Legal Question in Traffic Law in Michigan

Failure to Merge for Emergency Vehicle on side of highway in MI

I was visiting family in MI (from WI) on Sat. July 14 and was ticketed for Failure to Merge by a Genesee County Sheriff. He noted I had time to merge, while I was very polite I noted the van next to me. He disagreed, said I had time and proceeded to write the ticket. This emergency vehicle was tending to a u-haul in the median, construction notices were up pending a lane closure in the right lane so I was in the left, as traffic in front of me moved over I noticed the situation but had a van on my right so I slowed and squeezed as far over in the right lane as possible. As traffic backed up for the construction he pulled in behind me and motioned to pull over. Instead of a misdemeanor as noted in the law below, he cited a civil infraction (and did not hold my license for bond). He also noted on the ticket the code 614.653a (not 257.653a). The ticket has not been received by the court yet so I can not determine if any officer notes were taken to understand his position or if he has any visual evidence (pictures/video). I have to make a decision between 5 and 20 days of guilty, guilty w/ explanation, not guilty informal hearing or formal hearing. I have no traffic violations in the past 10 years (one warning in WI about 5 yrs ago).


Asked on 7/21/07, 11:19 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Audra Arndt Audra A. Arndt & Associates, PLLC

Re: Failure to Merge for Emergency Vehicle on side of highway in MI

if you had a lawyer go to court for you, which they can do without you being present (at least in most courts), they could likely get the ticket knocked down to a no point violation which would not appear on your record. your explanation doesn't matter - the courts and prosecutors always side with the cops, so save it.

if you want to keep your insurance from increasing, i suggest you pay a lawyer a few hundred bucks to take care of the ticket for you by scheduling a formal hearing.

if you try to plead guilty with explanation, it will still go on your record.

email me if you want representation or have any further questions. thanks.

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Answered on 7/24/07, 1:48 pm


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