Fail to Signal Ticket?

I was in San Jose when I got a ticket for not using my signals. Idiotic mistake on my part, now trying to deal with the consequences.



Going 30mph looked over my shoulder, changed lane. Look over again, saw a gold Acura, made eye contact with the middle-aged Asian lady in it, showed a hand (didn't stick it outta the car) and let her know I'm about to change lanes. Didn't wanna get stuck behind the truck.



The cop sneaked out and after a doubtful few seconds, the lights went off. Apologized and begged for mercy because I couldn檛 afford a ticket, he responded ';You made an unsafe lane change. You could've caused a collision and it'd be your fault, and you'd have your license taken away.';



Didn檛 argue with him, but with the distance that we had anyone could have very easily stopped. Besides, in a rear end collision, 99% of the time, the car that hit the car in front of it is at fault, not vice versa. And since when do people's licenses get taken away in small 30-mph rear-end accidents? They just get a ticket and pay for the damages. As if I don't know how Santa Clara decided to solve their budget problem. How laughable.



Now I moved to Los Angeles. I need to see how this affects my chances. Don檛 wanna get a point on my record, that檚 all.



What should I say in court? Plead guilty? Cry for help cause I'm broke? Ask them to bring the cop and see if they'll dismiss when they figure they can't? Please help.Fail to Signal Ticket?
There is no law that says you are automatically at fault because you hit someone in the rear.



The cop is correct. Had you caused a rear end collision with your lane change - you would have been at fault. You can't cut people off and then blame them when you get hit because you cut them off. And in your case, given that the cop would have witnessed it....you would be toast.



You made eye contact and ';showed her a hand'; to let her know you were changing lanes? What is that? The law does not require you to ';show her a hand'; to indicate a lane change - it requires a turn signal. And it the 1 second it took you to ';show her a hand'; you could have turned on your turn signal.



As far as your ticket goes - about the only thing you can do is put on your church clothes and go to court. Don't make excuses for your behavior, let them know you have learned your lesson and hope they knock it down a bit. They don't have to and they may not.



In the past when I'vee been pulled - and cops have cut me a break - it was at the scene. All I did was act respectful to the officer and he let me off with a warning or a reduced ticket. I never begged for mercy. If he got me...he got me. It's his decision to give me a ticket or not.



The folks I know that have gotten a ticket reduced in court - either 1. hired a traffic attorney to handle it or 2. went into court dressed nice, were respectful and accepted responsibility and showed remorse. They did not ask for the ticket to be reduced, the court did it.



Just because the cops signature is not on the ticket does not mean they don't know who gave it to you. That's not going to help you a bit.



Cry because you are broke? That did not get you anywhere with the cop - why would it get you anywhere with a judge? You cry because you are broke - the judge may respond ';next time don't make unsafe lane changes and you won't get a ticket for it';. The cop and the judge have heard all the sob stories. They have probably heard much better sob stories than yours. Personally, I would not try that.



And 30 mph is not a ';little'; collision. An impact at 30mph is pretty substantial. Most likely, the occupants of both vehicles would have been injured. Those crash tests you see on Dateline at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are done at 40 mph. Here's the link- click the video Frontal Offset test on the right side of the screen under the box with the red car. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/frontal_test



Also keep in mind- to fight the ticket you have to go back to court in San Jose where you got the ticket. So you have to decide is it worth the time, expense, missed work etc to go to court. And, there is no guarantee that the ticket will be reduced.Fail to Signal Ticket?
Pay the ticket and stop whining.

The only to fight it would be with an attorney, and you're broke.
Your Q is all over the place - there should have been info on the cite for amount of fine or contact info...apparently you know (??) that you have to appear in court, but the court should be held in SJ, not LA; the officer will be there unless he/she cannot be for some reason. The thing boils sown to your inexperience driving a motor vehicle; sticking a hand out was unnecessary - an electric signal or an approved arm signal was the correct way to show your intent of a lane change

hair of the dog

bitting their nails