for too fast for conditions as well as barrier to yield to emergency vehicle. These uh are civil infractions, Mr. Web, you have a choice of what to do on them. You can one, admit responsibility to a citation, or two, admit responsibility, but you'd like to provide some sort of explanation as to how or why this happened. Or three, you wish to contest the citation. In other words, to fight a ticket at what we call informal hearing. What were you looking to do? Uh, I would like to contest this ticket. Both violations. All right, then. Even though I cannot see you, I'd ask you to raise your right hand the same way the deputy's going to raise his right hand. You swear affirm any testimony that you'd give here today would be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes. Yes. All right, Mr. Web, it makes a lot more sense for me to start with the deputy. he has the burden to establish to me why you were issued these citations in the first place. But then after that, you'll have an opportunity to either ask questions or testify on your own behalf. All right. Okay. And with that, uh, deputy, you want to pick up the narrative somewhere it makes sense. Explain the issuing of this citation. When a teenager, Mr. Web faced a citation for violating the basic speed law in Watson Township on February 24th, 2025. He chose to contest it, leading to a surprising victory. According to Michigan law, the basic speed law, MCL257627, states, "A person shall not drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent under the conditions and having regard to the actual and potential hazards than existing." The judge clarified that this law typically applies to accidents such as sliding off the road where the crash itself proves the driver was going too fast for conditions. Mr. Web's decision to contest the ticket expose this error, showing how a teen's willingness to challenge an improper citation can lead to its dismissal. Routine patrol in Watson Township. I was traveling uh westbound on 116th Avenue and I observed the defendant's vehicle driving directly ahead of me. Um while driving behind that vehicle, I paced it at 58 mph for approximately 3 mi. Um upon activation of my emergency lights, the vehicle continued driving for approximately a/4 mile before turning left onto 19th Street and coming to a stop. That point I made contact with the defendant, explain the reason of the stop and issued the citation. All right, Mr. Web, what is it you wish to tell me? Um, I guess I'll just tell my story. Um, I was on my way back from school cuz I forgot that it was spring break. Uh, when I got on to 222, I saw Mr. could be sitting in like the little construction area across from the gas station. Um, that's when I decided to flip him off. Um, this obviously made Mr. Kibby upset. Um, prompting him to pull out behind me um, and begin following me for a few miles until I reached a down slope. Um, I had my cruise control set at 57. So, as soon as I hit that bottom of that downs slope, my car accelerated a little bit. supposedly 1 m an hour. Um, and this is when Mr. Kibby turned on his lights and it was very obvious that he was targeting me. So, I instantly right away started slowing down and decided that turning off to the left was going to be my best case scenario because it was going to put Officer Kibby out of the main road, which I know is one of the leading causes of death for officers. [Music] And uh deputy, what is the speed limit on this road? 55 miles per hour. All right. So the too fast for conditions is the 58. Correct. And the failure to yield to emergency vehicle is the driving for a quarter mile before you pulled over. Correct. Your honor, my understanding of the failing to yield for an emergency vehicle moving is that they have to pull immediately to the parallel to the road they're currently on. And in the event that I was heading to an emergency, he would have been impeding me by turning left across both lanes where I couldn't pass him. Okay, gentlemen. Mr. web. You know how dumb it is to upset needlessly upset law enforcement, right? Yes. Yes, I know that. Because they have certain powers that they can exercise over your life and make your life difficult. It was a dumb thing to do. Yes. And I I have stopped since then. All right. Here's the problem. Violation of basic speed law. too fast for conditions. Uh is essentially that's the wrong citation. You could have wrote him a citation for uh one to five over and that's what he'd be looking at. But but the violation of basic speed law is essentially when you have a slide off or something like that. You were going too fast for conditions. Um and that h having the accident is the prima fascia evidence that you should have been driving uh slower uh to sort of um you know avoid that happening as opposed to just essentially a speeding ticket. Meaning you nothing happened with your vehicle but a moving violation that you were in fact going faster than posted speed limit. Uh, so this could have been a a faster than posted speed limit ticket, but the way it's written, a violation of basic speed law, we reserve that for a failure to maintain to your your vehicle to stop a clear and assured distance before you hit something else before you leave the roadway. The other problem is the failure to yield to emergency vehicle is this. Once an officer is trying to pull you over and it's obvious to you or reasonable to an objective person that the officer is trying to pull them over, i.e. lights and sirens and there's nobody else but you, then you know that they're trying to pull you over. The issue with that is you do have the right to. Now, I'll tell you right now, if you just speed up and drive away, this is this turns uh very quickly into what's called fleeing and eluding, which is a felony crime, right? But if you're trying if the officer is trying to pull you over, uh you are able to drive to a place that you feel is more conducive to a safe stop. Uh a lot of times what that means, gentlemen, I'm just explaining to you this so you understand this. A lot of time what that means is, oh, it was late at night. It's a country road in the middle of nowhere and I know there's a gas station, you know, a quarter mile up the road. So, I, you know, put my blinkers on or I drove 35 m an hour, but I drove all the way to the gas station cuz I'd rather have this interaction take place in the lighted parking lot or something like what Mr. Webb is explaining that um, you know, uh, 222 is a lot busier than say pulling off to a a lesser used road. So provided the the fact that you only went a/4 mile is the sort of saving grace here and that you did pull over. Uh but the way that you explained it, there is uh what I would say a grace period there for pulling over as long as what you're doing is pulling over to what you consider to be a safer either for you or for the officer. The way you articulated it really you articulated it for the officer, but it's allowed to be for your safety. Uh but that is not necessarily what this statute failure to yield to emergency vehicle is written for. That would be uh essentially more often what that is. It's not listening to the officer, not a delay in listening to the officer. The delay of listening to officer is a little more subjective. I.e. I get to listen to it. But it's my interpretation here or my understanding that you drove at at at the speeds you were normally driving. uh to go a quarter mile down the road, turn a turn left, and then pull over, you know, sort of right away once you got off the busier road. I wouldn't find either of these two actions to be violations uh of the statutes that you were written for. Uh but like I said, gentlemen, you know, it it's pretty clear here, mr. Web, what you did. You used really bad judgment that normally is going to end up costing you money, right? and costing you points on your driver's license cuz it's just a dumb thing to do. Um, don't do it again. Okay. All right. But I would I would not find you responsible on these citations as they're written. Uh, we're all set with this today, Joe. So, all right. Thank you. Go our separate ways and think twice about how we carry ourselves in the world. All right. Yes, sir. Thank you, your honor. By standing up to the system, he avoided fines and points on his license, proving that even a minor can hold law enforcement accountable when the law is misapplied. Mr. Web also successfully contested a citation for failing to yield to an emergency vehicle, demonstrating that teens can outsmart flawed enforcement actions. Michigan's ML257.653 653 states, "Upon the immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle equipped with at least one lighted lamp exhibiting a red or blue flashing light. The driver of another vehicle shall yield the right of way and shall immediately drive to a position parallel to and as close as possible to the right hand edge of the roadway." The deputy argued that Mr. Webb drove a/4 mile after the emergency lights were activated before pulling over, but Mr. Web explained he turned left onto a less busy road to ensure a safer stop for both himself and the officer. The judge acknowledged that drivers are allowed a reasonable period to find a safe place to pull over, especially if it avoids hazards like a busy road. Mr. Webb's articulate defense that he prioritized safety by pulling off the main road convinced the judge that his actions didn't violate the statute. This victory highlights how a teenager's quick thinking and knowledge of their rights can dismantle an unjust citation, exposing overreach by law enforcement and securing a dismissal. Like and subscribe for more police cam stories. Watch the next recommended video. Click to watch now.