Alright so I got a ticket about 2 weeks ago, and the ticket says DRIVING-STOP SIGN-FAIL TO STOP AND/OR YIELD FROM. So I guess I'll start with the story.
I was doing some homework one night at my friend's apartment. Here is a link to the google map of the place.
So I was at where the red arrow is on the map. I followed that road that goes diagonally away from it and took a right on 4th street, which is a one way. I went down 4th a little ways, then turned left on Ford St., which isn't really even a street, it's pretty much a little path through a big parking lot. I then went all the way up to 5th street and took a left turn on 5th, which is a one-way going left on the map. It was late at night and I was tired so I didn't come to a complete stop when I turned, I was going maybe 2 mph around the turn. When I turned, there was a car in my lane, but it was plenty far enough back that I definitely did not cut him off. He was about at where the "S" is on the "S 5th Ave" is on the map. Of course, that car just happened to be a cop.
Anyways, he pulled me over and asked me if there was a reason why I ran the stop sign back there. I told him I was just tired and still had more homework and just wanted to get home. He also said that it was no big deal, he didn't have to even touch the brake, just let off the gas a LITTLE bit. He took all my insurance stuff and came back with a DRIVING-STOP SIGN-FAIL TO STOP AND/OR YIELD FROM citation. After that I just went home.
The next day, I was on my way home from a friend's house and drove by the place where I "ran" the "stop sign", and to my surprise, there was no stop sign or stop line. If I would have noticed this the night before, I would have told the cop that there wasn't one, but I just figured that since he pulled me over there had to be one there. I went back and took some pictures of the sign and the ground where there would be a stop line if it had one....
I looked up the Idaho code for the violation that the citation was written out for. Here it is:
TITLE 49
MOTOR VEHICLES
CHAPTER 8
SIGNS, SIGNALS AND MARKINGS
49-807. STOP SIGNS AND YIELD SIGNS. (1) Preferential right-of-way may be
indicated by stop signs or yield signs as authorized in section 49-212, Idaho
Code.
(2) Except when directed to proceed by a peace officer or traffic-control
signal, every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop:
(a) at a clearly marked stop line, or
(b) before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection,
or
(c) at the point nearest the intersecting highway where the driver has a
view of approaching traffic on the intersecting highway before entering
it.
After having stopped, the driver shall yield the right-of-way to any vehicle
in the intersection or approaching on another highway so closely as to
constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such driver is moving
across or within the intersection or junction of highways.
So the question is now, do any of you think that I could get this ticket dropped, since there is no stop sign, yield sign, or stop line? I really don't feel like paying $85 for this and getting more points on my record, since it is a moving violation...
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