Wow , $124 sounds like a New York violations fee. Here we have a new program called "VISION ZERO" and it is aimed at reducing the vehicular / pedestrian accidents . The trouble is , all the blame is unjustly cast on the driver and the pedestrian is seemingly not held at fault for crossing in traffic against their right of way. Also , new 25 mph speed limits are being enforced city wide which yields the same results as your Barney fife. It is hard to prove your word against the ticket issuing officer to the judge and the city coffers are literally banking on that. But I feel in your case that if pedestrian / auto accidents are not statistically cited to the general public , it should not take a lawyer to fight this . A local politician ought to be consulted by citizens such as yourself citing government harassment , AKA , extortion . It's always been well known that out of towers suffer the grips of law enforcement but when local folks are being fleeced for their milk money , that deserves the attention of your constituents and should also be brought to the attention of the newspapers. More people should know of this and band together and notify the pol's so as not to be looked upon as an isolated incident. If you feel your actions were in no way reckless , the point to be made in my opinion is taxation without representation . Even though speed limits are posted and in plain view ( they'll say ) it dosen't mean you should be hammered for an expense of this magnitude especially when your driving record has been clean for so many years. Rightfully , you should have been given a warning if the officer had cross checked your license . I think this deserves a shot in traffic court.
