ticket for passing on double yellow, not speeding

nynor · 08-10-2010, 01:18 PM

on my motorcycle with at least 3/4 mile visibility. is it worth fighting? its a class C misdemeanor.

i've had no tickets for 11 years. this was on the ducati. total BS, IMO. i'll give full details, if anyone cares.

i am kinda pissed/annoyed/chagrined.

Gogar · 08-10-2010, 01:33 PM

IMO it's not worth fighting because you did break the law. The 'common sense' part of it doesn't really matter to the judge, especially if it's the typical "traffic court revenue-generator" situation.

nynor · 08-10-2010, 01:48 PM

yeah, i get that. but is it about safety, or about being on a bullet bike? i am sure i'll end up paying the fine. i just don't want it on my record for insurance purposes. like i said, i am not pleased. i can deal with a ticket and take it like a man, if i deserve it, but this was recockulous.

javadog · 08-10-2010, 01:50 PM

Talk to the prosecutor before you plead and work out a deal. Explain the situation, use pictures if needed. Give him his money, ask for no points. It's not hard.

JR

nynor · 08-10-2010, 01:57 PM

i just talked to my counselor. he said "plea in abeyance". i end up paying the fine, doing traffic court, but it's not on my record. he also said that IF the court won't accept the "plea in abeyance", take it to trial. this could be fun in a masochistic way.

Gogar · 08-10-2010, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynor

yeah, i get that. but is it about safety, or about being on a bullet bike?

It's about passing on the double yellow.

nynor · 08-10-2010, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

It's about passing on the double yellow.

there are exceptions to that law. i am looking at them right now.

nynor · 08-10-2010, 02:29 PM

41-6a-701. Duty to operate vehicle on right side of roadway -- Exceptions.
(1) On all roadways of sufficient width, a person operating a vehicle shall operate the vehicle on the right half of the roadway, except:
(a) when overtaking and passing another vehicle proceeding in the same direction under the rules governing that movement;
(b) when an obstruction requires operating the vehicle to the left of the center of the roadway subject to the provisions of Subsection (2);
(c) on a roadway divided into three marked lanes for traffic under the applicable rules; or
(d) on a roadway designed and signposted for one-way traffic.
(2) A person operating a vehicle shall yield the right-of-way to a vehicle:
(a) traveling in the proper direction on a roadway; and
(b) that is within a distance constituting an immediate hazard.

i am thinking that the vehicle i passed was an obstruction, pursuant to 1b, due to the fact that they were on their cell phone and driving erratically. the man on his cell phone was not constituting an immediate hazard (except to me, and breaking the law) and they were an obstruction, IMO.

Superman · 08-10-2010, 02:37 PM

You simply cannot cross a double yellow line. I've watched judges ask defendants "If the double yellow line had been a 4-foot high concrete barrier, would you have crossed it?"

Sure, you can cross the center line, if there is an obstruction and if the center line is a dashed yellow line. But if it is a double yellow line, you would brake and stop.

When you say the maneuver was safe, I believe you. But if you crossed a double-yellow line, your action was unlawful.

nynor · 08-10-2010, 02:50 PM

are we dealing with cement barriers or painted lines? how would a reasonable person react to an obstruction, dangerous, when crossing a double yellow line will alleviate the problem?

on2wheels52 · on2wheels52's Garage

I'll confess to an occasional pass on the yellow with a capable motorcycle, but only after a considerable wait for a legal pass. It doesn't take much distance to execute a pass with a bike of any more than modest performance.
Jim

HHI944 · 08-10-2010, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by javadog

Talk to the prosecutor before you plead and work out a deal. Explain the situation, use pictures if needed. Give him his money, ask for no points. It's not hard.

JR

Prosecutors are almost always willing to take a plea to lesser charge (no points) with an enhanced fine.

Jeff Higgins · 08-10-2010, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynor

i am thinking that the vehicle i passed was an obstruction, pursuant to 1b, due to the fact that they were on their cell phone and driving erratically. the man on his cell phone was not constituting an immediate hazard (except to me, and breaking the law) and they were an obstruction, IMO.

