Rochester/Tampa
A lawyer.
August 12, 2004
County Courts Traffic
Tampa, FL
Affidavit of Defense or Admission and Waiver of Appearance
Citation No. XXXXXXX
Dear Judge,
This letter is in reference to Citation no. XXXXXXX which was given to me on Wednesday, May 19, 2004 at approximately 10:00 PM. The citation is for improper entrance/exit at the intersection/entry ramp of Hillsborough and 275. I am writing this letter because I am from out of state and can not be present at the court date of September 8, 2004.
I was in Tampa on the above stated date and time. I am from Charlotte, NC and made my first visit to Tampa for research on a project I am working on regarding people and their job and career choices. What I am doing is irrelevant, but it is relevant that you know I had never been to Tampa prior to the above mentioned date.
On May 19 a friend of mine, XXXXXXXXXXX, who was also in town for business, and I decided to venture out to see what the famous Ybor City was all about. We were staying at a hotel in Tarpon Springs. We secured a map and some directions and we set off on our course. We stayed the course heading south/east on 580. We then were on Hillsborough Avenue. From there, the map said we should go south onto I-275. This is where the citation comes in.
Recall, neither Mr. XXXXXXXXX nor I had ever been to Tampa before. We pulled onto what we thought was 275 South. We entered onto the ramp for 275 and were in the right hand lane. As soon as we pulled onto the ramp there were approximately 7 or 8 cars coming directly at us in the opposite direction. I paused for a second, got upset because I had made a wrong turn with traffic coming at me, and promptly turned around to go the correct way. I made the U turn and Mr. XXXXXXXXX informed me that we in fact had been going the right way. All of the cars were coming at us because behind me there was a major traffic jam on 275. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the scene. I got mad again as I was going the wrong way. At this point I could not turn back around to go the proper way because there were already cars funneling up to go onto 275. So I proceeded to where the other cars had headed. There were now cars behind me which also made it impossible to turn around and go the right way. I proceeded off of the ramp and attempted to turn right, back onto Hillsborough Ave. At that point I was cut off by six police cars and given the above mentioned citation.
On the Affidavit of Defense or Admission and Waiver of Appearance it asks me to plead not guilty, guilty, or no contest. I am pleading no contest and asking that you waive my citation. I did not intend to cause an improper entry/exit. I thought I was in the wrong when the 7 or 8 cars were going down the wrong way on the entry ramp. I tried to fix the problem by turning around. I then realized I was now in the wrong but I could not turn around because of oncoming traffic in both directions. This was a mistake I regret making. I was not trying to avoid the traffic on 275 like the others who are local to this road. The lesson I learned is to not follow the crowd. I was on the right path, but because I saw what others were doing and followed, I received a ticket.
I am pleading no contest guilty based on being a tourist. I hope you can see this was a mistake I made, not a conscious decision to avoid a traffic jam. I have a clean driving record and don’t want this ticket to tarnish it. I wish I could be in court to discuss this, but I am no longer in Tampa. If you need to reach me with any questions or correspondence, please do so at:
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
I look forward to hearing from you.
Regards,
Andrew Harrison
I just called the court. The ticket was dismissed! Saved me $90. Lesson: If you don’t think it’s right and you have some justification, ask.