Fighting a failure to yield ticket?

[camdin90]

I live in St. Louis Missouri and i was wondering if it is even worth it to fight a failing to yield ticket and what i should expect on the legal side of things.

What happen was I pulled up to an intersection and saw that to my left cars were stopped at a red light, once i approached i slowed down then realized i could merge onto the road so i then proceeded to turn right. I did not cut any cars off or come close to hit one, also i didn't speed around the corner i slowed down to make sure i could get on the road. The cop then pulled me over; he was at the front stop light in the far lane on a two lane road(on the road i pulled on to).

Could someone clarify what yielding is, to my knowledge it doesn't involve coming to a complete stop but slowing down to make sure you can merge appropriately.

I know i gave a lot of info but any advice would be much appreciated thanks.

[bercnan72]

I live in St. Louis Missouri and i was wondering if it is even worth it to fight a failing to yield ticket and what i should expect on the legal side of things.

What happen was I pulled up to an intersection and saw that to my left cars were stopped at a red light, once i approached i slowed down then realized i could merge onto the road so i then proceeded to turn right. I did not cut any cars off or come close to hit one, also i didn't speed around the corner i slowed down to make sure i could get on the road. The cop then pulled me over; he was at the front stop light in the far lane on a two lane road(on the road i pulled on to).

Could someone clarify what yielding is, to my knowledge it doesn't involve coming to a complete stop but slowing down to make sure you can merge appropriately.

I know i gave a lot of info but any advice would be much appreciated thanks.

Don't waste your time and effort. Pay the fine and move on.

[adamka]

It sounds like the road that you were on had a red light, and that you made a right turn on red (which is legal unless marked otherwise). When making a right turn on red, you must pull your car up to the intersection and come to a COMPLETE stop, verify traffic is clear and then proceed. As you did not come to a complete stop, the cop rightfully gave you a ticket.

You could show up in court and try to fight it, and while I have never received a ticket in MO, here is the basic process in other states:
You arrive at traffic court on your designated day, a representative from the state/county/city will likely address all people in court before court starts and explain the basic process, and tell you that if you plead guilty (with an explanation) they will reduce the charges (reduce the fine and/or reduce the points on your license). Court begins, and the judge calls you before him/her. You are read the charges you were ticketed for, and asked how you plead. If you plead guilty with an explanation, you will be given an opportunity to say you have a clean driving record (if true) and why you did not stop at the light, or explain the situation further...keep it short and sweet. The judge will review the facts as well as your explanation and provide the sentence. If you plead "Not Guilty", the judge will call up the officer that issued the ticket. If the officer is not present, the judge will either dismiss the charges, or will postpone the case for several weeks and you will have to come back again.

All told, you will spend 3-4 hours at the court house to spend about 90 seconds in front of the judge. You have to decide what your time is worth and determine whether it is worth wasting your day at the courthouse to save 50% or less of the fine amount shown on the ticket.

[rushford79]

You apparently made a right turn on red. I don't know about where you live, but in some locations, the intersection must be clear of traffic to make a legal right turn on red. Your statement implies that you did not come to a complete stop as required by law before making a right turn on red. That's how you got the ticket.

Yield means you must stop if there is a reasonable threat of a collision occurring. Between you and the cop, his reasonable threat carries more weight than yours. Many people think that yield means you only have to slow down. That's only true if there's no threat of a collision.