Legal Question in Traffic Law in Pennsylvania

failure to stop at stop sign at listed location

My son was cited for failure '' to stop at stop sign posted at the listed location.'' He was alone on his way to school. He left with enough time to be given the ticket and reach school on time. He stopped about a foot before the stop sign in our development at a very busy 3 way intersection (onto a 35mph zone). He slowly edged his way out in front of a marked police car who accelerated as soon as my son pulled out, then stopped him and allegedly asked, ''What the hell are you doing?'' Scared, my son said, ''I'm sorry,'' and claims that the lawman never stated why he was citing him. I have 2 questions: How should my son respectfully defend his Not Guilty plea? Is Section 3111, sub-section a, if found guilty, apt to reach our insurance co?


Asked on 9/19/08, 9:43 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Solomon Weinstein Solomon Weinstein, Esquire

Re: failure to stop at stop sign at listed location

Section 3111(a) failure to pay attention to posted signs is a non point offense for Pennsylvania residents and should not affect your insurance.

Read more
Answered on 9/19/08, 10:45 am
Robert Weber Robert M Weber Attorney at Law

Re: failure to stop at stop sign at listed location

Hello,

Solomon is correct.

I would like to add that the 3111A is pretty much the lowest common denominator when it comes to traffic offenses. When I plead down on cases, often the 3111A is the goal, as it has the lowest fine and does not affect insurance.

In application the justice you desire may not be worth your time as there is no where down from there to really plead and taking such a traffic ticket to trial rarely ends in full victory as there is no real physical evidence and it is unlikely that the judge will take your son's word over that of the officer- who will undoubtedly be in a much more respectful demeanor.

Of course it is up to you and there is always the possibility of a ticket technicality or the officer not showing up. However, taking this one to trial is certainly principle driven and not outcome driven.

Good Luck

Read more
Answered on 9/19/08, 6:17 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Traffic Law questions and answers in Pennsylvania