Just a matter of time before google maps gets sued. They keep routing turkey trucks under the low bridge on the way to the turkey plant. Chasing a truck load of turkeys to get them back in their cages takes a little effort.
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Did you in fact run a stop sign? Iāve only seen a few RR crossings that had a stop sign for the cars. Usually a warning sign or the flashing lights and cross bar. Or was the judge requiring you admit you saw the flashing lights yet failed to stop?
When you are in the wrong and a Judge reduces your sentence to a MUCH lower offence and sentence/fine, sometimes you just shut your mouth and take whatever he calls it, who cares, he is slapping your hand not throwing the book at youā¦
Every traffic judge I have ever been before (and believe me, I saw a lot back in the day) had a long line of people in court and was just trying to get through everybody as fast as possible for the ticket, when someone started asking the judge useless questions is when he would get irritated and would be harsher with the sentencing, and you hoped that idiot was not the person right before youā¦ lol
Worked with a guy that was a weed dealer 30 years ago and was pulled over with enough weed that he could have gone to jail and lost everything, when he went to court the judge said I see you were caught speeding and the officer found a joint in the ashtray, how do you plead?? Yes he plead guilty, what was he going to say, no your honor, I had x amount of weed in the trunk, he would have went to jail for a whileā¦ and yes that Cop was dirtyā¦
I happened to watch The Bob Newhart show, season 4, episode 22 the other evening. A minor part of the plot addressed a similar issue
Emily enters apartment, slams coat on couch.
Bob: Bad day?
Emily: I got a parking ticket.
Bob: For what?
Emily: I was in my own spot in the school parking lot, Bob. It even has my name written on it.
Emily: It really bugs me. A $10 ticket. For parking in my own spot
Bob: Well, then, uh, go to court and fight the ticket.
Emily: Iām not gonna take the day off from work to fight a $ 1O ticket
that Iād probably lose anyway.
Bob: Well, how much money has to be involved before you stand up for your rights?
Umm, standing up for your rights is when you have been done wrong, the poster in question said he clearly ran a RxR crossing, it is not the judges fault he had the radio to loud to hear the warning sounds, that is why they had a double warning incase one fails, and the judge greatly reduced his sentenceā¦
Now I learned my lesson and would never do it again but I think it was funny anyway in this day and age. My wife was driving back from night school in our big Lincoln that would just sail along. Went through a speed trap town that all of us knew about. Got a ticket and was very upset when she got home. I said just take it like a man. Ah ha ha. I probably had about ten of them by then.
There was no stop sign there sitting stationary but maybe there was one on the gate ? If there was, I didnāt see it while the gate was up. But thatās the deal the judge made. Itās like being pulled over for speeding but the police decided to cut you a loose by giving you a seatbelt ticket when you in fact had your seatbelt on.
After serving in the Air Force for over 30-years in 17-different locations, in 9-different countries, on 6-different continents, where tire meets track; itās called a āRailroad Crossingā¦ā
The only reference I have ever heard referred to as āGrade Levelā was referencing a personās reading levelā¦
For instance, āThe reason your High School Graduate son cannot assemble his Ikea TV Stand is because he āHe reads at the 3rd Grade Levelā¦ā and doesnāt know words with0ut numb3rs 1n th3mā¦ā L 
L . . .
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However, with further research, the official term is āHighway-Rail Grade Crossingsā as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Railroad Administrationā¦
But whatās important is that you know what you are thinkingā¦
On the other hand, the important aspect of communication is to get the other person to also understand what you are thinkingā¦
And this applies to so much of what passes as communicationā¦
āI know you think you understand what you thought I said but Iām not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meantā
Thatās exactly what my lawyer said.
When my lawyer accepted the stop sign violation deal, I told my lawyer that there was no stop sign. Then he said to me ā hush it! The judge is helping you out here. Do you want 10 points or 3?ā
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That is exactly what I meant, sometimes street smarts is better then book smarts in real lifeā¦ 
+1
I stopped using Google Maps after its second mistake. The first one was when it directed me to cross RR tracks where there is no grade crossing, and the second one was when it directed me to the middle of a cemetery when I was trying to find a county park.
