OT- Ticket on NJ Turnpike
- Thread starter Knight Shift
- Start date
Try to negotiate to a violation of the obstruction of traffic statute:
39:4-67.
Obstruction of Traffic
39:4-67. Obstructing passage of other vehicles or street cars prohibited; clearance of intersections
No vehicle or street car shall be permitted by the owner or driver thereof to so occupy a street as to interfere with or interrupt the passage of other street cars or vehicles, nor shall the driver of a vehicle or street car drive such vehicle or street car into an intersection if preceding traffic prevents immediate clearance of the intersection.
Prosecutors used to agree to this all the time, even for speeding, because they got some money -- $80-90 -- and drivers got no points. But years go the NJ Supreme Court stopped the over-use of this statute by prosecutors for plea bargaining because what the statute prohibited -- obstructing traffic -- way too often had nothing to do with what the driver was charged with -- for example, speeding. In your case, you may be able to make an argument -- you obstructed traffic by clogging the left lane and not being able to move over. You can always try to fight, but you'll likely lose.
By the way, in response to the Supreme Court limiting the use of this statute for plea bargaining, the legislature created the "unsafe driving" statute that some here have mentioned. It carries with it no points (but you can use it only twice in five years), but has the hefty $400 surcharge. If you can't get the obstruction plea bargain, this may be your only other option for a plea. Otherwise, you fight.
This post was edited on 3/12 8:52 AM by willisneverrana43
I've seen the NJSP do it a few times. Always enjoy seeing it live
I'm not for reckless driving but someone not keeping up with the flow of traffic in the left or middle lanes usually leads to more chaos as people coming up fast are taken by surprise, especially in a state known for its "faster" drivers
Looks like Route 78 near Watchung/Warren. And that is infuriating when cars drive that slowly in the left lane. I don't mind as much when there is a gap in the middle lane to go around them, but when they clog things up (as that driver did with the cop), few things get the blood going--stupidity is a damn disease, and camping out is stupidity. It's now a toss-up as to which state's drivers are the worst about camping out, as New York's used to be in 1st Place. But then PA's started catching up. I still have to give the nod to New Yorkers, as even the livery drivers camp out for miles at a clip.
Hey, at least according to this thread, that Trooper probably could have actually pulled the car over and ticketed them. Instead, the driver gets freaked out, confused, and hopefully learns a lesson, while everyone else gets a laugh and a newly cleared left lane. He's cool in my book.
