Nov 02
2020
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Compounding MistakesPosted by Steve Marr in Untagged |
Once I was called to traffic court as a witness and found the proceedings interesting. A couple of cases highlighted the importance of not allowing one mistake to trigger a second and more serious error.
In one case a man was charged with failing to turn left from a left only lane. Instead, he cut back into the right lane to go forward, cutting off the car in front. Unfortunately for the driver, there was a police cruiser behind the cut-off vehicle. The man told the judge that he found himself in a left only lane but realized he needed to go straight. “What was I supposed to do?” the man asked. The judge said that he should have turned left because he was in a left turn lane. The judge pronounced the defendant guilty and issued a fine. The driver could have made the inconvenient left turn and still found his way to his destination with only minor inconvenience. Because he didn’t, he ended up with a fine, a conviction on his driving record, and significant hours taken from his day.