Can we get out of this ticket?

[xlr8ngn]

My wife got a ticket in our neighborhood for running a stop sign. It is on a very steep hill and she was going down hill. She thought she stopped but was not 100% sure. There was a cop there that was ready to ambush her. That was the first day of many that they have been sitting there ambushing many of my neighbors. Someone living at the corner there complained I guess. My question is the neighborhood is new and the streets have not been turned over to the city yet. It is still private property. Can we get out of the ticket? My wife has to go to court tonight so some quick responses would be appreciated. Thanks.

P.S. I agree people should get tickets that blow through stop signs, but it is a very large unobstructed intersection with no bushes or anything and you are going downhill. Plus she thought she stopped.

 

[WakkoSS]

If the streets have not been turned over to the city yet, he shouldn't have authority to enforce the stop sign. I'd take a picture of the intersection and bring it in to court. Tell the judge the situation and that the roads are private, not city controlled. Hope for the best.

 

[BLACK6PACK]

Fight every ticket you ever get. A lot of the time you can plead no contest and just pay court costs. The city still gets some money and you don't have to worry about increased insurance. Makes everybody happy.

 

[aperrego]

C'mon wakko you know better..

If there is a stop sign or DOT approved erected traffic control device that meets the standards of the DOT then it is enforceable.. Just because the specific road is not "city maintained" there still is enforecement..

Again the sign must be lawful - Meets the DOT/DMV standards to be in effect.

The only thing you would have is a possible juristictional issue however laws differ state to state.. For example in NC if I were a city / Municipal office i have a 1 mile "territorial juristiction" of enforcement.. Meaning I could be in another city or outside of my corporate limits and enforce the law as long as I am in the 1 mile range..

As far as the difference on rolling through or the manner the stop sign was approached... The laws usually have verbiage similiar to: Presuming this happened in your state (ga)...
----------------------------------------

40-6-72.

(a) Preferential right of way may be indicated by stop signs or yield signs as authorized in Code Section 32-6-50.

(b) Except when directed to proceed by a police officer, every driver of a vehicle approaching a stop sign shall stop at a clearly marked stop line or, if there is no stop line, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if there is no crosswalk, at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering it. After stopping, the driver shall yield the right of way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time when such driver is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways.


(c) The driver of a vehicle approaching a yield sign shall, in obedience to such sign, slow down to a speed reasonable for the existing conditions and, if required for safety to stop, shall stop at a clearly marked stop line or, if there is no stop line, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if there is no crosswalk, at the point nearest the intersecting roadway where the driver has a view of approaching traffic on the intersecting roadway before entering it. After slowing or stopping, the driver shall yield the right of way to any vehicle in the intersection or approaching on another roadway so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard during the time such driver is moving across or within the intersection or junction of roadways. If such a driver is involved in a collision with a vehicle in the intersection after driving past a yield sign without stopping, such collision shall be deemed prima-facie evidence of his failure to yield the right of way.
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I don't know what to say to try to get out of it.. there are allot of things that one could do..such as continue it until the officer does not show up...then ask for a dismissal based upon lack of prosecution..or get whats called a "prayer for judgement"<differs by state> which the court costs generally apply but no points..

In any event good luck with it!

 

[The Radius Kid]

I don't know about the States,but years ago I got pulled over in a mall parking lot doing 60 mph[at 2 am] and the officer involved told me he couldn't give me a ticket because I was on private property.
This may sound like a strange comment,but didn't LBJ used to speed on his ranch?
That was private property as well.
It seems to me that on a regular,publicly run road,that ticket would stand,but on a privately run road?

 

[Brian Mc]

I'd just go to the court date with the ticket and see what the DA says, they'll probably just drop it so the judge can get on to the more serious misdemeanor charges.

 

[xlr8ngn]

I called and spoke with the city and confirmed our neighborhood has not been turned over yet. I then called and spoke with a Captain at the city PD, and he said he thought our neighborhood had been turned over and he is very familiar w/ our area since there has been alot of complaints. He then called me back and said it is still private property. He thinks that the signs are still enforceable but not sure. He added that I should talk with the solicitor before court and since it is private property and my wife has never had a ticket that likely he will do some negotiating.

 

[GotBoost?]

Areas differ on how they are allowed to enforce laws. But the only tickets we are allowed to write on private property are: DUI, DUS, Reckless operation on pp, and reasonable control. We are NOT allowed to write stop sign violations no matter if the stop sign is DOT approved.

 

[equalizer442]

If there is a stop sign or DOT approved erected traffic control device that meets the standards of the DOT then it is enforceable.. Just because the specific road is not "city maintained" there still is enforecement..

now we all know how you can get around that. go out to your garage and make a realistic looking stop sign out of plywood and then sneek down there one night, put it up, and take a picture. BINGO instant non dot approved aka non enforeceable stop sign.

you might also want to accidely drop a box of roofing nails on the road where the officer parked.

 

[WakkoSS]

I DO know better...and I can't write tickets on private property. Including parking tickets. I can write handicapped, DUI and a couple others, but not the stop sign one. Regardless of whether it's DOT approved or not, it's not enforceable.

 

[Two Lane]

It's not worth the stress & stomach acid to start fighting City Hall when it can be effectively handled otherwise in a much more positive & friendly manner.

Your clean driving record will be your primary non-adversarial
"ace" with which to negotiate the current moving-violation down to "improper equipment" or some other non-moving-violation unreported to insurance companies.

