Well Crap, Got A Ticket.

Friday, I was on my way to make a delivery when I came up to a sign that said "Road closed 15 miles ahead, local traffic only". I thought, "well my delivery is not that far, so I should be okay. Further up the road, I come up to traffic. A few vehicles ahead I see a police vehicle on the street, and a Semi doing a turn-around maneuver, then pass by me in the opposite direction. I am thinking, ""hmmm, what is going on up ahead?". I finally get up to the village police car and the officer tells me to pull ahead and wait. Not good. He eventually tells me the street is closed ahead (which I now plainly see, so I ask him for assist in which street to get around the closure or to turn around. He states "he will, but first he is going to cite me for failure to obey a road sign". I ask him "what sign??", and he replies "the one a couple miles back that said road closed". I reply, "the one that says road closed 15 miles ahead?" He states, "it says 1.5 miles, not 15." I am like "what?" Anyways, he gives me a citation for ORD 432.38 (b) "full time and attention" then proceeds to help me turn around. I head back to the road closed sign, and sure enough, the sign has a very small dot/period between the 1 and 5. Oh, crap! How did I miss that dot?"

I called my Safety manager and boss to advise them, and sent a copy of my citation to the Safety manager. Later, I get home and look up "Full time and Attention". That citation refers to "distracted driving ". I am thinking to myself, "I was not distracted, I just misread the sign." The citation $ amount isn't a big deal, but the probability of 2 points on my CDL is. I'll speak to a lawyer and plead not guilty at my first court appearance, but I doubt it will end well. Just a reminder to be 100% certain what a road sign says before you proceed. The defense of "I thought it was _________ , when it actually read ___________ isn't going to get us far.

Don did you take a picture of the sign?? That could have been your best evidence. If the dot was that small, apparently 2 of you missed it then a judge would take that into account.

I am curious what law you actually broke, since you did not go around a road block the sign said road closed 1.5 miles ahead which to me means it is open for 1.5 miles but when it says local traffic only that means you cannot get all the way through.

Don did you take a picture of the sign?? That could have been your best evidence. If the dot was that small, apparently 2 of you missed it then a judge would take that into account.

^^^^^ THIS.

Most of these signs are "cobbled together" with stick-on letters/numbers. To be legal, they have to be a certain size, and if the "dot" wasn't proportionally as large as the numbers - then the ticket could get thrown out.

"village cop"? Almost sounds INTENTIONAL...

Rick

When you say village cop the first thing that comes to mind is a 70’s disco band.

Exactly. The "Road blocked" sign was in town and 100 -150 yards ahead of where the cop was stopping us. He was allowing cars to proceed down other roads to detour around. The sign I passed stated "Road closed 1.5 miles ahead." He ticketed me for "Full time and attention", which is a citation for "distracted driving". That, I totally don't understand.

I am curious what law you actually broke, since you did not go around a road block the sign said road closed 1.5 miles ahead which to me means it is open for 1.5 miles but when it says local traffic only that means you cannot get all the way through.

Don, what a bummer. If I were you, I'd fight that citation. Sounds like you got caught in something similar to a local "speed trap". What was the cop's name? Barney Fife?

Just an update. I retained an attorney to fight the Full Time and Attention citation. He has a reputation of being a solid "fighter" in Huron County, OH. I gave him photos of the Road closed 1.5 miles ahead sign I passed, the location I was stopped, alternate route I could have taken without truck prohibited signs and the actual road closure further up the street. He didn't understand the LEO's reasoning for citing me for Full Time and Attention, but he "is familiar with the LEO's in the town I was detained. He isn't guaranteeing dismissal, but he will appear in court for me, plead not guilty and then work with the prosecutor to see what can be done. Although I am still uncertain of the actual violation I committed, I could just kick myself repeatedly in the groin for putting myself in this situation. Hopefully, my attorney will live up to his local reputation.