People v. Krasniqi

DECISION & ORDER

*1  Appeal from judgments of the Justice Court of the Town of East Fishkill, Dutchess County (Irene McAliney, J.), rendered May 19, 2015. The judgments convicted defendant, after a nonjury trial, of speeding, making an unsafe lane change, failing to signal, and failing to comply with the lawful order or direction of a police officer regulating traffic, respectively. ORDERED that the judgments convicting defendant of speeding and failing to signal are affirmed; and it is further,ORDERED that the judgments convicting defendant of making an unsafe lane change and failing to comply with the lawful order or direction of a police officer regulating traffic are reversed, on the law, the accusatory instruments charging defendant with those offenses are dismissed, and the fines and surcharges, if paid, are remitted.On October 12, 2014, defendant was charged in four simplified traffic informations with speeding (Vehicle and Traffic Law §1180 [d]), making an unsafe lane change (Vehicle and Traffic Law §1128 [a]), failing to signal (Vehicle and Traffic Law §1163 [a]), and failing to comply with the lawful order or direction of a police officer regulating traffic (Vehicle and Traffic Law §1102), respectively.At a nonjury trial held in the Justice Court of the Town of East Fishkill, a New York State trooper testified that he had been trained to estimate the speed of a moving vehicle to within five miles per hour of its actual speed. Between milepost marker 57.8 and Exit 17 on Route 84, in the Town of East Fishkill, Dutchess County, he had observed a vehicle, which he later learned was being driven by defendant, and visually estimated its speed to be 85 miles per hour. The maximum speed