Read the below. I got it off a website that attempts to answer questions whether they be legal or whatever. The lawyer's contention is that I wasn't on the improved roadway or shoulder. The no parking sign was for the improved motorway. There doesn't appear to be a definition of the sign affecting the area behind it or off the improved surface. I'll let everyone know where this goes.
Here is the link for you if you prefer to to there:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/docs/TN/htm/TN.541.htmSUBCHAPTER D. TRAFFIC, TRAFFIC AREAS, AND TRAFFIC CONTROL
Sec. 541.301. TRAFFIC. In this subtitle "traffic" means pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, and conveyances, including vehicles and streetcars, singly or together while using a highway for the purposes of travel.
Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.
Sec. 541.302. TRAFFIC AREAS. In this subtitle:
(1) "Alley" means a street that:
(A) is not used primarily for through traffic; and
(B) provides access to rear entrances of buildings or lots along a street.
(2) "Crosswalk" means:
(A) the portion of a roadway, including an intersection, designated as a pedestrian crossing by surface markings, including lines; or
(B) the portion of a roadway at an intersection that is within the connections of the lateral lines of the sidewalks on opposite sides of the highway measured from the curbs or, in the absence of curbs, from the edges of the traversable roadway.
(3) "Freeway" means a divided, controlled-access highway for through traffic.
(4) "Freeway main lane" means a freeway lane having an uninterrupted flow of through traffic.
(5) "Highway or street" means the width between the boundary lines of a publicly maintained way any part of which is open to the public for vehicular travel.
(6) "Improved shoulder" means a paved shoulder.
(7) "Laned roadway" means a roadway that is divided into at least two clearly marked lanes for vehicular travel.
(8) "Limited-access or controlled-access highway" means a highway or roadway to which:
(A) persons, including owners or occupants of abutting real property, have no right of access; and
(B) access by persons to enter or exit the highway or roadway is restricted under law except at a place and in the manner determined by the authority that has jurisdiction over the highway or roadway.
(9) "Private road or driveway" means a privately owned way or place used for vehicular travel and used only by the owner and persons who have the owner's express or implied permission.
(10) "Ramp" means an interconnecting roadway of a traffic interchange, or a connecting roadway between highways at different levels or between parallel highways, that allows a vehicle to enter or exit a roadway.
(11) "Roadway" means the portion of a highway, other than the berm or shoulder, that is improved, designed, or ordinarily used for vehicular travel. If a highway includes at least two separate roadways, the term applies to each roadway separately.
(12) "Safety zone" means the area in a roadway officially designated for exclusive pedestrian use and that is protected or so marked or indicated by adequate signs as to be plainly visible at all times while so designated.
(13) "School crossing zone" means a reduced-speed zone designated on a street by a local authority to facilitate safe crossing of the street by children going to or leaving a public or private elementary or secondary school during the time the reduced speed limit applies.
(14) "School crosswalk" means a crosswalk designated on a street by a local authority to facilitate safe crossing of the street by children going to or leaving a public or private elementary or secondary school.
(15) "Shoulder" means the portion of a highway that is:
(A) adjacent to the roadway;
(B) designed or ordinarily used for parking;
(C) distinguished from the roadway by different design, construction, or marking; and
(D) not intended for normal vehicular travel.
(16) "Sidewalk" means the portion of a street that is:
(A) between a curb or lateral line of a roadway and the adjacent property line; and
(B) intended for pedestrian use.
Sec. 545.058. DRIVING ON IMPROVED SHOULDER. (a) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of a roadway if that operation is necessary and may be done safely, but only:
(1) to stop, stand, or park;
(2) to accelerate before entering the main traveled lane of traffic;
(3) to decelerate before making a right turn;
(4) to pass another vehicle that is slowing or stopped on the main traveled portion of the highway, disabled, or preparing to make a left turn;
(5) to allow another vehicle traveling faster to pass;
(6) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device; or
(7) to avoid a collision.
(b) An operator may drive on an improved shoulder to the left of the main traveled portion of a divided or limited-access or controlled-access highway if that operation may be done safely, but only:
(1) to slow or stop when the vehicle is disabled and traffic or other circumstances prohibit the safe movement of the vehicle to the shoulder to the right of the main traveled portion of the roadway;
(2) as permitted or required by an official traffic-control device; or
(3) to avoid a collision.
(c) A limitation in this section on driving on an improved shoulder does not apply to:
(1) an authorized emergency vehicle responding to a call;
(2) a police patrol; or
(3) a bicycle.
Obviously, a no-parking sign trumps this, but I think you have a good argument that you were not parked on the roadway, and secondly, you had not reached the sign yet. Your best bet may be to contact the prosecutor and explain the situation and see if he won't reach an agreement with you. But you definitely have a decent argument, especially if there was a good reason that you were pulled over and parked.
