Defendant’s Name:
Citation No
:
Case No :
Pursuant to California
Vehicle Code (CVC) 40902, I respectfully submit this
Trial By Written Declaration to the Court. I plead Not
Guilty to the charge of CVC 22349(a).
As required, I already paid
$332 of bail payment (enclosed is the copy of the receipt – Exhibit 4). Please
refund $332 in the event court finds me not guilty.
On
Thursday, Feb 21th, 2009, I was driving to
San Jose on I-880 south bound at around 10:40 am. The weather and road
conditions were near perfect: dry, sunny, with visibility nearly unlimited, and
the traffic was very light. Officer Copper (Badge ID #12345678) stopped me
within Fremont City and cited me with CVC 22349(a).
Before
I was stopped by the officer, I just got out of Mowry
Ave exit (On I-880S) on to the freeway. I was driving
in #1 lane with a car coming closely behind me and another car next to me in #2
lane(*See Diagram A). Those were the only cars visible in a 200-300 yard
stretch. I noticed the car behind me was coming up faster than I was going, so
I attempted to make a lane change to the right lane to let the faster car
behind me pass. In order to make a safe right lane change since there was
another car in the #2 lane, I temporarily sped up to make the lane change and
slowed down to my original speed after I was in lane #2(*See Diagram B).
However, during the course of this action, I never accelerated beyond the legal
limits of the highway, and I made sure it was safe for me to have enough
distance in front of the car in lane #2 prior to making the lane change.
As
the car in #1 lane passed, I made another lane change back from the #2 lane to
the #1 lane to avoid having a car behind me since highway conditions were open.
I only accelerated to the necessary speed to change lanes again and was never
beyond the legal limits of the highway speed.
It
is after then, that I saw Officer Copper came up from the shoulder and
switching all the way to lane #1 behind me in my rear view and side view mirrors.
I then safely changed lanes and eventually pulled into the shoulder after the
Dickson Landing Rd exit (On I-880S).
After
we’re both fully stopped, Officer approached my car and asked for my required
paperwork, going through a routine traffic stop. He stated he clocked me at 82
over 65 miles per hour and that he is going to cite me for that, but at no time
was I anywhere near that speed, even when accelerating to make safe lane
changes. I did not want to make the officer’s job any more difficult so I was
polite and respectful, deciding against contesting his judgment at the time.
When
he came back with the citation for me to sign, I noticed he wrote he used LIDAR to determine the speed at which I was going, however
no evidence was shown to me that he used his LIDAR.
It was odd to me he stated I was going 82 mph when I was not close to that fast
of speed while having a car going clearly faster, passing me. I suspect the LIDAR may have picked up a different vehicle than mine.
I
respectfully request to see documentation before and after the date of my
citation that the LIDAR unit used by the Officer was
calibrated and therefore accurate.
I
feel this is a very unfortunate situation and I trust in the Court’s fairness.
I believe this does not reflect my driving behavior and this citation should be
dismissed in the interest of justice.
If the court finds me guilty, I request a Trial de Novo,
and an option to attend traffic school level one and have the fine reduced.
In addition, please send me the “Decision and Notice of
Decision” (TR-215) by mail.
I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the
State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.
Date:
_____________________________
[name], Defendant in Pro Per
Enclosed are 4 Exhibits:
Exhibit 1: Diagram
Exhibit 2: Photo Copy of Citation
Exhibit 3: Photo Copy of Courtesy
Notice
Exhibit 4: Photo Copy of Receipt of
Payment
Exhibit 1:
Officer
Car #1
Me Car #2 Car # 2 Me Me Me Me Car #2 Car #1 Car #1