[update] fighting a traffic (cell phone) violation

It sucks to get a ticket...and I've been guilty of using my phone and being distracted while driving as well...

But, last year my friends' daughter was killed by a distracted driver on HWY 1...

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/article/NE/20160412/NEWS/160419925

http://www.livelikecoco.com/

I've been trying to do better about not messing with my phone while driving since then....

if you win and don't have to pay I will be stoked for you, but if you lose and have to pay I will understand the other side and why the officer wrote you up as well...

Sincerely,

Jim

I think they can write you a ticket if they think you're distracted and Not necessarily because of cellphone? It was in the news not too long ago when someone got a ticket for putting on lip balm.

Your OP didn't make it clear; did you get a ticket for talking/texting on a cell phone while driving or distracted driving?  I understood it to be the former.  If you weren't talking on the phone and got a ticket for talking on the phone while driving, and you weren't talking on the phone, then you should fight it.  If, however, you were indeed in violation of what the ticket was written for, ya gotta take your lumps and figure it was a lesson learned. 

BTW, while I do have a cell phone, I do not have it turned on when driving.  DW has her's bluetooth connected to the radio, so she's hands free.  I don't see any need to talk to any one while driving.  I do, however, have a GPS mounted and I do push buttons on occasion, but not in traffic.  Either stopped or on the freeway, limited access roads where we are all going the same direction and no cross traffic or pedestrians. 

On another, but closely related topic, I have a dash cam and it stays on 24/7 with a 12 hour loop on the video.  It wouldn't be hard for me to play back what went down if I were pulled over... 

BTW, great discussion and I'm always impressed with the civility of this forum.  You'd be amazed how other forums and their members conduct themselves on controversial topics.   

Your OP didn't make it clear; did you get a ticket for talking/texting on a cell phone while driving or distracted driving?  I understood it to be the former.  If you weren't talking on the phone and got a ticket for talking on the phone while driving, and you weren't talking on the phone, then you should fight it.  If, however, you were indeed in violation of what the ticket was written for, ya gotta take your lumps and figure it was a lesson learned. 

BTW, while I do have a cell phone, I do not have it turned on when driving.  DW has her's bluetooth connected to the radio, so she's hands free.  I don't see any need to talk to any one while driving.  I do, however, have a GPS mounted and I do push buttons on occasion, but not in traffic.  Either stopped or on the freeway, limited access roads where we are all going the same direction and no cross traffic or pedestrians. 

On another, but closely related topic, I have a dash cam and it stays on 24/7 with a 12 hour loop on the video.  It wouldn't be hard for me to play back what went down if I were pulled over... 

BTW, great discussion and I'm always impressed with the civility of this forum.  You'd be amazed how other forums and their members conduct themselves on controversial topics.

The ticket says cell phone violation, and I plan to follow the suggestion in your first post. Thanks for the info.

My buddy disputed a cell phone ticket on the GPS defense when he was pulled over and the cop let him go.  Not sure how it would go now that you have the ticket in hand.

Good luck though!

Yes, I would have said something at the time, but I actually was not sure why he'd stopped me. All he said was "both hands on the wheel". Anyways, by the time I figured it out, he'd already written it up, so figured there was no point in arguing.

A couple years ago, I got pulled over and the cop immediately said "cell phone violation". But at the time, I didn't even own a phone. I complained and he let it go, but he was definitely irritated. I made some sarcastic comment about a strip search, and that probably didn't help.

The ticket says cell phone violation, and I plan to follow the suggestion in your first post. Thanks for the info.

it will also have a reference to vehicle code section no. XXX.  What is the veh code reference?  Must be one of the following:

VC 23123
VC 23123.5
VC 23124

Your defenses will depend on which code section

My buddy disputed a cell phone ticket on the GPS defense when he was pulled over and the cop let him go.  Not sure how it would go now that you have the ticket in hand.

Good luck though!

Yes, I would have said something at the time, but I actually was not sure why he'd stopped me. All he said was "both hands on the wheel". Anyways, by the time I figured it out, he'd already written it up, so figured there was no point in arguing.

A couple years ago, I got pulled over and the cop immediately said "cell phone violation". But at the time, I didn't even own a phone. I complained and he let it go, but he was definitely irritated. I made some sarcastic comment about a strip search, and that probably didn't help.

Never argue with a cop on the street.  At the very least, it may piss them off more.  But the top most concern is safety for everybody. 

