Ticketed for Not Moving Over for Emergency Vehicle But it wasn’t safe to do so Can I beat it?
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Ticketed for Not Moving Over for Emergency Vehicle But it wasn’t safe to do so Can I beat it?
How would I present my case in fighting a traffic ticket for not
moving over for an emergency vehicle? A cop had someone
pulled over on the shoulder of the road. I was in the right lane,
there were cars in the left. One car did pass me to my left, but
by that time, there wasn’t really time to move over for the cop.
So I slowed down stayed in my lane. Also, there were other
cars approaching in the left lane I don’t recall how far away
they were, everything happened so fast. That same cop pulled
me over gave me a 421 fine for not moving. I told him there
was a car to my left he said they had already passed so I was
still in violation. I don’t agree with this at all. I feel that it
would have been safer for me to stay where I was at a slower
speed i did exactly that. I pled not guilty will need to go to
court. How do I present this? OK State Law says move over if
it is safe to do so, if not then to slow to a speed suitable for road
conditions.. Please help. I don’t have the money to hire a
lawyer to fight this ticket.
Asked on January 11, 2019 under General Practice, Oklahoma
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Frankly, you are not likely to win; you are likely--even very likely--to lose. The problem is, you have a vested interest in avoiding the ticket: you have a built-in bias. That makes you less credible. The officer, however, is presumably "neutral": he has no personal stake in the outcome. He is also trained and sworn to uphold the law. In my experience, the court essentially always believes the officer over the driver, so if he testifies that he believes that it was safe for you to move over, the court will almost certainly believe and agree with him.
However, if you have an otherwise good driving record, there is an excellent chance that the day of trial, when you discuss the matter with prosecutor, that he or she will offer you a plea to a lesser offense (e.g. small fine or fewer points on the license or both). If so, you would be well-advised to take it.
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