Honking at a police officer gets driver a $224 ticket

Q I received a ticket in San Leandro for politely honking at a policeman who was not paying attention at a stop light. The fine was $224. — Azucena SierraVan Dyke, San Leandro

A Ouch! This is no April Fool’s Day joke. Q The law states that “the driver of a vehicle when reasonably necessary to insure safe operations shall give audible warning with his horn.” The officer wrote down that what I did was an “unnecessary honk of horn.” We all honk at people at stop lights, often when they are on their cell phones.

I would like to see this law overturned. People of California, will you help? Please write a letter to the California assembly person in your district to overturn it. — Azucena Sierra-Van Dyke

A

A short toot of the horn will not usually get you a ticket, even if honking at a cop. A long blast is another matter and the law states honking should only occur if there is a safety issue. Q My daughter received a ticket for parking in a loading zone in San Diego. Name, address and license number are all correct but the car is listed as a black 4-door Volkswagen and her car is a blue 4-door Honda. Neither she, nor the blue Honda, has been any farther south than Santa Cruz this year. She doesn’t relish having to fight this ticket. Does a description of the car appear when the officer is producing the ticket? — Barbara Gran, Belmont

A Not usually. I get many emails like this, often because the license plate number is a digit or two off. Appeal the ticket and tell them what you have told me. Q Our Xterra vehicle got a parking ticket in Los Angeles. We were not in L.A. The ticket lists our plate number and my wife’s name but says the car is a Saab. We do not drive a Saab. They want us to write a letter. — Dennis Ramos

A Then do so.

Q I got a citation in the mail for driving in the FasTrak lane on Interstate 680 in Walnut Creek. The photo showed a Honda SUV and the letters on the license plate match my plates. I drive a Camry and submitted my renewal notice, which indicates the make and model of my car. The penalty was waived, but to my dismay I had to pay the toll. I am 73 and lack the technological skills to take a photo of my car and plate and submit it. How many others have been ticketed like this? — Roberta Nadler, El Sobrante

A I think we’ll soon find out.