Have I Ever Unintentionally Broken The Law

I think that most people have unintentionally broken some law and probably didn’t even know they did it. But if I’m talking about myself, a few years ago I was getting off the freeway to go across this intersection and get back on the freeway so I could avoid the traffic jam that is always there. So I got off the freeway, sat at the light at the intersection, and when the light turned green, drove across the intersection and onto the freeway on-ramp. Only, as I was driving down the on-ramp I noticed a bunch of cars pulled off to the side, and police officers waving people over. At first I thought something bad had happened and they were trying to keep people off the freeway, and I got waved over…….then I realized I had gotten waved over for some other reason because I saw police officers writing tickets. I was thinking WTF did I do??!! So the police officer asks me if I know what I did, and I smiled really big and I told him I honestly did not know. He laughed and told me it was because I drove across the intersection and back onto the freeway when there are clearly signs saying you can only turn left or right. I did argue with him nicely, and I told him that if those signs are there, they are not clear. And then I said: So I suppose you are going to actually write me a ticket? And the cop said that he had to write the ticket because his boss was right over there watching him, but that if I go to court or fight it online, he will ignore the ticket and it will be dismissed. Ok great.

The police officer wrote the ticket and I went on my merry way, but I did turned around and go back to that off ramp and take pictures…..and the signs were definitely not clear at all. In fact, I had never even seen them until that day, and I had to look for them, in addition, one of the signs had a straight arrow. And of course I turned right this time and di not go across the intersection. LOL.

I called my friend who is a police officer and I told him what happened, and asked him what I should say to fight it online. He told me that first of all that is the lamest ticket he has ever heard of, and this is what to say. So I submitted my photos and my description of what happened, and my ticket got dismissed. And……..the city did put up appropriate signage about a month later. But I do wonder how many people just paid that ticket?