Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 05/11/2010 - 18:01
I received a ticket today for failing to stop at a crosswalk and the total cost of the ticket is $200. This seems ridiculously expensive and excessive for the infraction. Can someone tell me if this is likely to be an error? If not, what is my best course of action (rather than paying the ticket)?
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Editor's Response
The $200 fine is established by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 89: Section 11:
Section 11. When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be so to yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk marked in accordance with standards established by the department of highways if the pedestrian is on that half of the traveled part of the way on which the vehicle is traveling or if the pedestrian approaches from the opposite half of the traveled part of the way to within 10 feet of that half of the traveled part of the way on which said vehicle is traveling.
No driver of a vehicle shall pass any other vehicle which has stopped at a marked crosswalk to permit a pedestrian to cross, nor shall any such operator enter a marked crosswalk while a pedestrian is crossing or until there is a sufficient space beyond the crosswalk to accommodate the vehicle he is operating, notwithstanding that a traffic control signal may indicate that vehicles may proceed.
Whoever violates any provision of this section shall be punished by a fine of not more than $200.
Whenever a pedestrian is injured by a motor vehicle in a marked crosswalk, the department of state police or the municipal police department with jurisdiction of the street, in consultation with department of state police if deemed appropriate, shall conduct an investigation into the cause of the injury and any violation of this section or other law or ordinance and shall issue the appropriate civil or criminal citation or file an application for the appropriate criminal complaint, if any. This section shall not limit the ability of a district attorney or the attorney general to seek an indictment in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle which causes injury or death and which violates this section.
Unfortunately, the total cost of the ticket is likely to be much higher than $200 if your insurance rates are impacted by a moving violation. You can challenge the ticket in court in much the same way you would challenge a MA speeding ticket. Essentially, you would have to convince the court that you did not travel across the crosswalk in an illegal manner. There are Massachusetts attorneys who specialize in this type of work. Good luck.