[southcarolina]

I got a failure to yield ticket last Friday. There is two lanes going west and two going east. I stopped & looked to my left seen no cars. Looked to my right and saw 2 cars and when they went by, I looked to my left again and saw 2 trucks. It was safe for me to go straight across. Next thing I knew I was in the air and spinning in circles. My car was hit from the driverside! I had to be cut out of my car and air lifted. The policemen came to the hospital and stated I fail to stop @ the stop sign. I had witness stated I stopped @ the stop sign and the other person speeded up. It wasn't no tire marks in the road by the other vehicle. I have a witness stated I had enough time to cross but the guy speeded up and hit me. The policeman stated he had to charge me because I didn't yield. The speed limit is 30mph and my car is total loss. I'm in tears! I did stopped and it was safe for me to cross.

[Fr_Chuck]

Well first the officer did not write you a ticket for failure to stop? He wrote a ticket for failure to yield, which means you stopped and looked and pulled out in front of someone.
** which sounds about like what happened.

The other cars did not have any stop sign, so you were pulling out into moving traffic.

Since a car hit you, as you were pulling out, this is what defines failure to yield.

So are you basically guilty, yes, by the state laws where I am at and have worked as a officer in years past.

Now to your question, can you beat it, perhaps, several ways. First show up in court, perhaps the first time, ask for it to be continued. * there is a reason for that*

You request though discovery, the officers POST records, to see if he could legally give a ticket at the time he wrote it, don't be surprised, here in Atlanta it was discovered last week, that over 300 officers did not have legal powers of arrest since they did not have their annual training, and any ticket they had written so far would be invalid, But they did not report who had tickets or tell the courts, so any one having a ticket by them, have to try and find out.

Next I am not sure, you may wish to talk to a local attorney, but saying you are not sure what happened as to how they hit you or not even testifying at all.
1. they have to prove you did not yield
2. almost never does the person who hit you show up to testify you pulled in front of them.
A good attorney could try and get any statement made by them at the scene thrown out, since you don't have the right to cross examine them. And they will almost never continue a traffic case to call additional witnesses.
Thus the reason to continue, if for some reason the person you hit wanted to show up, they are not normally told a new date if it is rescheduled.

Also often the officer sets the first date, for a time he is off duty, so a reschedule may effect it, where even the officer is not present.

This is my opinion on how to fight it. Now do we get convictions on this every day, just like you described, yep, are you really guilty of it as ticket written, yep,
Can you get off, maybe, but you will have to work at it.

*** next there may also be a law suit on the damages , unless your insurance company will just agree to pay. But the ticket and the civil liability are not related, except they can use the ticket as evidence of the civil liability