Case Study #5

Failure to Yield, Unlicensed Driver, Expired Tags

In this case, our client was a young lady under the age of 18. She had no Driver/Drivers/Driver’s license, and the registration tags on the license plate had expired. Having never exchanged her right to travel for the “privilege” of being regulated by the State via a license from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, this young traveler had a constitutionally protected advantage in the contest that followed her roadside detainment.

On October 18, 2021, while merging into the left-hand turn lane, our client was swiped by another car that tried to pass her. We’ll call that person the At-fault Driver. The At-fault Driver called the city police and blamed the collision on our client. When, upon questioning, the police officer learned that this victim hadn’t been issued a State “Driver’s License”, and that the car’s registration had long expired, the officer deferred to the older person’s version of events and issued a citation for “VC 21804(a)- Failure To Yield Before Enter Road”.

Before the officer began writing the citation, our client took out her phone and called her parents, who arrived at the seen shortly thereafter. Her father educated the officer for a bit before her mother requested that he be on his way to their previously scheduled dinner engagement so as not to keep their guests waiting. After his departure, the officer questioned the mother and issued her a citation a well. Then the officer threatened to tow the car if they both didn’t sign the citations. Being late to the dinner appointment, they both signed the citations.

Nearly one month later, the young lady received this invoice from the court, and Passage To Liberty was contacted for assistance.

Notice that this letter doesn’t demand a payment of any kind, but it says that appearance is “Mandatory”. So Passage To Liberty prepared the following document, along with an affidavit, court order, and instructions for disposing of the citation.

Just over two months later, our client’s family was celebrating the fact that she received the following letter dismissing the case. As is typical with California courts, the court provided a reason for the dismissal that avoided addressing the issues raised by PTL. Most interestingly in this case, the Quick Off-ramp program didn’t really apply to this situation. Nevertheless, the case was closed.

Sometimes, it is simply this easy to vanquish a citation.

End Note

As icing on the cake, the At-fault Driver’s insurance company would not pay the At-fault Driver’s claim or go after our client’s insurance company. The At-fault Driver kept changing her story to try and make it sound like it was our client’s fault, and her insurance company saw through it. We share this because most people assume that an “unlicensed driver” who is cited in an accident will be pillaged by one or both insurance companies and the policy will be canceled, but this assumption is not supported, in our experience, by any evidence. This incident proves the fact that this fear mongering targeted at freedom travelers is simply propaganda.