If you’ve gotten a Failure to Stop ticket by a Springfield police officer, don’t think that you can’t fight the ticket. For some, there are ways to get the charges dropped due to certain circumstances. Here are some reasons why you may be able to fight your ticket:
- The stop sign was not in plain sight.
For some areas around Springfield, overgrowth has started to take over the stop signs. In fact, seeing the signs at all can be hard if you don’t already know that they are there. If you received a ticket for not stopping at a sign you couldn’t see, make sure you take pictures of the sign to use as evidence in the court room. Many judges will throw out the case if it is obvious that drivers couldn’t see the sign.
- You stopped farther back behind the stop sign than what the officer could see.
While you did stop at the stop sign, wherever the officer was they couldn’t see you (and assumed you didn’t stop). If you had stopped well before the stop sign (like some people do) and still received a ticket, you should take photos of where the officer was parked in relation to the stop sign. It may be harder to prove that you had stopped, but judges will always look at the evidence in a case.
– The sign was brand new to the area. People driving to work every day tend to take their drive on “autopilot” – everything is the same, and they don’t put much thought into it… which means they’re extremely likely to miss a brand new stop sign in an area. If an officer caught you blowing past this new sign and gave you a ticket, make sure you bring up this fact in court.
Traversing the court room for a failure to stop ticket can be extremely confusing and intimidating, which is why we always recommend using an experienced lawyer. Tad Morlan has over 24 years of experience as an attorney here in Springfield, Missouri. To see how he can help your failure to stop ticket, contact him today!