21650 infraction

[Kaylamack]

Jurisdiction

California

I was driving home from work around 11:15 pm when I stopped to get gas.

I was turning into the gas station and made a long turn on the wrong side of the road to enter the gas station when a motorcycle cop drop past me the opposite way and drove back to give me a ticket. He said he slammed on his breaks yet he passed me as I was turning.

 

[zddoodah]

Cool story. Do you have a question?

 

[Kaylamack]

Cool story. Do you have a question?

Will the ticket be expensive And how do I go about the situation in court?

 

[mightymoose]

I'm trying to decipher this...
It sounds like as your turn was coming up you saw oncoming traffic and decided to cross over early to make the turn rather than wait for the oncoming traffic to pass.
The oncoming traffic turned out to be a police officer who then cited you for driving on the wrong side of the road since you crossed over too early for your turn.
Is that close?
It sounds to me like 21801 is the more appropriate violation. You might investigate whether the fine is less and argue to amend the violation if so.

I'm not sure what the fine is for either offense, but expect various fees on top of the fine. It will likely come to $100-200. You can also take a traffic school course to keep the violation off your record. That will be another $60-80 or so.

 

[zddoodah]

Will the ticket be expensive

"Expensive" is a subjective term. What I think is "expensive" you might not think is "expensive" (or vice versa). Also, the cost of a traffic ticket can vary greatly from county to county. You'll get a courtesy notice soon enough that will tell you how much the fine will be, or, if you're impatient, you can try calling the police or sheriff's station or the county courthouse, all of which should be identified on the ticket.

how do I go about the situation in court?

Not really sure what this question means ("the situation in court"??).

Anyway, if you haven't already read VC 21650, I suggest you do so. After doing so, do you believe you violated the law? If so, then your best option is probably to dispose of this matter by "attending" traffic school (which can be done online these days and, when I did it a couple years ago, it took me less than an hour). You'll still have to pay the ticket (and the cost of traffic school), but if you don't have any valid defense, then you'll have to do that anyway. If you don't believe you violated the law, then fight the ticket and see what happens. Just keep in mind that, if you fight and lose, traffic school may no longer be an option.