united-states traffic
Pulled over (graphic included) - Washington DC
<p>I was pulled over in Washington, DC by DHS, FPS and received a moving violation for, as the officer describes on the ticket, “Wrong Way on one way.” Specifically, the ticket lists the infraction as T082. After some searching, the specific law seems to be 18 DCMR 2201.4 Driving the wrong way on a one-way street.</p>

<p>Regarding the fine, on the ticket the $100 box is checked, however when I looked it up it is a $50 fine. I am not as concerned about this as I am about the circumstances of the traffic stop.</p>

<p>I was going down a two-way street, arrived at an intersection with a one-way street which only allowed traffic to flow from left to right. As I arrived at the intersection, I had my left signal on. I had the right of way (everyone had stop signs), but I had to wait because a few pedestrians were crossing. As I passed the stop sign (after stopping) and entered the intersection, a cop car on the same road as me but going the opposite way stopped at their stop sign. The cop turns on his lights, and I turned left to pull over because there is open parking spot on the right side of the one-way street (only at this point I am facing the wrong way on the one-way) and the cops writes me a ticket. I would like to emphasize that before the cop pulled me over, my car was facing the correct direction. I only pulled into the left because I was being pulled over and it was the safest way to get out of the way. Not that it matters at this point… but I probably should have continued going straight when the cop turned on his lights. However, I vaguely remember the cop car as well as another cop car sort of blocking me from doing that (there were two police vehicles involved in this stop).</p>

<p>I can either mail in an explanation or request a hearing with the cop present in front of an Administrative Judge. I have no evidence, so I plan to file a FOIA request for the dash cam and body cam video. Since situations involving legal issues have the tendency to blindside, I would deeply appreciate any guidance on the best way to go about fighting this ticket. I am happy to answer any questions.</p>

<p>I am including an illustration of the situation:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MGdEq.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/MGdEq.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>I would like a perspective from someone who has experience with legal defense.</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>2201.4 Upon a roadway so designated for one-way traffic, a vehicle shall be driven only in the direction designated at all or such times as shall be indicated by official traffic control devices.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I'm failing to see the "... except when pulling over for the police" subclause. Equally there is no "... unless you think you should" subclause.</p>

<p>If you choose to have a hearing the evidence will show unambiguously that you drove the wrong way in a one way street and you will testify as to your reasons for doing so. For you to avoid the violation you would need to convince the examiner that a) you are telling the truth and b) that your mindset is in any way relevant. Unless the officer clearly directed you to pull into that spot, the decision to do so appears to be yours.</p>

<p>I'd pay the fine if it was me.</p>
