Need some legal advice: Traffic ticket

So I'm out on a drive checking out all the flood waters in the area. As I'm driving home there a couple pylons with flashing lights in the center of the road but you can see down the road for a mile or so as it head up a hill to higher ground but the road is dry. The pylons were not "blocking" the road so I figured they were more of a precautionary as there was no road closed sign and its a road I drive several times a week and know it was safe to pass. Another vehicle follows me. Coming up to the other end about a 1 1/2 miles down the road is a completely blocked road with a cop sitting there. He immediately jumps out and explains the road is closed due to the fact that they believe the water will cover the road later in the evening. So he proceeds to write me a $100 ticket for failure to obey a traffic control device and the same to the vehicle that followed me. Now while I'm waiting for my ticket another officer pulls up and talks for a few quick seconds and speeds off. I had my camera so I quick snap a quick photo and proceed to go back and take a photo of where I entered. The cop that sped off went to move the barriers!! I'm thinking this is an entrapment!
So I looked up in Iowa law and found this:

321.257 Official traffic control signal.
f. A "flashing yellow" light means vehicular traffic shall proceed through the intersection or past such signal with caution.

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So I'm no legal genious but hoping there's one here. Here's some pics. Again the second photo we were able to drive onto the road without driving off the road to get around the barriers. The barriers had been moved after we drove through. Do I have enough to fight this or should I just pay the $100 and have a violation on my record? Again there were no "Road Closed" signs.

If you can easily show up in court, it never hurts you. Most often (around here anyway) even if they find you "responsible" they cut the fine. Now the fine usually doesn't matter as much as the bump in your insurance premium, but it seems like you might have a chance.

Hell yeah, I'd fight it. If they were in the process of closing the road but did not have an officer on the other side to let you know what was going on then they are responsible as well.

I'd go to court with your pictures and story and see what happens. Worst case scenario they make you pay the $100

1. I see no "words" on those signs telling you what to do.
2. They look like construction markers to me.

How are you supposed to know what to do? Good luck.

kevabar said:

1. I see no "words" on those signs telling you what to do.
2. They look like construction markers to me.

How are you supposed to know what to do? Good luck.

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Thats exactly what I told the cop! Because another 1/2 mile past the cop there's construction and being they were poorly marked construction signs I figured they were starting to set things up to close the road tomorrow. It really sucks living in a city where the cops literally have nothing better to do than this crap.

I think you would win based on the fact that there were no signs telling you the road was closed. You could also tell the judge the barriers were moved AFTER you entered the roadway.

dirtymike1 said:

Ok look at your 3rd sign. There is NO way that a car could fit through that barrier. Then look at the first photo, thats were a car COULD through. Explain exactly what happened, and if the cop denies it, see if you can't get the other guy that ways pulled over to be there in court with you. FIGHT THIS!!!!

You can bet this if you try!

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My 3rd photo was where I entered. The barriers were all bunched up and pushed off to the left lane. That pic was taken after I drove around to photograph my evidence and the barriers were moved to completely block the roadway.

There's no additional penalty for fighting it. At the very least, the cop who gave you the ticket will have to show up and that might piss him off. Give it a shot. Worst case scenario you're right where you are now.

Thanks for the advice guys. I do think I'm gonna fight this. The evidence proves that the road clearly was not closed. Another vehicle did the same thing so obviously I wasn't the only one who misunderstood the road was closed. The control devices they put up had no markings of instructions and had a flashing yellow light which by state law means 321.257 Official traffic control signal f. A "flashing yellow" light means vehicular traffic shall proceed through the intersection or past such signal with caution. Now my only problem is I'm slated to be out of town for work on my court date This will be a fun call to the boss tomorrow.

I'm not a lawyer, but the fact that the barrier wasn't actually blocking the right lane makes me think you have a pretty solid case. In fact, it sounds like it may have just been a misunderstanding. Did you tell the officer that the lane wasn't blocked when he gave you the ticket? Maybe the reason that the second cop sped off to fix the barrier was because he thought you had moved it. Just a thought.

He knows I didn't move it because he could see me turn down the road.

see if you can get the other guy that got a ticket to come with you, 2 people might make a better case.

z987k said:

see if you can get the other guy that got a ticket to come with you, 2 people might make a better case.

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How do I go about finding out who that person was?

Just be very respectful when you fight this, show your picts, and quote the statute.

Yeah I agree with Ed. Also, the only ticket I can see someone getting from this would be a speeding ticket, since they can give you one for not doing the posted work zone speed. But I don't see one anywhere.

