My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Washington
I was traveling on a road which also serves as the border between the City of Puyallup and unincorporated Pierce County. Unbeknownst to me, a Puyallup PO was hiding somewhere and noticed that I did not use my right turn signal. Once I turned right, I was no longer in Puyallup. He nonetheless followed me, and then pulled me over for speeding. It is my understanding that PO have the right to follow out of their district if they observe a crime or violation of law.
1. Isn't that usually reserved for more serious violations? Do police departments normally have a policy manual regarding jurisdiction?
2. It was a channelized intersection where the left lane continues straight and has a STOP sign but leads to a dead end, but the right lane connects to a secondary arterial and does not have a STOP sign. The statute says "No person shall turn a vehicle or move left or right upon a roadway... without giving an appropriate signal in the hereinafter manner provided". I assume "move left or right upon a roadway" means changing lanes, and "turn" means making a turn off of the road or onto another road. The meaning of "turn" is rather vague though and can be interpreted differently by different people. I don't see any official definition of "turn". There are many roads that curve, some 90 degrees, some have s curves, hairpin turns, etc. Are these all considered turns? My view was that it was a sharp curve and I was merely following the main road. 50% of people making that turn use their turn signal and 50% do not. So I am not the only one confused by the rules on this intersection.
3. He didn't pull me over for failure to use the turn signal. He pulled me over for speeding, which happened outside of his district. Is that legal? If it is, which district should handle the case? Puyallup or Pierce County?
It seems that the combined jurisdictional issues and the vague turn signal law and confusing intersection is a sketchy foundation to base a case on. Are there any legal issues I can use? Or am I grasping?
I was traveling on a road which also serves as the border between the City of Puyallup and unincorporated Pierce County. Unbeknownst to me, a Puyallup PO was hiding somewhere and noticed that I did not use my right turn signal. Once I turned right, I was no longer in Puyallup. He nonetheless followed me, and then pulled me over for speeding. It is my understanding that PO have the right to follow out of their district if they observe a crime or violation of law.
1. Isn't that usually reserved for more serious violations? Do police departments normally have a policy manual regarding jurisdiction?
2. It was a channelized intersection where the left lane continues straight and has a STOP sign but leads to a dead end, but the right lane connects to a secondary arterial and does not have a STOP sign. The statute says "No person shall turn a vehicle or move left or right upon a roadway... without giving an appropriate signal in the hereinafter manner provided". I assume "move left or right upon a roadway" means changing lanes, and "turn" means making a turn off of the road or onto another road. The meaning of "turn" is rather vague though and can be interpreted differently by different people. I don't see any official definition of "turn". There are many roads that curve, some 90 degrees, some have s curves, hairpin turns, etc. Are these all considered turns? My view was that it was a sharp curve and I was merely following the main road. 50% of people making that turn use their turn signal and 50% do not. So I am not the only one confused by the rules on this intersection.
3. He didn't pull me over for failure to use the turn signal. He pulled me over for speeding, which happened outside of his district. Is that legal? If it is, which district should handle the case? Puyallup or Pierce County?
It seems that the combined jurisdictional issues and the vague turn signal law and confusing intersection is a sketchy foundation to base a case on. Are there any legal issues I can use? Or am I grasping?
Traffic Lights, Signs and Controls: Failure to Use Turn Signal - Jurisdiction
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