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findmadhav · Oct 4, 2012, 08:03 PM

Hi,

I got a ticket for "Failure to stop at pedestrian crosswalk" in Perth Amboy, NJ.. This is what happened:
It was around 8.45 PM at night and a road at a speed limit of 25. I was driving under the speed limit. Now at a pedestrian crosswalk, I saw a couple of cops cross by, and I did slow down further and was going through. The suddenly thing girl runs and crosses the road and I do apply my brakes and stop well before the crosswalk and without even any screeching. The girl coolly went by. Then the cop (who is on foot) asks me to park and then gives me a ticket stating "I wasn't paying attention and slammed my brakes". If I did not pay attention, I would have hit the cops as well and the girl. And the ticket says "failure to stop at pedestrian crossing", and if I did not stop how did he pull me over on foot at that very crossing even without me crossing it? I am planning to contest this in court. Do I have any chance of winning?

Fr_Chuck · Oct 4, 2012, 08:32 PM

It he shows up, not a prayer in the world, he will say you did not properly watch, you will say you did watch, the judge will want your 200 dollars or so for the court and you will be guilty.

Any other witness ? Also not saying it is not true, but the odds of someone actually driving under 25 is rare, I ride my bike faster than that. Did the cross walk have a stop sign by it ? Or was it a open cross walk ?

findmadhav · Oct 4, 2012, 08:38 PM

It was an open cross walk that says stop/yield for passengers - no stop sign as such. My wife was with me in the passenger seat - would it help to take her as a witness?

Fr_Chuck · Oct 4, 2012, 08:55 PM

It would help to take her with you. It may not be right, ( I was a officer for years) if this officer is known to the judge to make up storied, it may help.

But if this is city court, the case is stacked against you, the officers word holds more value as yours, since he is trained to be a witness and trained to know the laws.

Not right, not fair, but most likely it is a slam dunk case against you. ( sorry) wish I could tell it it would be fair and evidence and all of that.

findmadhav · Oct 4, 2012, 09:37 PM

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

It would help to take her with you. It may not be right, ( I was a officer for years) if this officer is known to the judge to make up storied, it may help.

But if this is city court, the case is stacked against you, the officers word holds more value as yours, since he is trained to be a witness and trained to know the laws.

Not right, not fair, but most likely it is a slam dunk case against you. ( sorry) wish i could tell it it would be fair and evidence and all of that.

Thanks for your valuable suggestions. I will contest anyway and will let you know what happens. Lets see what fate has in store for me...

ScottGem · Oct 5, 2012, 03:35 AM

Yes you should show up and contest. Usually, what will happen is you will be offered a plea to a lesser charge that doesn't involve points on your license and maybe a lesser fine. If you don't accept the plea a hearing date will be setup where the officer will appear. Without physical evidence or unbiased witnesses you will lose.

What you might try is to check if there are surveillance cameras covering the intersection and ask the owners of the cameras if they have footage showing you stopped before the crosswalk. Without that, I doubt if you can win.

AK lawyer · Oct 5, 2012, 04:57 AM

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

... Also not saying it is not true, but the odds of someone actually driving under 25 is rare, I ride my bike faster than that. ...

There is a 25 MPH section of street here. I drive it at the speed limit. But there is another section at which the limit is 15 MPH. Right in front of a police station. Now that is hard to drive under the limit. Fortunately the cops don't seem to care about cars driving it slightly over the limit. :)