HOV Lane & Shoulder

[cyclebob]

Hi,
I need some advise here. Its been a good 10years since I received any kind of ticket, and I beleive that this was unfair. I have always prided myself on my safe motorcyclist skills, and drive very defensively. I have never been in any kind of motorcycle accident either.
This occured in phx az.

I was on my motorcylce in the HOV lane, and a motorcycle cop was a few cars ahead of me starting to pull someone over for being in the HOV lane - single driver. The truck ahead of me was also a single driver and saw what the cop was doing, so immediately he slammed on his brakes and tried to get over (moving right) into the left lane. I always keep a good safe distance back just for these reasons and slowed as well.
After the truck got over I started to move forward (slowly) and was next to him when he decided to GO BACK into the HOV lane!
There was a car also directly behind me, so I was concerned about him since he was not leaving much room for me to brake suddenly.
So I decided to move into the Shoulder (accross the orange line) . Clearly the truck had no idea I was there, he was only worried about the cop catching him as well. I stilll dont know why he got back into the HOV, maybe he thought the cop would see him in the left lane (moving much slower) and pull him over too?
I think the cop saw me (thru his rearview mirror) just as I was accelerting in the shoulder to get around the truck.
I got back in front of the truck and the cop wave me over as I passed him. The copy already had somelse pulled over, and the truck in front of me got away scott free!!
He cited me for passing in the shoulder. I tried to explain that I was just trying to avoid getting hit. He said I should "leave more distance" but I was already going slow and the car behind me was tailgating, which is common in Phx due to the rude obnoxious drivers.

I know the cop could not have witnessed the entire event thru his rear view mirror and still be able to tend to business in front of him.

IS this worth fighting? Do I have a case of the cop being in front of me, blocked by another car no less, and pre-occupied, or are they really trained that well?
Do I have a case?

cb.

 

[lwpat]

Everything depends on the judge. I would certainly make the argument that you actions were necessary to avoid an accident and the truck should have been ticketed for an illegal lane change.

The officers attention was elsewhere and you should be able to show that he could not have observed the entire situation.

Call the clerk of court and find out the procedures for pleading not guilty. Sometimes you can do this by mail or fax and avoid the arraignment.

 

[cyclebob]

One more question

Thanks for your reply lwpat, I'll get in touch with the court today to find out the options.
Another question,
I am a bit fuzzy on the who guilty/not-guilty/contested, etc thing.
If I plead not-guilty am I saying that I did not pass on the shoulder?, because I did indeed use the shoulder, but for saftey reasons.....
And if I do plead this way, will the judge pose a different fine if he still does not beleive me as oppsed to if I had pleaded guilty, but with good cause?
Sorry if this sounds a bit garbled, but Im clueless when it comes to the law.

thanks again,
cb.

 

[lwpat]

It all depends on how the individual court operates. Normally if you show up and agree to plead guilty they will lower the fine. You can also plead not guilty and then negotiate or go to trial. In some states they will add court costs if the judge finds you guilty. The clerk is usualy your best resource.