traffic ticket question?

Question

Recently I was pulled over in Washington State for failure to yield at one of those lights that has a turn lane that has a green arrow and yellow. After the yellow goes off you must yield to oncoming traffic. Anyways the officer wrote the ticket as a failure to obey a traffic device. Really it was failure to yield, i had to explain this to the officer , the officer agreed but said he couldn't change it because he had already written it out for running a red light. My question is when I go to court does this automatically get dropped because it was written for the wrong thing? I hope it does because I have a perfect driving record...Any other suggestion?

Answer 1

I can only speak about Florida traffic laws but I am sure they have similarities. An officer can arrive in court and when the case is called can immediately indicate to the judge that he wishes "amend" the citation to the correct statute number and the judge always allows it. If the officer failed to do this it will be dismissed if he has the wrong statute number. I can say in your case though it appears to me that both statutes could be applicable. There are two separate statutes for running a red light and failing to obey a traffic control device. If he specifically wrote you for running a red then you have a good case. If it is for failing to obey a traffic control device I feel that both tickets would be accepted by a judge. You failed to yield but you also did fail to obey the traffic control device (yellow light). In Florida a judge would accept either statute in court for sure in this instance. Take it to court and hope the officer does not appear or with your good record you can plead NO CONTEST and it will keep your record clear most times. GOOD LUCK!!

Answer 2

Maybe not "automatically" but, you will have the chance to give your explaination and side of the story as to exactly what occurred.
It's possible the officer may not show up for the hearing and the case could easily be dismissed since it's not "cut and dried".
Now, you should draw up a sketch of the intersection along with weather and road conditions, time of day, speed limits and the direction you were traveling along with where the officer was located.
Also, try and document exactly what the officer said, in quotes, in admitting that he was wrong in the information contained in that ticket.
In other words, illustrate for the judge in as much detail as you can in order to give him the evidence and justification he needs to dismiss the case.
A couple of photos of that intersection would be great...judges like photos...they speak a thousand words.
Good luck!