In my opinion (ranked from least to most effort), your ladder of options are:

     1. Accept the ticket, take a traffic course (if available).  Via the internet of course, you can go really close to the dateline (i.e. before midnight) and still complete it. Done.
     2. Trial by Declaration, on outcome, either done or next try.
     3. Extensions
     4. Schedule a court date
     5. Discovery process to prep for court
     6. Court - Argue on technicalities + proof of innocent (if exists and defensible, whether you're guilty or not) + plead the 5th
     7. Appeal.  Not sure if evidence presented in 1st trial can be excluded in the appeal court.  If it can be and the prosecutor asked to do so, it complicates your prep.


From number 4+, you need to familiarize yourself with the offense per law and learn how to present yourself in the court, including basic legal procedures and defense tools.

I recommend #1 if possible, or at least 2-5, then decide on the rest upon provided docs.

never had a cell phone till about 3 years ago it was always computer illiterate before that. I was called a caveman by my buddies and I was. love the internet texting and portable telephone but I never use it while I'm driving except to turn it on to see what time it is. I truly hate to see people using their cell phones while driving even though I drive a bigger vehicle that outweighs most of the vehicles on the road but I also used motorcycle on the streets and highways . scary thought but I smoke cigarettes too. I found myself distracted looking for my package of cigarettes more than a cell phone. but I've never got a ticket for it. go figure it's all about Revenue

The ticket says cell phone violation, and I plan to follow the suggestion in your first post. Thanks for the info.

it will also have a reference to vehicle code section no. XXX.  What is the veh code reference?  Must be one of the following:

VC 23123
VC 23123.5
VC 23124

Your defenses will depend on which code section

It says "23123.5 (a) VL - cell phone".

A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text-based communication

It goes on to say;

a person shall not be deemed to be writing, reading, or sending a text-based communication if the person reads, selects, or enters a telephone number or name in an electronic wireless communications device for the purpose of making or receiving a telephone call or if a person otherwise activates or deactivates a feature or function on an electronic wireless communications device.

I'd have to say you are not guilty. 

However;

A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a base fine of twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense

I couldn't find law to quote, but from I read, cell phone violations carry no points and do not affect your insurance.

A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a base fine of twenty dollars ($20) for a first offense

I couldn't find law to quote, but from I read, cell phone violations carry no points and do not affect your insurance.

Even if it was free, I'd fight it, as I don't think I did anything wrong. I pulled the phone out of my pocket, pressed one button on the GPS/map app, and put it in a holder on the dash, all while moving at about 5 mph. This was no more distracting than turning on the radio. Also, from what I can tell, the relevant laws (one for phone usage, another for texting) have been determined to mean what they actually say, that is, they apply to phone calls and texting, not to GPS or similar apps that just happen to be hosted on a smartphone:

http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-cellphone-court-20140228-story.html

I've only ever had 1 speeding ticket (that was 25 years ago), no other moving violations. I'm sure I got lucky with warnings a couple of other times, but I think I'm a careful driver. And I suppose that I find this cell phone thing a bit more annoying because it happened by a high school where a lot of the kids who are driving are serious road hazards.

OK, so I'm going to request "trial by written declaration" and it says that I need to "submit the bail amount" when doing so. According to this link,
http://www.scscourt.org/documents/traffic_bail.pdf
the bail amount is $20. But, if you actually pay the fine or go to traffic school, there are a bunch of other fees, and these are not clearly spelled out anywhere that I can find (total cost is more than $150 from what I've seen discussed online). So, do I just send them the $20 bail amount, or do I have to try to figure out what these other mysterious fees might be and add that on?

Thanks.

You just send the bail amount.  If you loose the trial by declaration, they keep the bail and you are done.  Unless you pursue it to the next level. 

Least ways, that's what happened to my son with his.

recommend u retain competent counsel.  could become muy complicado

FYI, I don't think cell phone violation is a moving violation, so no traffic school, no point on your record, and your insurance doesn't even find out about it.  At least thats the way it was when I got my ticket a year ago. 

The cop passed by me going 45-50mph while I was at an intersection.  I thought there was no way he could have possibly seen me holding the phone low using the speaker phone, but sure enough he stopped, let me get in front of him and then pulled me over.  I didn't bother arguing because I got caught and that was that.  Your case is a bit different, but nonetheless you were doing something on your phone and he probably saw that. 

For the $165, I wouldn't think its worth your time to contest it, especially since its not a moving violation.   Good luck and let us know if you fight it and win!