Legal Question in Traffic Law in District of Columbia

Hello,

I was just recently stopped on M Street coming up to Wisconsin Ave in Washington DC. It was 10pm, so there were not many cars on the street and it was lightly drizzling. I pulled over to have the police officer walk up to me, mumble that I had ran a red somewhere back on M (I hadn't) and that I didn't indicate with sufficient time before moving from the center to the right lane just before he pulled me over. He then returned to the car, made no mention of the red light, and gave me a ticket for $100 for "changing lanes with caution." Refused to explain to me what I did, just said I didn't use enough caution and that if a car had been behind me they would have to stop abruptly. I was going no more than 20 miles an hour as I was pulling up to a red light, and there had not been anyone behind me when I changed lanes, and I indicated as I was changing. I realize that I should have indicated earlier, but I just read the violation definition, and it is "(a) A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved from that lane until the driver has first ascertained that such movement can be made with safety;" I DID ascertain that the movement could be made with safety, because there were no cars around and I was going slowly and was in the process of slowing down to a stop. How do I go about fighting this ticket?

Thank you so much in advance for your time and effort!

Best.


Asked on 11/15/10, 7:46 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Phillip M. Cook Cook Legal Services, LLC

You fight the ticket by going to Court on the date assigned on the ticket and telling your story to the judge. Keep it short and sweet. If the cop does not show up, ask for a dismissal of the case.

Best of luck.******The above is for informational purposes and does not create an attorney-client privilege.*******

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Answered on 11/27/10, 5:39 am


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