Maybe I am reading this wrong but you said “The light turned yellow and the oncoming cars all started to brake so I started to make my turn when I realized at the last second that one car wasn’t braking along with the rest of them. I hit my brakes, but the oncoming Chrysler didn’t” and “The police said I was at fault for failing to yield to oncoming traffic”
Now it sounds to me you did yield, but maybe I am not understanding.
So yeah contest it, what’s the worse that can happen? They hold up that it’s your fault and you still have to pay the fine?
I do know that sometimes if you appear, the court has the option to reduce the fine and/or points. Again, its a no lose situation.

I’m glad you are alright.

I’m still debating whether to try and contest the ticket.

Generally it wouldn’t be worth your time.  The important thing is you weren’t injured.

For the most part, the presumption of guilt is going to rest on the person making the left turn.  The judge can’t tell what color the light was, so they’re going to have to base a decision on the facts they have.  Left turn lanes generally yield to oncoming traffic, so there will be a lot of prejudice to find you at fault.  Sure, you may have had an arrow in real life, but the judge wasn’t there in real life.  It’s likely the other driver will claim they were still green or perhaps yellow.  Did any witnesses make statements to police, or at least leave a name and phone number?  If not, you’re probably S.O.L.

A similar thing happenned to my dad, actually, when I was about 12 yrs old.  He’s the type who doesn’t even speed much on the freeway, and he’s a lawyer to boot!  And even he didn’t bother fighting it, he said traffic court is mostly a kangaroo court unless someone was seriously injured or killed.  They will just agree with whatever the police say.

Honestly it makes a certain amount of sense.  It would just cost too much money to have a court of inquiry on every fender-bender.  I’m sure the cops get it wrong some of the time, but still you’re talking about a point on someone’s license, not five years in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison.

take care, be safe. a saturn eh? folded, ouch. good luck with that.

Forgot to mention.  If they cited you for an improper turn, see if you can take it under advisement.  This is a Michigan thing, I did it once on a speeding ticket.  Basically if you don’t get any tickets for a year, the citation is dismissed.  It will help your insurance rates a bit.

I’m not sure what you can and can’t take under advisement.  An improper turn almost certainly.  If they cited you for the accident it might not be an option.  Good luck with it.

Shortt, the Saturn is my wife’s car which I am now using to get back and forth to work. I had to fold myself up to get into it cause it’s much smaller than I’m used to, the Saturn itself is fine. It was my Grand Prix that got banged up.

Daryl, thanks for the input. The official ticket lists my violation as a Civil Infraction “fail to yield, turning left” giving me 2 points and a $110 fine. I don’t have any other points on my license at the moment.

Thank goodness you’re alright. Take care, my friend. Hopefully, you can do as Daryl mentioned, and take it under advisement.

Les, I’m glad you are okay. Yikes. I tend to agree with Rachel - why not make the attempt to contest it?  Good luck!