I just got the most ridiculous ticket

[metallicat]

Email the cop and apologize for your behaviour and maybe he'll rescind the ticket. Doubtful but you never know.

[BsFaninCGY]

Originally Posted by metallicat

Email the cop and apologize for your behaviour and maybe he'll rescind the ticket. Doubtful but you never know.

I haven’t looked at the ticket much yet, but you can email a cop? Would his address be on there? Or would I have to do some digging?

[metallicat]

His regimental number should be on there. Maybe a CPS employee here can confirm but the email might be xxxx where the x's are the reg number, and then whatever else, like @calgary.ca or whatever.

[metallicat]

It may not work at all, but it probably won't hurt to just say sorry for swearing at him and giving him the finger.

[BsFaninCGY]

Originally Posted by metallicat

It may not work at all, but it probably won't hurt to just say sorry for swearing at him and giving him the finger.

No, I've decided to not fight it and own up to my mistake/ignorance. Now that I've calmed down tho I do feel bad and embarrassed about my actions and would like to apologize.

[MRCboicgy]

I went and looked on google maps, and I can honestly say I never knew that to be illegal. Put that one up there with U-turns then.



It makes sense on busy streets, but I'm sure I've turned left across Center into businesses when its clear.


I know when its busy, I never try to make it across multiple lanes of traffic, always turn into the close lane and swing around.

[opendoor]

Originally Posted by Firebot

I never knew this was against the law in Alberta honestly. I see people do it all the time.

It's legal in BC

It's legal almost everywhere in North America, as long as you're not disrupting traffic (i.e. waiting forever for traffic to clear so you can turn into a driveway with a bunch of cars behind you). And where it isn't allowed, you're usually allowed to do U-turns at intersections which makes turning right when you want to go left a lot less of a hassle. Some places in the US even have advance greens for U-turns.

[Ace]

Try making a deal with an agent. They’ll do all the work, and you might get it reduced or thrown out. Worst case you’ll be out the ticket and a small fee. The risk to insurance is by far the bigger issue than the fine.

Currently COVID has court appearances backed up over a year. Who knows how that will play out.

[CaptainYooh]

My opinion will sound contrarian in this chorus of “it’s THE LAW!”. I disagree. As an engineer, I deal with standards, rules and regulations daily. And I tell ya, most if them can be and are challenged, reviewed and altered by authorities having jurisdiction when the situation warrants it. Same approach should apply to traffic violations. If the highway traffic on a good day is moving smoothly at 120/hr, ticketing someone for doing 122 is absurdly unwarranted. Yet weaving through lanes at 105 on a busy road and endangering other vehicles does deserve one. The OP’s situation as described did not warrant a ticket. A warning, at the most.

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

You're allowed to turn left across the double yellow either onto another road or into a private driveway. You're not allowed to cross the double yellow coming out of a driveway onto the road. In that circumstance you pretty much just have to turn right.

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

That said, man, how many traffic violations have I seen with a cop nearby and...nothing. Ignored. It's like hockey - if they called every infraction there would never be 5 on 5. Like, cut me some slack man. Give me a warning or a lesser ticket for a dirty license plate or something. I'm just venting. Sorry.

I hear you, I've had a couple of those myself. The one that sticks out is, I was waiting at a red light at an empty intersection, and my foot slipped and I touched the gas. Car lurched forward a couple feet and just slightly into the intersection before I hit the brake. No harm done - throw it in reverse and back up the couple feet, wait for light to change and off I go as if nothing happened.

Couple weeks later I got a ticket from a camera in the intersection for over $400. Not much I could do but grin and bear it.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

I haven’t looked at the ticket much yet, but you can email a cop? Would his address be on there? Or would I have to do some digging?

Yup. To email a CPS member, you do need to know their Regimental number. It's also known as their badge number, and most likely is somewhere on the ticket. CPS members badge numbers are 4 digits, starting with a number between 2 and 5 currently (so basicallly 2000 to 5999. The format is "pol[badge]@calgarypolice.ca"

So if the cops badge number was 2000, their email address would be pol2000@calgarypolice.ca (note, there is currently no officer with badge #2000 active; this is for example purpose only)

The letter before the first number is an L.

[BsFaninCGY]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

Yup. To email a CPS member, you do need to know their Regimental number. It's also known as their badge number, and most likely is somewhere on the ticket. CPS members badge numbers are 4 digits, starting with a number between 2 and 5 currently (so basicallly 2000 to 5999. The format is "pol[badge]@calgarypolice.ca"

So if the cops badge number was 2000, their email address would be pol2000@calgarypolice.ca (note, there is currently no officer with badge #2000 active this is for example purpose only)

The letter before the first number is an L.

Thank you for this. It sounds like you may be law enforcement? Would an email like this be welcomed (apologizing)? Also, would I be risking further trouble by admitting to verbal assault?

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by MRCboicgy

I went and looked on google maps, and I can honestly say I never knew that to be illegal. Put that one up there with U-turns then.

