Court Statement Re: Move-Over Law

First, let me thank you for listening to my statement. 

I also want to say that only after getting home from receiving this traffic violation and checking on the Internet about the Move-Over law that I had, indeed, broken the law by not getting into the next left lane.

In my defense, even though I did not know about the law, I still believe I acted in accordance to the best knowledge I had at the time. While driving in an unfamiliar area at night, I saw over the hill blue flashing lights. I didn’t know if they were actually on Briley Parkway or on another intersecting road (Elm Hill, I believe). However, I slowed to a pace where I could stop if need be, I believe I was going about 35 mph. As I approached the police car on the right, I noticed a policeman was safely on the passenger’s side of the car he had stopped and was writing a ticket.

I also noticed the other policeman safely on his motorcycle off of the road. Still, as soon as I saw them, I put on my left turn signal (which the officer said he saw me do) and turned to look to see if it was safe to move. There was a truck behind me. However, by the time I was ready to turn, I was already upon the officers. So, I stayed in the lane I was in, basically because I didn’t have enough reaction time to have completed the turn safely.

To prove again I didn’t have any clue about the law, I rolled down my driver’s side window and waited for the officer. The officer had to knock on the passenger’s side window to get my attention. I rolled down the window and I asked him why he had stopped me. He asked me if I had known about the Move Over law.  I said, “No, sir.” He perused the car.

I had just gotten my book published that week and a copy of it was on the driver’s side seat. The book is hot pink and has the title: “Your Gay Friend’s Guide to Understanding Men.” He glanced down at the book.

At that point, he didn’t explain the law, he just said what I should have done and asked for my driver’s license and registration and insurance card and proceeded to give the ticket, without any education about the law.

In my mind, as a law abiding citizen, one whom my friends make fun of for always going the speed limit, I feel absolutely distraught about getting the ticket, and sincerely hope that the reason why I was denied a slap on the wrist wasn’t because I’m gay or the title or subject matter of my book.

When I went home and explored about the law and saw the video, I was mortified and truly believe the law should be in place. I just feel I deserve the right to have known about it in some other way than a fine, and clearly being set up to break the law, as the policeman who gave me the ticket was obviously waiting in an entrapment situation for someone to break that particular law, as he waited behind another officer giving a ticket.

I am one of the many, perhaps, millions of people who have never heard about it. While I was on the Internet, I also posted a message on my Facebook to my 1800 friends and asked if anyone had heard of the law. Many people responded sympathetically, but only 5 people responded that they had heard of the law. Some had gotten stopped by an officer, as I did, to have learned their lesson, but all who had been stopped said they were let off or exonerated because of not knowing about the law.

I’m not sure if this was blatant prejudice or just an officer’s need to have a certain amount of tickets given out, but I don’t feel I was treated with, at least, the respect to understand what I had done wrong and why the law was in place.  I felt more like a student getting a surprise quiz on a chapter I was never told to read.

I realize this is taking court time and tax payers’ money, but I really feel that if citizens don’t speak about this, we are never going to be educated about a very important law.

Thank you for listening.