Overweight Ticket

Ignorance IS NEVER EVER AN EXCUSE! EVER! Now if said ignorance is because of the State or Local Government's failure to communicate then that ignorance is not the driver's fault and any such case made should be dismissed!. I actually watched a Judge dismiss a case years ago simply because he knew by his own personal experience a road did not have visible signs.

As a side note on communicating this condition. I have always wondered why the States can't adopt a road lane marker system that incorporates color markings and pavement edge lines that stands out when a road has any form of a CMV restriction. It seems dumb in my opinion to rely on some sign that can sit for years or get knocked down to communicate these restrictions. Or even the words Restricted Road painted every 200 or so feet. This can be handled better IMHO!

 

Your "NEVER EVER" changed to "Now if said ignorance is because of the State or Local Government's failure to communicate then that ignorance is not the driver's fault". That's exactly what I'm talking about.

As for your side note, The Federal Highway Department portion of the United States Department of Transportation regulates all signs (traffic control devices) in all 50 states with variations granted only after engineering data supports a variation. The MUTCD is the bible of signs, it's worth getting familiar with. The states and localities are responsible for sign installation and maintenance. The misplaced, ill maintained, signs are easy money for states and localities, especially for commercial vehicles... who wants to travel 1,000 miles to go to court when the first court date is probably only to enter a plea? If I think I have a case, I'll fight it and make them earn their money... when they see you sit down with 6 stacks of papers and they have a courtroom FULL of "possession of a controlled substance" or "failure to appear for the 5th time" or "failure to make time payments"... The judge does NOT want to waste 30 minutes on a traffic ticket.

 

There still is no excuse for being ignorant of the law! My point was not an exception. It was the real point that there being no sign is a communication breakdown that leads to the ignorance that should excuse it. While this sounds like what is more 12 or a dozen is actually is not. However, to be honest I have a serious doubt that is the case in this situation. As one of the mods said the other day in here. The OP has not answered some questions. In the clear as a bell case here, if there were no signs the OP will have to prove this in a court. To be honest I have seen a lot of warning signs on the main road warning of the side roads being restricted or prohibited. I do wish the OP well. I would be interested to know the actual road he was clipped on because I think I have someone I can ask about that road. I just don't know what road to ask about.

 

I was only trying to relay to the op that if the signs were not placed appropriately (like the MUTCD mandates) then he could represent himself in court and win like I did. Your statement about "ignorance not being an excuse" triggered me because that's basically what the prosecutor brought up against me. I won, he lost. Common sense plays a large role in the courts when dealing with regulatory signs. I strongly recommend everyone read part 2b https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/part2b.pdf so we can all defend ourselves vs being battered by the police. The weight limit portion is near the end at 2B.59.

 

When a driver by happenstance is faced with being stopped for being on a load or size restricted road they have violated some form of a law. Ignorance can not excuse the reason for this. There is a reason for the restrictions, to just allow heavy trucks to operate will cause expensive damage. If the government agency responsible for communicating this restriction fails to properly mark the road it is THEY, not the driver that is at fault. The driver's ignorance can be explained by this. Therefore the driver should walk away from the charge. However, because someone did not do their job THAT person should face sanctions. I will go back to my original point. You should never excuse ignorance like this, somebody should pay for it. I think it is sad that government paid civil servants are just allowed to skate when through their negligence roads and road infrastructure is damaged.I hope you now see my point, I did a bad job with this today.

 

Whats the address in Yorba Linda ?

 

The mob

 

Good luck with a lawyer trying to get the fine reduced. You can many times pay the fine and even more and get the charge reduced, but rarely get the fine itself reduced.

 

The problem is that the OP did not get the normal overweight ticket from the load having a problem, He violated the weight limit on a street. There is no way out, unless yu can show the court the signage was either not visible or missing, you know another reason for a personal drivecam. Other than that paying is the option. Consult with a local attourney Plenty of them in that area.

 

I think the question here is two-fold.

First, does this ticket generate points on your license?

Second, will it cost you more to fight it, or just pay it?