I was traveling at approx 30 Mph on a major mountain highway in Oregon. Road conditions were icy with a thin layer of snow. I had studded tires on my SUV. Chains were not required. There was no visible gravel nor sand on this portion of the highway. I lost all traction, slid for about 20 seconds fishtailing until finally clipping the front of an oncoming mini van. I was able to regain control and park off the side of the road. No one was injured but the damage was bad enough to contact state police. 3 gravel trucks arrived prior to State police and heavily graveled the roads. After police noted statements I was cited with a $427.00 careless driving ticket. Honestly I feel I didn't deserve this citation. My question is, does anyone think I have a legitimate case against this ticket and If so how do I go about fighting it? And, will it be worth it? Or do I plead no-contest, submit a letter and hope for the best?
2006-11-26 16:46:00 · 5 answers · asked by TONY 4 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Go to court and tell the judge exactly what you told us.
2006-11-26 16:48:25 · answer #1 · answered by Leo F 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Driving in the median between two lanes, legally is careless driving. The officer's car will have video footage of the event. The ONLY way you'll win this is if you to go court and the police footage shows you were not driving in the median. More police are killed in routine traffic stops than any other way, and the cops know this very well, so the it's highly unlikely the cop randomly pulled you over to mess with you for the heck of it. Don't mean to be rude - your personal opinion about the safety of your driving isn't relevant here. What is relevant is whether the police car's camera footage supports the ticket. If the camera footage says you were driving in the median, then you're not going to win this ticket. You will need a lawyer to fight this, which can be very expensive. Your lawyer should subpoena the camera footage and review it before the trial. If the footage shows you were driving in the median, you might be able to take a defensive driving course "before" the trial and then ask to have points withheld from your record by pleading nolo contendre - but it's a long shot.
2016-05-23 07:48:22 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Why did they charge you with careless driving? If it was for going too fast (although you weren't going over the speed limit) for road conditions, go ahead and pay the ticket because you are not going to get out of paying it.
2006-11-26 16:52:37 · answer #3 · answered by Dyan 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Fight it, citing that the trucks came later and altered the accident scene
2006-11-26 16:48:08 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get a lawyer.
2006-11-26 16:47:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