It makes sense on busy streets, but I'm sure I've turned left across Center into businesses when its clear.

I know when its busy, I never try to make it across multiple lanes of traffic, always turn into the close lane and swing around.

I'm guilty of crossing those lines, but I won't be doing it again, given the size of the ticket! That also will nix this one for me, to get into Rona, which is really annoying:

https://goo.gl/maps/Ag1CX6fWudBAmuut7

I always pull to the left as much as I can if I have to wait. But the alternative coming from the west is silly. You can't turn left at the lights, and left again given the median. So you have to find somewhere you can do a U turn, which is also mostly illegal everywhere. So then you go around the block somewhere, which could add 5 minutes with all the lights. Stupid laws.

[BsFaninCGY]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I'm guilty of crossing those lines, but I won't be doing it again, given the size of the ticket! That also will nix this one for me, to get into Rona, which is really annoying:

https://goo.gl/maps/Ag1CX6fWudBAmuut7

I always pull to the left as much as I can if I have to wait. But the alternative coming from the west is silly. You can't turn left at the lights, and left again given the median. So you have to find somewhere you can do a U turn, which is also mostly illegal everywhere. So then you go around the block somewhere, which could add 5 minutes with all the lights. Stupid laws.

I've done that one many times too. I'm sure I will be noticing a lot in the future!

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

Thank you for this. It sounds like you may be law enforcement? Would an email like this be welcomed (apologizing)? Also, would I be risking further trouble by admitting to verbal assault?

I work with law enforcement, but I'm not law enforcement. I work for the police side of 911.

Verbal assault isn't actually a real thing, it's just made up for TV. There can be a verbal component to assault, but there is no such chargeable thing as "verbal assault".

Would likely depend on the cop, but I'd be very surprised if a sincere 'I'm sorry" would be anything but appreciated. Most emergency response people realize that emotions can be dicey and it's accounted for. I know that I've had some people 'beak off' at me, and they called back later and apologized. It certainly couldn't hurt, IMO.

[calgarygeologist]

Originally Posted by CorsiHockeyLeague

You're allowed to turn left across the double yellow either onto another road or into a private driveway. You're not allowed to cross the double yellow coming out of a driveway onto the road. In that circumstance you pretty much just have to turn right.

I don't believe this is true as I already posted what it states in the Alberta Regulations:

15(3) Notwithstanding subsection (1) and unless prohibited by a traffic control device, a person driving a vehicle may, whether within or outside of an urban area, drive the vehicle on a highway so as to cross a single solid line or, if outside an urban area, a double solid line for the following purposes:

(a) when necessary to turn left onto a highway or into a private road or driveway;

(b) when necessary on entering the highway from a private road or driveway;

(c) when necessary to enter a parking lane on the right side of the centre line.

https://www.canlii.org/en/ab/laws/re...-304-2002.html

If it is a double yellow in an urban area you can not cross it. If it is a double yellow outside an urban area you can cross to make a left turn or to enter the lane from a roadway or driveway. If it is a single yellow in an urban area you can cross it to make a left turn or to enter the lane.

[MegaErtz]

The public should be aware that police constables in Calgary DO have quotas. They call giving someone a ticket "boning" them. There are a bunch of fishing holes in Calgary that they hang out at towards the end of the month to pull people over, it is a total cash cow and I'd love to see this information made public.

[Buff]

Spoiler for language

Spoiler!

[CorsiHockeyLeague]

Originally Posted by calgarygeologist

If it is a double yellow in an urban area you can not cross it. If it is a double yellow outside an urban area you can cross to make a left turn or to enter the lane from a roadway or driveway. If it is a single yellow in an urban area you can cross it to make a left turn or to enter the lane.

You're probably right, I think I missed the part about an urban vs non-urban area. Sort of silly to distinguish like that but there you go.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by BsFaninCGY

I was having a down morning and decided to use food to make me feel better. Went to The Submarine on Centre St (just south of McKnight - great people! great food!). Upon leaving the parking lot I looked both ways (it was quiet and barely no one around) and I crossed the south bound lanes to the north bound and waited at the now red light. Upon green, the SUV that pulled up behind me lit up and it was a ghost car. The officer said I had crossed the double yellow line and broke the law (paraphrasing). $243 ticket!!!

Now, I'm a good driver. One speeding ticket since 1998 and no accidents. I try my best and try and follow the laws. Admittedly, I didn't know this was against the law and I know that's no excuse.

I'm just so freaking mad. It seems so ticky tacky and like a cash grab at the end of the month. I'm shocked I didn't get a warning. What can I do? Other than pay it? Covid has decimated my work and I'm selling my belongings daily to make bills. One thing the officer did say was that he saw me 'pulling out of the Esso' - which I wasn't at. I was at the place next door. I have that on my dash cam. Is that enough to fight it?

I also said '#### you' to him as he walked away. He stopped, and I said 'yeah, you heard me' then I gave him the finger. Not my proudest moment, but I wanna paint both sides and be honest.

UGH.

If you plan on challenging this in court, I’d consider deleting your confession.