Little Known Ways a Driver Could Receive a Traffic Citation in NJ

Most people know that speeding or running a red light could lead to a traffic citation. Your location, whether or not an officer was present or if a traffic camera snapped you doing it are all common factors that could lead to a traffic citation.

However, many people find themselves shocked to get a traffic citation in other situations simply because they did not even know it was possible. Depending on your state's laws on the books, there are a number of different ways you could get a traffic citation and if you are guilty of violating an existing law, ignorance of that law is not a compelling defense to avoid the citation's consequences; including fines and other penalties.

There are a lot of different regulations and traffic laws, but keep in mind that ignorance of the law is no excuse when you are pulled over. Unless you are police officer, there is a very low chance that you know all of the various traffic laws. Depending on your individual state, the laws on the books may differ from other areas. If you move to a new location, you need to take a look carefully at existing traffic statutes.
You will likely have to do this when you update your driver's license, but you should be mindful of laws that can be added after you receive your driver's license and become an active driver in the state.

Hit and Runs or Property Damage

Many states have laws regarding striking in an unattended vehicle that leads to any damage to the car. You may be responsible for leaving a note with your contact information or locating the owner of the unattended vehicle in order to tell them about the incident. Failing to follow these rules could lead to misdemeanor charges in some states.

Most people are aware that striking another person could be classified as a hit and run, which could have criminal consequences in addition to civil consequences, if the injured party is able to locate you and to file a lawsuit. If you are involved in any type of traffic accident, including just striking someone's property, it's better to be safe than sorry and to stop and leave your contact information or speak to the other driver directly.

It’s a good idea to always stop anyways to see if you have suffered any medical issues or if there’s damage to your car. You don’t want to drive away from the scene of an incident only to discover later that you don’t have the contact information for the other person involved in the wreck.

Going in The Wrong Lane of Traffic

In most states, a person who is driving under normal traffic speed needs to operate in the far-right hand lane except when passing a car traveling in the same direction or overtaking a car or when preparing to turn left. A driver who may be obeying the speed limit but is going slower than the flow of traffic, who does not pull into the right lane could actually receive a traffic citation in some states.

Many people are shocked to realize that going slower than the speed limit could lead to traffic citation as the vast majority of traffic citations have to do with reckless driving, including speeding. But as a slower driver, you are putting yourself and others at risk for an accident if you are operating in the left-hand lane. This is one statement I continually try to point out to my dad (sorry, pops)!

Stopping Before Pulling Out

A car that is pulling out from a building, driveway, private road or alley, likely needs to stop before moving through a crosswalk area for pedestrians and bicycles and pulling out on the road way. This law is often violated by drivers who look for oncoming cars and trucks, but fail to look out for those who may be on bicycles or on foot.

If those individuals are crossing from either direction in an unmarked or marked crosswalk, the driver could actually be hit with a traffic citation depending on your local and state laws. Furthermore, all cars need to yield the right of way to a bus that may be attempting to re-enter the flow of traffic from a designated bus stop. These laws are on the books in many different states and well worth considering. You might assume that you need to overtake the bus to get to your location sooner rather than later, but you could end up with a traffic citation.

School Bus Citations

School bus citations are often misunderstood and can pose serious consequences and problems because the penalties can be severe. When the signal is displayed, everyone knows that they need to stop for school buses. However, when the bus is traveling on a divided highway, in most states, there are specific rules about whether or not people on the other side of the highway need to stop.

When there is a highway with multiple lanes of travel in each direction, but is divided only by a double yellow line, then traffic in each direction has to stop for a school bus that is unloading or loading students, so long as the signal is displayed. This can even occur on roads that have six lanes or more.

Attempting to Flee

No one wants to get pulled over for a potential ticket and sometimes your anxiety can take over as you worry about the reason why you are being stopped by a police officer in the first place. However, if an officer is attempting a stop a vehicle's driver for a traffic violation and the driver instead goes to flee the scene, this could be charged as a misdemeanor.

It is always better to stop, remain calm and ask the officer what happened. You have particular rights even you have been pulled over for a suspected traffic violation and it is never a good idea to try to leave the scene of the accident, if you are being accused of a traffic violation. You could make a minor situation much worse.