It looks like you and I are not the only ones to doubt the accuracy of Google Maps:
Well in Googles defense, one mans middle of a cemetery is another mans country parkā¦ 
Well, it wasnāt exactly a āwalk in the park for meā.
I was seeking that particular county park because Rutgers College of Agriculture was holding a tasting of their new variety of tomatoes, and I missed-out on it because of Google Maps. And, being the only person in the midst of a totally-deserted cemetery was somewhat creepy.
If that had been its only mistake, I would probably have continued to use it, but because this was the second mistake, I dropped it like a bad habit. Since then, Iāve used either my carās embedded GPS or Waze, and neither of them has ever mis-directed me.
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I sat in on a few traffic courts in my day and picked up a few things along the way that I used to my benefit- like offering to plead no contest to a lesser offense (disobeying an official sign) that had no points.
One judge was particularly helpful at the start of traffic court. In his instructions, he gave the following advice- if you feel you may be guilty of the charges against you, do not plead guilty but plead no contest instead. My judgement is likely to be the same regardless which one you choose. However, if you plead guilty, the record of this judgement will be admissible in future proceedings. If you choose to plead no contest, then any judgements here may not be admissible in the future.
Good to know.
So what happens, the very first fool that goes up pleads guilty. The judge just shakes his head and asks him to verify, which he again pleads guiltyā¦
Itās not just Google maps that has problems. My neighbor has a small farm with 2 driveways. Google maps had their 2nd driveway going to my house - all manner of delivery people would end up down their farm driveway.
It took them like 4 or 5 months (and 6 annoyed reports from me), but they finally did fix it. That helped some, but itās still wrong in some other mapping systems. E.g. whatever Amazon uses, because just last week an Amazon driverās GPS sent them down the wrong driveway.
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There was one school we used to go to for away soccer games that had a major mistake in maps that directed you down a long gravel driveway. That owner put up a small sign indicating it was a private driveway and had SCHOOL ==> at the bottom to send people over to the correct entrance. Seemed like a worthwhile endeavor rather than having an endless parade of cars trying to turn around once they realized there was no soccer field 
Most of the judges I went before had an opening similar speech, but they would say, plead guilty 1st offence and it was a $25 fine and didnāt add points or go on your recordā¦ I lost count of how many 1st offences I had over the yearsā¦ That doesnāt work anymore, stupid computers talking to each other nowā¦ 
Judges are human too, and most are pretty laid back (have to be) until you make it personal, and questioning a judge is just about the most personal thing you can do to a judge, verbal wiseā¦
Worst is when you get a judge that appears to be regretting their career choice. I had one that was particularly ornery. I had to leave town on business for two weeks. It was one day before trash drop off. Leaving garbage in the garage for two weeks in summer was likely to be problematic So I took my two bags to the transfer station with a note explaining why I left them there 12 hours before I could do it in person and begging forgiveness. Came back to a citation for unattended dumping of trash. So I figured Iād go fight it.
Hereās this judge at around 7pm when court convened that was particularly cantankerous. His speech left little doubt there would be few exceptions or leniency. I found out there were a couple other āviolatorsā of the same offense that night. My case was actually called first and I was initially bummed because I wanted to see the waters tested before having to beg forgiveness. The judge starts reaming me out right from the get-go. However, the guy from the town, representing plaintiff, was not in the courtroom. The judge gets even more ticked off and demands someone go find him. Meanwhile heās getting more agitated which is not likely to play in my favor.
After maybe a torturous few minutes that seemed like an eternity, the judge says that they are probably going to have to dismiss my case on procedural reasons and Iām free to go. I beat feet out of there and passed the guy in the hallway hustling to the courtroom. I ran to the exit door and never looked backā¦ Felt sorry for the next person!
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