Fighting a traffic ticket?

I was given a ticket for ';change lanes not in safety';. The road conditions were poor as two other vehicles lost control on the same stretch of hwy. I had a transport truck in the right lane, myself and the car in front of me in the left lane. I could not see the shoulder due to the transport truck.

The truck then changed to my lane and the car in front of me, changed to the right lane and sped past the truck. My car being low to the ground and the road being wet, my windshield was being caked by back splash from the truck. I changed to the right lane and at that point noticed an officer with a tow truck and the arrow pointing to move to the left.

I tried to get back in behind the truck, but my tire hit a slick spot and my car went sideways. I managed to pull the car off the road with no collision involved.

Officer yelled at me that I had more than enough time to change lanes and gave me a ticket for ';change lanes not in safety';. $110



This is my first ticket in 12 years and I have been told that I will gain two demerit points due to it. I contacted POINTTs and they suggested going to trial. I have never done this before and don't know what is involved in with going to court.



are there court fees? How much? Is it worth fighting?



Any help would be appreciated!Fighting a traffic ticket?
I don't care what anybody else tells you, however, it would never hurt you to explain to the judge the circumstances that existed.



The officer may have been concerned that you came close to hitting him...this upsets all officers and anybody else on the side of the road!



As another already stated...get photographs of the area to show the court what you saw.



Judges understand unusual circumstances along with people taking the time to show up in court versus just sending in the fine!



Judges can also most often than not see through the excuses some people use.



Be polite, presentable in appearance, give only the facts and you may be surprised in a good way!Fighting a traffic ticket?
You won't win with that story. I read ';I could not see so I changed lanes';. That would be an unsafe lane change by definition.
I went to traffic court in California and won. However, several people before me lost. I had photos of the area I got the ticket and and a witness who was in the car with me. The problem is that the law says you need to drive according to ';conditions'; and the weather conditions at the time were bad so the officer can say you should have been traveling slower. Trial is a different issue from traffic court. If you are seriously considering a trial please check with a lawyer specializing in traffic violations. It won't be cheap but they are worth the money if you need to get this ticket off of your record.
It's not worth it to go fight it for the amount and the points assessed. If you were low on points or the fine was higher, you would have a reasonably good chance of getting the fine reduced and the points set aside, but your time and energy are better spent doing something else.



If it really really bothers you and you have the free time to go to court, you are correct in thinking the risk would be additional court costs, but your story sounds reasonable enough to me if there was snow on the road, but not if it was just rain. If it was snow, I can see the commissioner or judge reducing the fine and points. But with rain, I doubt it, so its just not worth the hassle.



This is a situation where you are benefiting from a good driving record. You can afford to take the points and just chalk it up to a stressed out cop in a bad mood.