Traffic School After Trial OK, Court Says

Dear Readers:

It’s time to open the old Street Smart mailbag again and take a look at responses to some recent columns, beginning with letters about the ever popular subject of traffic school.

In May, a reader found it unfair that a driver could not request traffic school after having a trial in court. Dick Biggins, executive officer of the county’s West Municipal Court, explained that such a policy would bog the courts down, since it would make a risk-free proposition out of challenging a ticket before a judge.

Two readers responded to his comments, both pointing out that a state appellate court rejected the notion that a court can ban a person from attending traffic school simply because it was not requested before trial.

“While no one is entitled to traffic school, the court cannot deny a person traffic school simply because he chose to exercise his legal right to a trial first,” wrote Leslie E. McMillan of Anaheim, describing the case.

“Believe it or not, some people are innocent and should not be deterred from establishing that innocence by a “double or nothing” policy which punishes them once if they waive trial and go to traffic school but twice (with court fines and insurance premiums) if they dare to go to trial and lose,” McMillan wrote.

McMillan is right that the case affirms that one may request traffic school after a conviction. But Biggins pointed out that under the state vehicle code, traffic school only keeps a ticket off a driver’s record if the citation has been dismissed in lieu of trial.

A local lawyer interpreted the vehicle code the same way. “I would conclude that it would not mask the ticket after conviction,” said Kevin Harrison, an Anaheim Hills-based attorney who handles serious traffic cases as part of his general practice.

That seems to kill all hope of a loophole, but then there’s the second letter from a reader identified only as “Deep in a municipal court.” The reader said he or she has heard judges discussing this very appellate decision, and how implementing it could shut the courts down with “no risk” trials.

The only way to test this would be if someone tried to attend traffic school after being convicted and then returned to court seeking a dismissal, Harrison said. He predicted that such an attempt would fail or that, should it win, the state Legislature would quickly amend the vehicle code.

Traffic school, Part 2, from Linda Giesy of Huntington Beach:

“I was involved in an accident and told that if I attended traffic school, it would not go on my record. However, my insurance company does have that accident listed. Now I am wondering, does the Department of Motor Vehicles have the accident listed? If so, what is the object of attending traffic school?”

Traffic school only keeps tickets off your record, not accidents, according to DMV spokesman Bill Madison. In fact, drivers are required to report any accident that causes more than $500 in damages, Madison said.

Some accidents also result in the driver’s getting a ticket. In that case, traffic school would at least keep the ticket off your record, which might save you from being hit for both an accident and a ticket by your insurance company.

In July, Street Smart dealt with “lane-splitting” by motorcycles, and how it is legal because nothing in the vehicle code prohibits it. That drew a letter from Dave Ryskamp of Westminster.

“Where would the liability lie in the following scenario: I am driving down the freeway at the speed limit. Suddenly, a small object appears. I move my car, within my lane, to avoid the object, but I clip a fast-moving motorcycle overtaking me in my lane. The motorcyclist loses control and crashes.”

Street Smart’s original source, Sgt. Gary DeKinder of the CHP Academy, sides with the driver: “A car moving within its own lane is not a violation of the vehicle code,” DeKinder said. “I don’t see where the car driver could be held liable,” he said.

Ryskamp also wondered if a car could “lane-split” around a motorcycle. DeKinder said it would be possible if a motorcycle was staying very far to the left or right in a lane. But in reality, that’s never the case, he said.

Jeff Robins of Mission Viejo wondered why lane-splitting is allowed if tailgating is not. He wrote: “Wouldn’t the same theory hold true? That if two moving objects are too close to one another, the chance of an accident happening is greatly increased?”

The theory may be true, but the fact remains, there is no specific law against lane-splitting. An officer can and will cite a motorcyclist who travels between cars too fast for conditions, or who changes lanes unsafely by cutting in front of a car, DeKinder pointed out. That’s because there are specific laws about that, but there aren’t, as of yet, about lane-splitting.

In August, Street Smart explained how drivers can cross over a single double-yellow line to turn left but not across a pair of double-yellow lines, which constitute a “solid” barrier.

Afterward, Jack C. Caskey of Anaheim described a common situation where a driver wants to turn left but cannot reach the left-turn pocket because through traffic is blocking the opening to the pocket. The temptation is to cross over the single-yellow line or the painted median, to drive around the back-up and into the pocket. Permissible?

No. Don’t do it. You can’t cross one double-yellow line to pass other vehicles, only to turn left, and you can’t cross into a median formed by two double-yellow lines. While people try to reach pockets this way in heavy traffic, it’s against the law, said Steve Rautus, a Costa Mesa traffic investigator.

Finally, returning to May, Street Smart quoted a DMV employee about how there has never been an “E” license plate where the E had an oval around it. That brought in letters from Leon Stein of Laguna Niguel and Tom Pendell of Balboa. Both said that many years ago, city vehicles had E plates with squares around them while county vehicles had oval “E” plates.

When asked, the DMV again told Street Smart that there were no ovals or squares surrounding “E’s” on license plates. However, Street Smart’s money is that Stein and Pendell are right on this one. The two seem to know their plate history.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to Danny Sullivan, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.