dimofeevich
Junior Member
I am in California. I was at a red light waiting to make a right turn. The light turned green, there was a pedestrian, I waited for him to cross and then turned behind him. There was a cop behind me and he gave me a VC-21950A-I violation. He said that I didn’t give enough clearance to the pedestrian, which I disagree with.
If the pedestrian felt unsafe he would have reacted. Instead he simply continued on his way, did not turn back or look scared. I don’t think the officer had a clear line of view. His motorcycle was behind my car and the pedestrian was in front.
Other (possibly unrelated) info:
1. He was a bit irritated when he stopped me and complained that I “drove for two miles before stopping”. First, I was getting on a ramp to a highway and when he turned on the lights I was assuming he just wanted to chase someone on the highway, I did not think it was me because I did not do anything wrong. Once I realized he stayed behind me, I took the first exit and drove a bit to find a safe place for him to walk to me without blocking traffic. It was maybe 500 feet since the moment his lights were on.
2. It was the last day of the month and I suspect he just wanted to make his quota.
3. He also put on the citation two other warnings that he saw me do a block before which he didn’t explain to me. (If he saw me violate the law, why didn’t he stop me right then?)
I have a court date scheduled soon.
Questions:
- I read the law but could not find a section describing the rules on turning after the pedestrian has passed. Is there a minimum distance to keep away from them? Where do I find this? What is the “-I” at the end of the violation?
- I am planning to say that the officer did not have a clear line of view since my car blocked his view, and that the pedestrian did not show any reaction and sign that he is unsafe. Would mentioning any of the other points 1-3 above help?
- Do I have a good chance of fighting this ticket?
If the pedestrian felt unsafe he would have reacted. Instead he simply continued on his way, did not turn back or look scared. I don’t think the officer had a clear line of view. His motorcycle was behind my car and the pedestrian was in front.
Other (possibly unrelated) info:
1. He was a bit irritated when he stopped me and complained that I “drove for two miles before stopping”. First, I was getting on a ramp to a highway and when he turned on the lights I was assuming he just wanted to chase someone on the highway, I did not think it was me because I did not do anything wrong. Once I realized he stayed behind me, I took the first exit and drove a bit to find a safe place for him to walk to me without blocking traffic. It was maybe 500 feet since the moment his lights were on.
2. It was the last day of the month and I suspect he just wanted to make his quota.
3. He also put on the citation two other warnings that he saw me do a block before which he didn’t explain to me. (If he saw me violate the law, why didn’t he stop me right then?)
I have a court date scheduled soon.
Questions:
- I read the law but could not find a section describing the rules on turning after the pedestrian has passed. Is there a minimum distance to keep away from them? Where do I find this? What is the “-I” at the end of the violation?
- I am planning to say that the officer did not have a clear line of view since my car blocked his view, and that the pedestrian did not show any reaction and sign that he is unsafe. Would mentioning any of the other points 1-3 above help?
- Do I have a good chance of fighting this ticket?