Good luck with that. The judge won't see it that way, seeing as the officer elected to stop you instead of the "obstruction". Traffic court judges have heard every excuse in the book for motorcyclists passing on double yellows. They see us as reckless and irresponsible for the most part anyway.

It's likely we all do this at times (it's ridiculously easy to do) while posing absolutely no threat to ourselves or anyone else. None of that matters. There seems to be this overblown sense of "fair play" in this country, where motorcycles are not given any allowances for their smaller footprint and much higher performance. We are supposed to pretend we are in a car, or a truck, with their larger size and lesser performance and ride accordingly. No lane splitting (except in California), no weaving around bumper to bumper stalled traffic, and no passing where a clapped out semi truck couldn't pass as well. Judges and cops love to enforce this sense of "fairness" upon motorcyclists.

Even if it was painfully obvious to the cop that what you did was entirely safe and within the bounds of common sense, most will still pop you. That's how they roll. They claim a strict adherence to the law and an inability to exercise independent judgement when it suits them, yet bend the law or turn a blind eye when it suits them in some situations. Motorcyclists very rarely come out on the winning end of this.

Bottom line is, the law may be "wrong", but you did break it knowingly and willingly. That said, this is America - you have every right, perhaps even an obligation, to fight it. I'm convinced we have only come to be burdened by such petty laws and petty enforcement of those laws because so many choose not to fight the charges. If every citizen fought every traffic ticket, we would soon overwhelm our law enforcement officers and court systems. They would then be forced to make the choice between focusing their resources on real crime and real criminals that hurt folks, or basically honest citizens that will likely just roll over and pay. Right now there seems to be far too much emphasis on the latter.

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

My wife and kids were on the way to town one day and they saw a Vt.Sate trooper pass
a car in a double yellow line area (no blues on). When they got to town the trooper was parked at the mini-mart and when they went inside my daughter(16 at the time)asked him about the
double yellow pass. He told her it's legal to pass on a double yellow if you can do it safely
and not impede on coming traffic.
I just looked it up and it states "passing on a double yellow line is not recommended"

Learn something new every day.

jwasbury · 08-10-2010, 04:30 PM

Vermont rules because of this!

I lived in Vermont for ten years and this was a little known fact, but a locally grown buddy clued me in. I rode the wheels off my motorcycle in that state and made liberal use of legally crossing the double yellow.

I did discover that you can get a ticket for "limitations on passing" if you pass 5 cars at one time, but that is another story.

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete3799

My wife and kids were on the way to town one day and they saw a Vt.Sate trooper pass
a car in a double yellow line area (no blues on). When they got to town the trooper was parked at the mini-mart and when they went inside my daughter(16 at the time)asked him about the
double yellow pass. He told her it's legal to pass on a double yellow if you can do it safely
and not impede on coming traffic.
I just looked it up and it states "passing on a double yellow line is not recommended"

Learn something new every day.

id10t · 08-10-2010, 04:32 PM

If you do want to fight it (and I say take the ticket and live on...) I think your only hope would be to find out why that particular area is double yellow, and see if it really is...

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

You deserve your day in court. Talk to a lawyer and if he/she thinks they can get you off, I'd let them try. You don't want a misdemeanor on your record.

Red88Carrera · 08-10-2010, 04:44 PM

Why spend the time and money to paint the lines if everyone's gonna decide to use their own "judgement"? You've already admitted guilt...just pay the fine.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by nynor

... the vehicle i passed ...

you passed a vehicle by crossing a double yellow line

if it was "just"a ticket, I'd say man up & pay the ticket

"class C misdemeanor" = not good; get an atty who is experienced with traffic ticket stuff; he can no doubt bargain it down to a fine

I agree with P O P & Jeff Higgins above. You DO need a lawyer tho.

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

"yeah, i get that. but is it about safety, or about being on a bullet bike?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gogar

It's about passing on the double yellow.

Maybe they just put the double yellow down when there is a bullet bike coming.