Or, another route commonly taken is to have the ticket "set-aside" via something similar to the Prayer for Judgment, wherein the charges are dropped contingent upon no further violations over the next 6-12 months.

Either way produces revenue for your region, & that's of the essence in these days of municipal budget short-falls.

HTH

 

[TurboJunky]

Originally posted by aperrego
C'mon wakko you know better..

If there is a stop sign or DOT approved erected traffic control device that meets the standards of the DOT then it is enforceable.. Just because the specific road is not "city maintained" there still is enforecement.

I'm sure this may be different from state to state. However he's correct as far as Michigan's concerned. Lets say you erect stop signs on paved roads on 100 acres you own. Can the police enforce those stop signs you erected yourself? Not here. Lets go one step further and change the stop signs to stop lights. They're your lights on your property, can you run red traffic lights on your own private property or can the police stop and ticket you?

In Michigan, the roads have to be registered with the county and inspected for Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance with sign placement, height, road markings, construction etc. Then there's a procedure for adopting the Vehicle Code to those roads.

In this case, if there was a complaint by a citizen then you're only hope avoiding the ticket is if the road hasn't been registered yet. When complaints regarding violators are received the parties most responsible for the violations are the residents from the same neighborhood.

 

[turbojimmy]

Originally posted by WakkoSS
I DO know better...and I can't write tickets on private property. Including parking tickets. I can write handicapped, DUI and a couple others, but not the stop sign one. Regardless of whether it's DOT approved or not, it's not enforceable.

That's the way it is in Joisey. Traffic control devices on private property are merely suggestions. Cops can't ticket you. In my 'hood, they didn't even bother with any signs until they turned it over to the town. As soon as they finished paving - 4 years after I moved in - they finally put up all of the stop/speed limit/parking signs.

At the new mall by my house they put up signs with a lot of very small print at the edges of all of the lots. I suspect it somehow gives the cops the right to bust you but I haven't actually stopped to look at them.

Jim

 

[xlr8ngn]

We went to court tonight and the captain was supposed to discuss this jurisdiction issue with the solicitor. He didn't discuss it with her, so she said I should call the captain and have him talk to her if he wants it dismissed. This afternoon, I was talking to a contractor in the neighborhood and he said while he was talking to one of the officers that he said they wrote 35 tickets in 1-1/2 hours the first day. No warnings.

I will be calling the captain in the morning about it. If it turns out they were wrong for writing tickets in the neighborhood, what will happen to all of my neighbors that got tickets and already paid them?

 

[Little6pack]

FIGHT IT! I fought my last 3 tickets & won..

One time it was a yeild sign to which I slowed down saw an opening & took it. Cop tried to say that yeild sign was a STOP.. I said to him where the stop sign? He shrugged his sholders & knew he was wrong.. Went to court won & now there is a real stop sign there. LOL!

You should send a letter to your nieghbors & explain to them that they may be able to fight back..

 

[buickman69]

As a Realtor (IN TN) I can tell you if the developer hasn't offically turned it over to the county or city yet theN it's private property. The stop sign may have been put up by request of the developer in anticipation of turning it over to the city/county. I'd research it and talk to the local DA.

 

[The Radius Kid]

Originally posted by xlr8ngn
I called and spoke with the city and confirmed our neighborhood has not been turned over yet. I then called and spoke with a Captain at the city PD, and he said he thought our neighborhood had been turned over and he is very familiar w/ our area since there has been alot of complaints. He then called me back and said it is still private property. He thinks that the signs are still enforceable but not sure. He added that I should talk with the solicitor before court and since it is private property and my wife has never had a ticket that likely he will do some negotiating.

He blinked.He's beat and he KNOWS IT.Get your neighbors together and fight the tickets.
He's looking for the legal eagles to save his butt.
It's private property now,however in future.....

 

[myclone]

Originally posted by aperrego
or get whats called a "prayer for judgement"<differs by state> which the court costs generally apply but no points..

Its called "open docket" in VA and WV but still the same thing. Not like Ive used that avenue couple of times (or ten)

 

[turbov6joe]

This is how it is in Kansas, and I'm sure in most states as well. A police officer or LEO can enforce such traffic violations on private property if 2 conditions are met:

1. he/she wittnessed the violation.
2. he/she was invited or asked to be there.

Sounds to me that this area is a problem child, and more than likely someone or multiple someones have requested that the local PD "hang out" there and enforce the stop sign law. Since multiple homes share the property, all it would take is one person inviting the PD to be there. Now if you owned 1000 acres and had stop signs every 10 feet and did not ask the PD to be there and/or enforce these signs, they would have no jurisdictional authority on that property sice it's a single family dwelling that shares those signs.

 

[aperrego]

I obviously started some sh1t here.. Sorry about that and WakkoSS did not mean anything personal by it ... I guess the moral of the story here is that it varys state by state.. and by opinion.. At least 4 states responses FL, MI, KS, and NC.. verified this.

Just for clarification purposes though, when I said DOT approved stop sign, the assumption was that DOT installed it.. Not any average joe..

So in this case, I am seeing there was an intersection with a stop sign.. Maybe a private street, maybe connected to some "public street" who the hell knows..

In NC there are 3 classifications of roads... Streets, highways and Public Vehicular areas (pva).. Which would include private property such as Mall Parking lots, intersections, etc..

Again I apologize if I may have offended anyone with the tone..nothing was meant by it.