San Francisco Paper Launches Bike Accident Tracker

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 21, 2011 at 11:19am

Generally traffic law is broken up into infractions and violations .

 

An infraction is an offense that is not considered a crime and its penalty is a fine. A person who is guilty of an infraction can't be jailed, receive large fines, have a jury trial or a court-appointed lawyer. Most traffic tickets, such as non-moving violations and non-dangerous moving violations, are infractions. Some speeding tickets can still be relatively large, as many states determine the fine based on how many miles per hour beyond the speed limit the offender was driving.

A violation is more severe than an infraction, and though its definition differs between states, it is usually considered a crime. More serious violations are classified as misdemeanor or felony traffic violations. These include DUI, reckless driving, driving without auto insurance and failure to stop at the scene of an accident. Suspects who are charged with a misdemeanor or felony traffic violation have all the normal rights afforded to criminal defendants. They undergo the booking and bail processes and have the right to a jury trial and a court-appointed attorney.

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on March 21, 2011 at 12:45pm

James,

 

It is technically a petty offense crime (punishable by fine) to open a car door into traffic when it isn't safe to do so.

 

The fine varies county by county (depending mostly on court and processing costs). It can be as low as $50 but it is considered a petty offense crime.

 

Dan Persky, Active Trans

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on March 21, 2011 at 5:41pm

It's by all means offensive, but it isn't a "crime" any more than failing to yield the right of way.

 

It's definitely a traffic infraction and if it caused physical damage to property or injury then the offender could be civilly liable as well as be subject to in increased fine -but it wouldn't be a "crime" unless it could be proven that the person did it on purpose in which case it would be aggravated battery with a motor vehicle. 

 

I think we are mincing words here as far as semantics but I don't think "crime" is the proper legal word to describe what is essentially a minor traffic infraction -even if it leads to an accidental injury.

 

I wonder if our resident legal beagle could chime in and clear this up.

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