Therefore if you were going that posted speed, or slower and using the caution mentioned in that statute you should be fine.

It's cops like this that give cops in general a bad name. A ticket? Really? Were you endangering anyone? What would it have hurt to just give you a warning or just clarify what the deal was? Scumbag. Good luck fighting this---I'm pretty sure they'll let you off unless the judge is as much of an A-hole as that cop is...

EdWort said:

Just be very respectful when you fight this, show your picts, and quote the statute.

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best advice here, even if the cop was a *********, go with the pictures, your story and the section of code that pertains to your incident... I'm sure if anything they will thank you for your time and honesty and let it go.

Most definitely!! Oh and I went driving by the scene of the crime this morning and I see the barriers slid off to the side again and one of the barriers completely removed and sitting on the side of the road where the cop was sitting last night which a car would have no problem squeezing through. And I see 2 cars on the stretch of road. Obeying the supposed law I broke I drove around to the side where I entered last night. No barriers!? WTF!! So I drive down the road and the other end was removed already. GRR!!

Fight it!!!!! They did not post that the road was in fact closed. I,m not a lawyer but my SWMBO is a Legal Sec. for the Prosecutor here and says you should be able to win easy

Just so you know, a traffic control device can be a sign, light, roadway markings, etc. The only chance you have to win this is to prove your lane of travel was completely open. If the barriers blocked the other lane and your lane was open then you have a chance. Don't go into court accusing the officer's of moving the barriers in oreder to trap you.

dblvsn said:

How do I go about finding out who that person was?

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subpoena duces tecum

nyer said:

Just so you know, a traffic control device can be a sign, light, roadway markings, etc. The only chance you have to win this is to prove your lane of travel was completely open. If the barriers blocked the other lane and your lane was open then you have a chance. Don't go into court accusing the officer's of moving the barriers in oreder to trap you.

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So I can put up a couple of saw horses with blinking yellow lights and close the road and people will have to obey that?

I don't know about you, but there's no cops, no signs. Looks like a block party setup in my neighborhood closing a road with no authority to do so.

dblvsn said:

Thanks for the advice guys. I do think I'm gonna fight this. The evidence proves that the road clearly was not closed. Another vehicle did the same thing so obviously I wasn't the only one who misunderstood the road was closed. The control devices they put up had no markings of instructions and had a flashing yellow light which by state law means 321.257 Official traffic control signal f. A "flashing yellow" light means vehicular traffic shall proceed through the intersection or past such signal with caution. Now my only problem is I'm slated to be out of town for work on my court date This will be a fun call to the boss tomorrow.

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Request a continuance.

"A continuance is the moving of a trial date to a later date. The prosecution or the defense may request a continuance for any of several reasons. Work conflicts, school schedules, health problems, vacations and the need for more preparation time are all acceptable reasons for requesting a continuance.

You can request a continuance by contacting the COURT, via the court clerk, and explaining why you need it. This can be done by telephone or in person. We recommend using registered mail so you will have proof that your request was sent and received. The burden is then on the court to respond. It's best to make a request for a continuance at least two weeks in advance of the trial date."

EdWort said:

So I can put up a couple of saw horses with blinking yellow lights and close the road and people will have to obey that?
I don't know about you, but there's no cops, no signs. Looks like a block party setup in my neighborhood closing a road with no authority to do so.

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You can't unless you are a police officer or public official that has the right to close a road. The average citizen can't block off a road legally.

I don't know the exact laws in his state concerning road closures. If you look at the barriers they used with the flashing yellow lights I think you could easily argue that any "reasonable" person would believe the road was closed.
I believe the exact placement of the barriers when he drove through there is the key since there is no road closed sign. He could argue there was no road closed sign and his lane of traffic was not blocked by barriers when he (they) drove through so he reasonably believed that his lane was open. I think he has a good arguement if the barrier really wasn't in his lane.

Hopefully the police officer will not even bother to show up for such a silly thing. If they dont' show up, you win by default. He probably wrote the ticket hoping you wouldn't decide to go to court over it. Looks like a pretty cut and dry case to me.

I'd bet the cop doesn't even show. He probably knows the horses were moved and doesn't want to have to lie. Worst case scenario, if you did lose somehow, "Failure to control a traffic control device" usually comes with no points. I got pulled over for "speeding" once and the cop was nice enough to give me this... no points. (For anyone who drives the northeast extention of the PA turnpike 72mph is more like "going with the flow of traffic".)

If the road was truly closed then there should have been a police officer and his vehicle posted at the intersection blocking entry.