Deferise of Traffic Citations
| Publication year | 1975 |
| Pages | 1309 |
1975, July, Pg. 1309. Deferise of Traffic Citations
A little known section of the Model Traffic Code and its interpretation by the courts can form the basis for a successful defense of traffic citations, and, in appropriate circumstances, be a pivotal point in personal injury cases.
In areas where speed limit signs are not posted, § 4-1(b) of the Model Traffic Code (when adopted by the governing authority) controls:
... the following speeds shall be lawful but any speed in excess of said limits shall be prima facie evidence that. . . it is unlawful:
...
(2) Thirty miles per hour in any residence district;....
Section 25-3(n) defines a residential district as:
The territory contiguous to a street or highway not comprising a business district when the frontage on such for a distance of three hundred (300) feet or more is mainly occupied by dwellings (emphasis supplied)....
Several issues present themselves under this definition. What is meant by the phrase "mainly occupied by dwellings?" In determining "frontage" occupied, is only the building counted, or is it the combined area of the building and yard that counts? Is the area contiguous to both sides of the street to be used in computing the frontage or only one side of the street? Is the question whether the scene is a residential district one of law for the court?
In many instances law officers and other lay persons readily assume an unposted area is a "residential" district simply because there are some residences present. However, such an assumption may not be justified or upheld.
There are apparently no reported Colorado cases on these points. Other states' decisions are thus important, and these issues were important in a Colorado personal injury case in which an injured plaintiff was cited for careless driving by the investigating officer, who assumed the "residential" speed limit was in effect. The defendant driver was not ticketed.
The trial court accepted the following analysis of these questions on a motion in limine to limit evidence (the case thereafter being settled for $45,000 on the first day of trial):
1. By the use of word "mainly" in the ordinance, occupancy of at least more than 50 percent of the frontage by dwellings is required.(fn1) While there is some...
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