Which side of the law am I on?

This morning I picked up 2 slugs with 14th Street as my destination. As we are approaching the 14th Street Bridge, one of my slugs asked me to drop him off as soon as we got to the corner of D Street. I was surprised by the request, and told him I would if the light were red. Unfortunately, the light wasn't red, so I pulled off to the side of the road, crossing over a ramp to the safety of D Street. As soon as I let the slug out, a Dept. of Treasury police officer pulled up behind me and proceeded to ask for my license and registration. It turns out that I made an "illegal right turn". Where is the sign? Apparently it is painted on the roadway itself and says "14th Street Only", not "no right turn". I'm very frustrated that I was issued a ticket, and that it is a moving violation. Maybe I am at fault for agreeing to stop, but, it since I had "late notice" on having to pull over, I wasnt really looking for signage, I was mostly concerned with safely exiting the roadway. And, if the words were painted on the roadway, how would one see them in rush hour traffic, when each vechicle is crawling bumper to bumper behind the next? In my mind, I was doing the right thing by pulling entirely off the road (not into oncoming traffic! not obstructing the flow of the drivers on 14th street!).

I plan to contest the ticket. What is my best defense? More importantly, how does one obtain "evidence", such as pictures, in an area that is dangerous for pedestrians to begin with, which is precisely why I pulled off the roadway?

Here's the kicker: as soon as I was released from the traffic stop, a delivery truck was making a 3 point turn in the middle of 14th street, blocking traffic in both directions!! For 2 light cycles Where are the Dept. of Treasury police when you really need them??

I think the best you can hope for is that the cop won't show up for court. If he's not there, there's no witness to your offense, so the case would be dismissed.

But consider these factors in going to court: 1) You have to take leave or personal time, 2) you may be in court all morning, 3) you may be found guilty even with all your picture evidence and good explanations. Is it worth going to court?

I checked the D.C. DMV for points for the improper turn. It's not listed as such. It's listed as "any moving violation NOT on the list below." The points assigned are 2-3 (they weren't more specific). I don't know if there's reciprocity between D.C. DMV & VA DMV when it comes attaching points to your driving record. You may wish to contact VA DMV and ask.

The sad part of your story is that "No good deed goes unpunished."

Mea culpa! scottt is correct! I skimmed over the Treasury Dept. cop part. The things that change are that he gets to go to federal court rather than D.C., and federal courts themselves don't assign points. I truly don't know how the offender's DMV is notified of a conviction, or how/if they assign their state's point value to the offense.

Thanks for your input! Although the issuing officer is from Dept. of Treasury, all of the info on the back of the ticket indicates that I should appear in DC court. I suppose it would be a good idea to find out about the reciprocity before I engage in a court battle! Rusty is lucky that his slug paid the ticket, since mine was already long gone!

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Originally posted by KatieM
[br]Mea culpa! scottt is correct! I skimmed over the Treasury Dept. cop part. The things that change are that he gets to go to federal court rather than D.C., and federal courts themselves don't assign points. I truly don't know how the offender's DMV is notified of a conviction, or how/if they assign their state's point value to the offense.

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Actually, I don't think that's entirely correct--from what I understand, there are some 14 different police departments authorized to issue tickets in DC that are processed through the DC government (including, among others, the Secret Service). This might have changed since I remember seeing this in the Post some five or six years ago, however.