Crossin a Median definition

C

Confused123456

Guest
Jurisdiction
Texas
At the last minute, I was merging onto the freeway today. I was sited for "Driving across a median" and "changing lanes not is safety". I agree that I was changing lanes not safely, however a median is "the strip of land between the lanes of opposing traffic on a divided highway." I cannot find anywhere that a median is the solid line when merging onto a freeway. Should I fight this ticket?
 
Did you get two citations?

If you just got one citation that says you did two things, admitting to one thing makes questioning the other thing unnecessary.

Either way, what are the statute numbers for which you got cited.
 
Yes, I received 1 citation with two violations. The numbers with the "Driving Across a Median" were RD844 and RD111 for "changing lanes not in safety".
 
Confused123456 said:
At the last minute, I was merging onto the freeway today. I was sited for "Driving across a median" and "changing lanes not is safety". I agree that I was changing lanes not safely, however a median is "the strip of land between the lanes of opposing traffic on a divided highway." I cannot find anywhere that a median is the solid line when merging onto a freeway. Should I fight this ticket?
Click to expand...

You're posting from Georgia.

In what Texas city did these alleged crimes occur?
 
I am not sure about the local ordinances question. All I know is that I received 2 violations and the violation in question says : City of Houston (Texas)

RD844- Driving across a median- distance between streets.

The Texas Driver's Handbook states a median is "area of ground separating traffic moving in opposite directions. I cannot find anywhere that a median is the solid line when merging onto a freeway. Should I fight this ticket?
 
Which type of line did you cross, and how many lines were there?
Look here: The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits)

If it was a single white line you will see that crossing a line is "discouraged" for safety reasons, but NOT illegal. The officer will have to explain how your movement was a safety hazard, not simply that you crossed the line. You can make this argument and likely prevail if there was no additional safety issue (but be prepared with the Texas code that gives this definition).

HOWEVER, if you crossed TWO lines, you likely were in violation. This is an illegal lane change, not a crossing of the median.

As for the median- the officer has the wrong definition of terms. The median is the space between opposing lanes of traffic. You should easily beat that part of it just based on definition, however the court could simply amend it and apply the correct violation.

So... what exactly did you cross?
 
Confused123456 said:
I am not sure about the local ordinances question. All I know is that I received 2 violations and the violation in question says : City of Houston (Texas)

RD844- Driving across a median- distance between streets.

The Texas Driver's Handbook states a median is "area of ground separating traffic moving in opposite directions. I cannot find anywhere that a median is the solid line when merging onto a freeway. Should I fight this ticket?
Click to expand...

Houston, TX Muni Codes

Municode Library

I thnk you're describing "the gore point"

What Is the Gore Area in Driving?
 
mightymoose said:
Which type of line did you cross, and how many lines were there?
Look here: The Texas Highway Man Pages - Texas Traffic Laws (and good driving habits)

If it was a single white line you will see that crossing a line is "discouraged" for safety reasons, but NOT illegal. The officer will have to explain how your movement was a safety hazard, not simply that you crossed the line. You can make this argument and likely prevail if there was no additional safety issue (but be prepared with the Texas code that gives this definition).

HOWEVER, if you crossed TWO lines, you likely were in violation. This is an illegal lane change, not a crossing of the median.

As for the median- the officer has the wrong definition of terms. The median is the space between opposing lanes of traffic. You should easily beat that part of it just based on definition, however the court could simply amend it and apply the correct violation.

So... what exactly did you cross?
Click to expand...

It was the left lane that eventually goes onto the freeway. It was ONE solid white line that separated that lane from the other lanes as it was to go onto the freeway.
 
Confused123456 said:
It was the left lane that eventually goes onto the freeway. It was ONE solid white line that separated that lane from the other lanes as it was to go onto the freeway.
Click to expand...

So the median portion of the citation should be easy to defeat simply based on definition.
The unsafe lane change will depend on other circumstances such as volume and speed of traffic. You agreed it was unsafe above, but should not do that in court. Let the officer prove it was unsafe without your help.
If your movement did not cause a sudden reaction by any other driver it may be hard to prove your movement was unsafe.
 
army judge said:
Houston, TX Muni Codes

Municode Library

I thnk you're describing "the gore point"

What Is the Gore Area in Driving?
Click to expand...

No, it was not the "gore point". Before you are entering a ramp on the freeway, the feeder road has a left lane that eventually goes up the ramp and merges with the freeway. As this left lane gets closer to the ramp (and before it gets to the ramp to merge onto the freeway) the RIGHT "LINE" of the LEFT "LANE" eventually changes from a spaced line to a solid white line. That is the line I crossed. So I was in the middle lane and then crossed the solid white line to get to the left lane to go up the ramp to merge with the freeway.
 
Confused123456 said:
No, it was not the "gore point". Before you are entering a ramp on the freeway, the feeder road has a left lane that eventually goes up the ramp and merges with the freeway. As this left lane gets closer to the ramp (and before it gets to the ramp to merge onto the freeway) the RIGHT "LINE" of the LEFT "LANE" eventually changes from a spaced line to a solid white line. That is the line I crossed. So I was in the middle lane and then crossed the solid white line to get to the left lane to go up the ramp to merge with the freeway.
Click to expand...

Do you reside in Harris County?

You potentially have two easy options.

None of those include defending a ticket in a Houston Muni Court.

Those courts are revenue collection points for the city.

I'll get to those, but let's try this first.

Do the citations resemble this: RD844 - DRIVING ACROSS A MEDIAN - DISTANCE BETWEEN STREETS

RD111 - CHANGING LANES NOT IN SAFETY - (DISTANCE BETWEEN STREETS)

What are ticket numbers on the citations?

I'll get to the bottom it for you, because you made me curious. LOL
 
army judge said:
Do you reside in Harris County?

You potentially have two easy options.

None of those include defending a ticket in a Houston Muni Court.

Those courts are revenue collection points for the city.

I'll get to those, but let's try this first.

Do the citations resemble this: RD844 - DRIVING ACROSS A MEDIAN - DISTANCE BETWEEN STREETS

RD111 - CHANGING LANES NOT IN SAFETY - (DISTANCE BETWEEN STREETS)

What are ticket numbers on the citations?

I'll get to the bottom it for you, because you made me curious. LOL
Click to expand...

YES! That is exactly how the citations look! There were not any ticket number on the citations. I was given this by a motorcycle cop who was just standing in the lane and pointing at people to pull over. He had a lot to do with the cluster of cars.
 
Confused123456 said:
YES! That is exactly how the citations look! There were not any ticket number on the citations. I was given this by a motorcycle cop who was just standing in the lane and pointing at people to pull over. He had a lot to do with the cluster of cars.
Click to expand...

Now my curiosity increases.

Can you scan the tickets and upload them?
If you can, redact your personal information.
I'm curious because all APPROVED Texas Traffic tickets MUST be numbered.
Do the citations list the issuing agency's name?
 
Is this how the ticket looks:
..............................
000sample-non-traffic-ticket (1) (1).jpg
..............................


If these images reflect your ticket, they are NON-TRAFFIC citations.

I call these "ENHANCED revenue collection schemes"!!!!!
....................................................
These are traffic citations:
=======================================111houstontrafficcitation.JPG
 
army judge said:
Is this how the ticket looks:
..............................
View attachment 1311
..............................


If these images reflect your ticket, they are NON-TRAFFIC citations.

I call these "ENHANCED revenue collection schemes"!!!!!
....................................................
These are traffic citations:
=======================================View attachment 1312
Click to expand...
Here it is
 

Attachments

  • Ticket.pdf
    122.5 KB · Views: 8

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