How I beat an HOV lane ticket

Good job Cliff. Last summer I beat my speeding ticket. Mine was easy though since I was riding an '06 Toyota motorcycle according to the DPS officer. He claimed to have me going 61 in a 45. I knew I was speeding a little but nowhere near 61. I had only gone about a block when he claimed to have clocked me doing 61 and I wasn't hammering the throttle.

[caligs]

Personally i think it is stupid that you can only enter/exit in designated areas,but i guess this is how the law makes you part with your money....in Arizona no double yellow,you enter/exit wherever.

I'm astounded that the HOV lane is off limits to M/C riders in your area.

Hi Don,

It's not off-limits. It's just that you can only enter the HOV lane at designated areas.

At first the HOV lanes were off-limits to motorcycles. The law changed many years ago.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

Way to go Cliff. I'm astounded that the HOV lane is off limits to M/C riders in your area. It is available to us here in the gulf coast area of Texas even if riding single. Glad to hear that you prevailed.

OK you got me .....Whats HOV stand for ...Sorry ...

High Occupancy Vehicle lane, the "carpool" lane. I haven't heard anyone call it a "diamond" lane for a long time.

EDIT: I see you deleted that part from your post. You must've looked it up.

Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

And good for you... Sad to say as the economy the way it is the Cops seem to be really writing people up to get money for the citys and towns ...

I got a HOV lane violation probably 30 years ago. This was at a time when it was not legal for MC to use the HOV or Diamond lane as it used to be called.. $466 Boy does time change My fine was $67 as I remember. I did argue with the judge, he gave me the option of either paying or going to jail. So I got escorted to the cashiers window.

Good job! I'm fortunate that I didn't incur any HOV lane violations while I was tooling around the LA area.

Way ta go, Cliff!

[caligs]

Great job,i'm proud of you!Cheers

[BassCliff]

Hi,

Some of you may remember when Mr. Sunburn got his HOV lane violation ticket. Unfortunately, he crossed the double yellow line and entered the HOV lane in full view of the CHP. I received an HOV lane violation citation from a CHP about a week later. However, I felt that I was "splitting the lane" and did not actually enter the carpool lane but the officer did not agree. I did not argue with the officer and let him do his job. He was a nice enough fellow. But I knew I was right so I just decided to fight the ticket.

To cut to the chase, I won!

After I decided to fight the ticket, my research found these online resources:

http://www.ticketassassin.com/fight.html

http://www.ticketassassin.com/faq.html

http://www.trafficfighters.com/counties_cities/los_angeles_tickets.html

http://drivinguniversity.com/california-approved-online-traffic-school/

I filed a 'not guilty' plea by mail and paid the bail, $466. I requested a 'Trial By Declaration'. I plead my case on paper via the mail. I submitted a picture of the scene taken at about the same time of day, from the nearest overpass, showing the lane structure, lane markings, and traffic. I included a diagram of the lane structure. I quoted statements from the California Driver's Handbook and the California Vehicle Code which supported my position.

I'm planning to post all of the forms and arguments I submitted in support of my case but most of them are at home. I just wanted to let you know of my good fortune. Here is the diagram that I submitted...

Splitting-Lanes-Diagram (PDF)

Mrs. BassCliff called a few minutes ago to tell me that I had received a letter from the court and asked if I wanted her to open it. I couldn't wait. She opened it and read my 'not guilty' verdict. I will be receiving my bail money back in a few weeks, no points on my driving record, no traffic school, no insurance rate increase, nada, zip, nothing!

And I never had to go to court. Even if the verdict would have turned out 'guilty', I could have requested a 'trial de novo'. This is a "new trial", like an automatic appeal. I would have to show up in court for the trial de novo, and the CHP officer would also have to show up. But this would have been months after the initial citation and he would not be paid for this appearance.

Anyway, I'll post up the rest of my documentation after I get home so that if you feel you have been wrongly cited, you will know how to work the process to your advantage.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff