QuestionQUESTION: Hi Terry, Browsed your past answers hoping to find some help for my situation. First some back ground I've been driving for 35 years, had a few tickets in my youth, one accident 20 yrs ago (not my fault) and a speeding ticket 6 yrs ago, attended traffic school. In City Sacramento Mar 09 I had stopped at an T type intersection after exiting a highway 160(not freeway)). Waited for cross traffic to clear, observed a Large passenger Van approaching from my left, it had it's right turn signal on, appeared to be slowing and was riding the right shoulder of the road appearing like it was going to enter the on ramp about 30 ft to my left, to the highway that I had just exited. I started to make my left turn and realized the Van was not turning after all but was proceeding straight, though, still hugging the right side of the road. When I stopped the second time my vehicle was about 2ft pasted the line. I tried to throw my vehicle in reverse, unfortunately not quick enough and the VAN hit me on the drivers side catching my front bumper. There were no injuries and minimal damage to the VAN but major damage to my vehicle. Needless to say I felt stupid for letting myself be tricked into believing the Van was turning right instead of going straight, however even after going over this in my mind,I can see where any reasonable person may get caught in a similar situation. SPD responded to scene, the Officer took statements from myself (I explained as stated here)and the Van driver (who claimed I must have run stop sign) and a witness who claimed he heard a crash and looked in his rear view mirror (he had exited before me and turned right) "saw my vehicle plough into Van" About a month later I received a Notice to Appear Violation CVC 22450(a) failure to Stop at stop sign. I Plead not Guilty, at Trial Police Officer, Van Driver, Witness were there, DA amended to CVC 21802(a) failure to yield right away. I objected to changing the charge at the last minute and asked for it to be dismissed. Judge gave a Continuance till 7/13/09 so I could have time prepare a defense on new charge. Sorry for the narrative, Question, is there any valid defense to failure to yield when the accident it's self on the surface seems to indicate a lack of good judgement? Any thoughts and Wisdom would be greatly appreciated! Thank you, Shane
ANSWER: Hello Shane and welcome to AllExperts.
I certainly sympathize with you and your situation for sure. You acted upon good faith and with good intentions. Unfortunately, all drivers are to give the right of way to vehicles having the right of movement.
In your case, you were required to stop and remain stopped until it was safe for you to enter the intersection. The law requires you to drive in a manner that ensures the safety of all other motorists and pedestrians in the vicinity of your vehicle, that is within your control.
This means that even though it certainly appeared the van was going to make a right turn, you legally had to wait until there was absolutely no doubt. Right of way grants them that right of expectation.
Unfortunately, there is a great difference between the letter of the law and the spirit of its intent. Because all drivers cannot be expected to have good judgment and/or make good decisions, the law requires instead that they must conform to the code which doesn't depend on judgement. It is this that the court will use to determine and adjudicate your case.
It is my opinion that nothing will get you out of this predicament, however, you may be able to mitigate the penalty.
Let the judge know that you acted on good faith that the van was going to make the turn, that it was your intention to obey the law and safely operate your vehicle. Your clean record of 6 years along with your statement of intent and belief just may provide a benefit to you.
I wish you the very best of luck on your court date Shane! .... Please let me know of your outcome.
Terry
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QUESTION: Terry, Thank you for your thoughtful response. Another question comes to mind: I understand that for an Officer that does not personally witness an accident in order to write a Citation as a result of accident they must have taken some kind of approved training on accident reconstruction as per cvc 40600(a)How would I determine if the Officer that cited me is certified as a Accident investigator under cvc 40600?
ANSWER: Hi again Shane!
The information you're looking for exists in the training jacket of the officer in question, held at both his current duty assignment and at Headquarters.
This information is classified, and only a court order can have the specific information available for discovery. For this to happen, there must be a reason to doubt the officers testimoney, or it must be based upon a serious crime where the information needed is key to ensure a fair outcome to the case in question.
You can certainly ask this question of the officer before the judge on record, but if he states that he is properly trained and qualified, there is really nothing else you can do. The case does not merit discovery of the officers training files.
If the officer states that he is not trained as an AI, then the court will discover how the officer determined you were at fault based on evidence and/or statements.
If you had clearly admitted to a scenario where an obvious violation of FTY occurred, then it does not require an expert in accident investigation, only an expert in the Vehicle Code, which of course he would be.
I applaud your study of the Vehicle Code and obvious depth of investigation into the mechanics of this incident.
I wish I had something more positive to offer you. Best of luck to you Shane!
Terry
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QUESTION: What are your thoughts about questioning the Officer who cited me after having had weeks to consider all the evidence..., Why he cited me for cvc 22450a and then at Trial decided to drop that charge and instead amend complaint to 21820a? Is it your experience that when an accident occurs and a stop sign and yield right away issue are factors there is no possible way the person that the right away belongs to can be contributory to the point of nullifying their right away?
AnswerHmmmmm.....
You have asked a very good question Shane.
Contrary to popular belief, officers are in many cases like a chef, artist or any other person who has a special preference for how they apply their trade.
There really isn't a set style or code that is favored by officers in general. A FTY can be easier to prove than a stop sign violation in some cases. Sometimes judges in certain areas are more likely to favor one code over another.
As to asking the officer to amend or change the base violation, it usually is too late for that when it goes to court. You certainly can ask any question of the officer you like and I recommend you do as it provides more info for the judge to determine mitigating circumstances.
Yes, this did happen.... But there were mitigating circumstaces. You acted in good faith based on what you perceived was going to happen. Yes, your actions was a causal factor but was one of many.
Shane.... I believe what you have related to me, and I hope the judge will also. I fear that may not be likely however. There are no magic bullets, shortcuts, back doors or secret hand shakes. You sound like an honest, proficient and safe driver who observed what experience indicated was a vehicle intending to turn, and didn't.
I can only suggest that in court, you remain calm, curtious, and try not to allow the situation or officer to make you angry or frustrated. Let the judge see what happened through your eyes.
Best of luck Shane!
Terry
