thing is, I passed through that exact same intersection about 15 minutes later, and the lights were completely busted, so the police were out there manually directing traffic.
The funniest part happened when they handed my papers back. Since they had pulled me into the deceleration lane before the next light, once they were done, they actually flicked on their sirens, blew through a red light—nearly causing a wreck, actually—and then just shut it off. 😠
I'm wondering if I can argue that the signal might have been malfunctioning right when I went through.
And could I potentially use the fact that the road surface was too sketchy to stop safely as a defense in Court?
A colleague of mine was driving behind me and stopped at the light; would he be any good as a witness in Court?
Also, is it even worth reporting how those officers acted, or is it just going to end up being their word against mine?
From what I understand, the statute of limitations jumps to four years starting January 1, 2008. Does that apply to violations committed after the start of the year, or does it work retroactively?
Thanks in advance...